Paying for someone else's claim?

London_calling

Hi

I moved into a flat (converted terrace, 2 flats) in March, paying the remaining 7 months of buildings insurance to the freeholder.
My renewal quote for this year is £492, up on last years fee of £351.

The huge increase is apparently because of a claim made by the previous owners of the flat, which also means I pay more than 50% of the total premium, ie more than upstairs... I'm getting screwed and they aren't...

The underwriters have agreed a £50 discount on that but still....

Is this fair?
Surely I can't be liable for the actions of previous owners?

My building and contents insurance is going to come in at over £500 for the smallest flat in London... and that's masses more than I ever paid for a 2 bed house...
:mad:

huckster

If the Insurance is in the freeholders name and they pass on the Insurance cost to you, then you need to speak to the freeholder. Tell them that you are unhappy with the cost of the Insurance. If you speak to the other leaseholder in the other flat, perhaps they can also put pressure on the landlord, to shop around and arrange a more competitive policy elsewhere.

Sometimes what happens in this situation is that the freeholder will just continue with the same Insurer, on the basis that the leaseholders are paying the premiums, so why should they bother to shop around.

If the freeholder appears to have a ' I don't care' attitude, you might want to seek legal advice. I am pretty sure there must be some responsibility of the freeholder to act in the leaseholders interest.

London_calling

Cheers

I called the leaseholders, or at least the insurance 'wing' of the company - the insurance intermediaries? Like I say they've reduced it by £50 but its still totally unacceptable to be forking out such a crazy amount.

I will contact everyone I can about this but at the end of the day the freeholder doesn't care. What sort of legal advice can I seek?

Is this really the way freehold buildings insurance works? Seems extremely unfair.

huckster

Check the terms of the your lease agreement. Does it state anything about Buildings Insurance? Is it possible for you and the owner of the other flat to arrange your own Buildings Insurance policy and stop paying the other?

Look into it and see where you stand. You may find yourself in a position of having to have the Buildings Insurance arranged by the freeholder, at any price.

dogbot

What was this claim for? You are the leaseholder, they are the freeholders. Who is the freeholder?

There can be some good advice on the property section of the forum about these issues.

London_calling

Not sure about the claim - though the intermediaries said it was £2500 odd - loss of water or something, I didn't take a note at the time. The freeholders are a company...

I'm looking for some comparable quotes to go back to them with, but am I expected to have details of this previous claim - given it wasn't mine...?