outbuilding insurance questions

blackburn57

Hi

I have recently inherited a largish detached timber-frame shed that has a corrugated asbestos roof. It is full of junk and the roof leaks at one point. The roof of course needs replaced, and the cladding is coming off. It has its own electricity and water supply (it has sinks and a toilet). There is a lot of dampness inside. It has been valued at £10k.

I'm having difficulty finding an insurer, given the asbestos roof, and I'm wondering if it is worth insuring. The power is switched off when I'm not using it, the content is worthless and it is located in the countryside. I'm wanting to sell it at £10k, and I'm thinking that the site would still be worth that even if it burned down to the ground. On the other hand, the shed is adjacent to properties not belonging to me, so perhaps having insurance would protect me if my shed did catch fire and caused damage to those other properties and I was then sued...?

I'd be really interested in know what other people's thoughts are.

huckster

Hi

I am taking it that you have also inherited a plot of land as well as the shed.

It would be in your interest to certainly obtain liability cover. If anyone came onto the property and injured themselves or worse, you could still be held liable.

Suggest that you approach the Insurers of your main residence if nearby or go to a local broker to obtain the relevant cover. Due to the condition and construction of the shed, they may not be able to cover this.

dacouch

You would be able to obtain cover for the building but I would guess it would cost between £300 and £500 a year (Probably nearer the £500), the cover would probably be restricted to only Fire, Lightening, Aircraft, Explosion and Earthquake (Plus Liability) but would probably have an excess of between £250 and £500. (It would probably also have requirements such as it being inspected once a week)

It's debatable whether it is worth insuring the actual structure as if it burnt down would it cost £10000 to rebuild and would you actually want it rebuilt.

You can probably buy stand alone Property Owners Liability for circa £190 a year if the property has reasonable fencing around it to keep people out.

As Huckster has advised, speak to a good local broker to find out the options and costs

cogito

There is an inherent problem in that buildings policies work on a reinstatement basis which is intended to put the building back in its pre-loss condition but how to you do this on a dilapidated property?

If it burnt to the ground, would you actually look to reinstate it? Probably not and it's arguable that you wouldn't actually have suffered a loss. You might want to think about covering for debris removal costs for a nominal amount if you could find an insurer willing to offer cover on this basis. As for liability cover, your house insurers may be willing to extend your policy at modest cost.

blackburn57

Thank you very much for these very useful answers. :beer:

I think the best thing to do is to speak to a few local brokers.

Thanks again!