Buildings Insurance: recommendations pls!

FTB-FTW

Hi all

I need to sort out buildings insurance fairly quickly. I know people's requirements differ, but our property (due to move in in 2-3 weeks) is a pretty standard 2-bed flat in London.

Just wondering if anyone has any particular recommendations? I have done a fair bit of research and there are probably at least half a dozen deals that look fine to me, but I haven't used any of the companies before (Virgin Money, Aviva etc) and would love to get a recommendation for one over another.

Has anyone here taken out home insurance (buildings and/or contents) recently and got a deal you're particularly pleased with? We are not yet sure whether to include contents or not; tbh it will depend entirely on affordability. Never bothered with it while renting.

Thanks a mil.

StephenMarsh

Is the flat part of a block of flats ?

Quite often with flats theres a management company in place who will look after the buildings insurance for the entire building leaving the individuals to just look after there own contents. Worth finding out for certain this sint the case with your own building first !

From there if your after some advice then I would personally recomend talking to a "local" broker, you can discuss further the implications of the contents, also flats are not as easy to place as say a detached house so always worth speaking to a proffesional. Failing that there are all sorts of cash back quotations you can get but someone else will be able to advise further with regards to those.

dogbot

If you are buying a flat in London the chances are that you will have little or no say in who insures the buildings, but will just be stuck paying for it. Buildings insurance in England and Wales is arranged by the freeholder and not the leaseholder, on the entire building or "block" (be that a converted house or a purpose built block).

Under the terms of most leasehold leases you will be required to pay for your share of this as the leaseholder. In some cases you can challenge the freeholder or their management company over the arrangements and get them to go and find some alternative quotes.

If you are buying a flat with share of freehold - you have a share of the freehold of the entire block not just the bits that are attached to the flat you are buying - each and every molecule basicaly. Usualy the freeholders will have some sort of agreement or shared company through which they arrange the block policy - this can be good as you can put pressure directly on the insurance broker to keep re-broking the policy to get an idea of market rates each year. Then again, some people are not interested and don't want the hassle!

You need to talk to your solicitor who will be able to explain the arrangements - it is amazing they have not already.


For contents insurance there are many other threads on here. Key things are work out your new for old replacement values of everything you own, add a bit on for new purchases you are likley to make in the next year, add on a bit for safety, work out how much personal posessions you will need and decide what other features you need. If you are going to do some work on the place AD cover is a good idea.

Contents cover doesn't just covers your contents, it covers your liability as a private individual (with some exclusions, e.g. while driving a car). There will also be cover for alternative accomodation following a loss that makes your property uninhabitable - you might want to look for a policy with a high limit for this (20% of the sum insured +) as you are in London.

You really should buy contents cover now - if you can't afford it but are buying a flat then you need to take a good hard look at the affordability of buying the place! When buying a flat you need to be prepared for other expense that you didn't have to bear when renting - service charges, payments towards communal repairs, if the boiler breaks down etc.

You also really need the contents cover to avoid other nastly shocks that you won't be able to afford. What will happen if the place burns down and you loose all of your contents? Or if a tradesman trips in your hall and breaks their neck, then sues you?

FTB-FTW

Dogbot> Thanks for your v helpful reply. I forgot to mention we do have a share in the freehold, but both flats in the building went on sale at the same time, so I do not believe there was any such arrangement in place.

I know that the other flat was recently sold, and that the new owner has now moved in. Do we now need to find out what their insurance arrangement is before we set up our own?

mearnsy

Hi I would advise that you check the lease agreement- we are in a similar set up -flat with share of freehold (one other party) and its in our lease to have a single building insurance policy for the whole building. Your solicitors should have really picked up on this if they are worth their salt!!!

Basically it makes sense to have a single building insurance as you should have common ownership (i.e roof and grounds) for both flats, however this will depend on your lease...they are dull but make sure you read it!! Our neighbours are now selling and the new buyers solicitors wanted to see the policy we share before completion....

BTW beware if you need to get new buildings insurance-its best to go through a broker who gets you insurance tailored to a share of freehold policy as we have been misold in the past here!!!