What would happen if we are "homeless"

tiggerbodhi

Hi,
Is that time to think about house and contents insurance, the question that has come up from us talking about it is...

If your house becomes unihabitable for any reason, fire, flood, plague of locusts etc it appears common practice to temporarily re-home the occupants, ie hotels if short term, holiday lets/rentals if longer.

Has anyone been in this suitation with more than one dog or even asked the insurance company what they would do?
If we turned out to be homeless with our 8 dogs, one cat, a goldfish and the lodger wondering what their "solution" would be, is it a question I should ask?

rs65

Check your policy includes 'alternative accomodation'. It may also include kennel costs.

Mungo76

Costs for kennels etc are usually covered, or if an increased rent is needed for a property that accepts pets.
Your home insurance will usually cover this up to a limit, one the limit is exceeeded that's it. So, if you have a claim and for example it costs £5k per month to house you all and your limit is £20k, after the forth month your on your own.

Sally_A

Not all include this as standard, in fact as more and more cheaper companies come onto the market, I bet this is one extra they've done away with. Best to trawl through some policy wordings on the internet - ironically, alternative housing for humans seems to be cheaper than for pets!

From memory, Guardian Royal Exchange were one of the first to extend the alternative accommodation cover to include kennels (aren't they now swallowed up by AXA?); unsure if it's still in their policy.

Might also be worth making some contingency plans should you and OH both be hospitalised - Mr Next Door was in hospital for cancer treatment, when Mrs Next-Door was admitted after falling and breaking her leg. At midnight, as she was been carted off on a stretcher, I was herding their 2 dogs into my home (1 of which detested my own dog, and rarely acknowledged my existence, but soon realised I was the best option, and after a bit of argy bargy settled in ). This was only a short term set up, approx 10 days.

Sally_A

It seems that AXA do still offer alt.accom. for pets, but it would really depend on the specific AXA contract you have signed up for, as there are so many.

Ecclesiastical also offer cover for cats and dogs - and they are one of the very few that will also cover damage by pets, so long as it is a one off incident and not gradual wear and tear, such as fouling carpets over a period of time, or gradually ruining your sofa with their claws by getting comfy.

Aviva offer it too.

So perhaps it is more common these days, but I recommend you check your own specific contract, so many brokers or online deals have what I would call "Value Brands" underwritten by these big name insurers, just to keep it cheap (and we all see people on these boards posting how cheap they have got their insurance, even if with the same insurer, but they are not reading or not wanting to read about what cover they have sacrificed for the cheaper premiums).

*Scarlett

I think that RIAS offer accomodation for pets.