Advice on house insurance exchange and completion of contract

goodrep

My son believes that his house insurance did not start until the day of completion rather then the previous day of exchange of contract. He had left the insurance in the hands of his solicitors and mortgage broker. On gaining the keys to his house on the day of completion he has discovered a leak that has made ceilings collapse. Where does he stand legally?

Fire_Fox

The first thing to do is to check exactly when the policy started, his belief might be wrong! Also check what he was advised to do regarding insurance and whether he followed that advice to the letter.

G_M

Phone the insurer and see if he's covered.

Phone the solicitor and advise them the vendor has not handed over the property in the condition it was in at exchange (Breach of contract)

Did he leave insurance in the hands of his solicitor or the broker - it can't be both! What does 'in the hands of' mean? Does he have a record of either of these professionals agreeing to arrange it? What was his instruction to them: insurance to start at Exchange or Completion?

goodrep

His solicitor advised the broker to ensure that he had building insurance. My son had left the details to his solicitor and broker.The broker has a great deal of experience. My son believed that the insurance would be in place for whenever it should have been.

goodrep

There is no proof of when the damage actually occured.The house was unoccupied and the last time my son had visited it was the middle of December.

G_M

goodrep wrote: »

His solicitor advised the broker to ensure that he had building insurance. My son had left the details to his solicitor and broker.The broker has a great deal of experience. My son believed that the insurance would be in place for whenever it should have been.

If the broker was arranging it, your son and the broker should have agreed what was to be arranged. At the least your son must have authorised the broker to take out a policy (after all, he was going to be paying for it!), and the start date should have been agreed between them.

At the end of the day the contract is between the insurance company and your son, so it is your son's responsibility to approve what he is signing for. The broker can advise, and facilitate, but is not a party to the contract.