Building Insurance and our Watercourse

DiscoPistol

Hello all,

Just a quick question.

I'm looking at renewing my Insurance and it turns out that because I live 'within 200 metres of a watercourse' my insurance shoots up by £60

Now in essence I don't have a problem with this other than the 'watercourse' is actually an old Leat (used to run mills back in the day) and has a (what is the word I'm looking for? Valve maybe? Water gate?) that allows only the permitted amount of water through.

The company I spoke to earlier stated that 'Insurance companies don't care, a watercourse is a watercourse'

Just wondering if anyone had got around this problem or knew of any more open minded to different types of water?

Thanks in advance

*Scarlett

I would try someone else.

Get a few online quotes and if there are any that you like, give the insurer a ring. You probably won't be able to arrange cover on-line but many underwriters will cover providing that the water course has never caused any flooding.

They will want additional information from you - how far away is the body of water, how high above the water level your property is, how long have you lived there.

If there has been any previous flooding, they will want to know when and how much you claimed for, and also what type of defenses are in place to prevent it happening again.

They can do a postcode check for you which will confirm if you're in a flood area and assuming that you're not, and this water course has never flooded, you may be able to get cover under normal terms.

If they consider the water course to be a flood risk, they may still cover but apply a higher excess for flood claims which you would have to take into consideration regarding any saving you would be making on the policy price.

It might be that some companies add to the premium to offset the perceived potential risk of having a body of water within 200m but many will look at it on individual circumstances.

Maybe try a local broker who have a search on your behalf.

Hope this helps.