Insurance for a leasehold flat

idave

Hello.

I leave in a leasehold flat and I fully "own" the lease (i.e. I don't have any mortgage or anything like that). I have a few questions on insuring my flat.

BUILDING INSURANCE
I know my building is insured via the landlord, however my lease stipulates that I must pay for any repairs to the internal fittings of my flat (for example if I break a wall etc).
1. I would like to insure these fittings for accidental damage, so for instance if my dishwasher breaks during a wash cycle I can get the wooden flooring replaced on the insurance (according to the financial ombudsman*, wooden flooring is definitely covered by building insurance, not content). Are there providers that do this kind of thing? Can a flat be insured twice?
2. I have noticed that most buildings insurance quote forms ask what kind of roof I have. I live in a block of 44 floors made of concrete, and the top is I believe mostly glass and steel. What should I put there?

CONTENT INSURANCE
Here the situation is doubly complicated. I would like to cover my stuff against fire, but not theft. This is because there is a 24hr concierge service (so I am pretty sure nobody will get in from outside), and I have a lodger (which can make things horribly expensive if you want to take theft insurance). I would also like to have accidental damage cover, again for things like TV breakage, dishwashers, etc.
1. Is it possible to insure contents only for fire damage but not theft?
2. Do you know any insurer that does so?

* = www. financial-ombudsman. org. uk /publications/ombudsman-news/30/30-ins.htm

propertyman

Erm no thats not correct. Thats the problem with standard booklets they dont cover specifics.

It depends on the buildings cover as damage to anything such as fittings
is only covered if it is an insured peril. If as some policies do they exclude a free standing dishwasher or washing machine that is not bespoke fitted, then consequential damage is not covered.

In some polices laminate floor boards are treated as a carpet, a tenants fixture ( that includes long leaseholders) and not covered by BI.

While the lease might require you to repair the inside walls that is not to say that accidental damage is not covered.


:money:The answer to your question is to obtain a copy of the BI from the Landlord or Agents and read it, and put in place cover where it is needed.

Pay particular attention to the excess, in blocks they can be as high as £1000 for water damage, so, even if you are covered, it is only for amounts over £1000, and additional cover under your contents might be an excellent idea.

idave

Hi propertyman and thank you for your explanation.

propertyman wrote: »

:money:The answer to your question is to obtain a copy of the BI from the Landlord or Agents and read it, and put in place cover where it is needed.

I have asked management for a copy of my buildings insurance. What you said about cherry-picking the covers I need sounds great, however most buildings insurances for consumers are kinda standard, not allowing me to choose the covers I need. How can I obtain such bespoke service?

propertyman wrote: »

Pay particular attention to the excess, in blocks they can be as high as £1000 for water damage, so, even if you are covered, it is only for amounts over £1000, and additional cover under your contents might be an excellent idea.

I'll watch out for that. Thanks

propertyman

very welcome.

This is nothing to do with cherry picking. Its looking at the policy and seeing what is covered and what is not and insuring against anything that you feel you need to insure against.

idave

propertyman wrote: »

very welcome.

This is nothing to do with cherry picking. Its looking at the policy and seeing what is covered and what is not and insuring against anything that you feel you need to insure against.

Question: I can't really read legalese and I have a strong suspicion that what comes back from building management will be almost unintelligible. Is there anyone / any advice service I can approach who will decode it for me?

G_M

Most of thesepoliciesare written in English!

Yes, some specific terms are used- but there will be an explanation of specilist terms at the front

And yes, it is not 'spoken English'- but most of it will still be intelligible ifyou take your time reading.

Anything that seems relevant which you strugle with, post here with the exact wording and we'll help.

Bear in mind exact wording can be important.

For your 'cherrypicking', I suggest you visit,or ring, a specialist insurance broker. Use google orsimilar to find one near you or one with an 0800 number.

You could also try posting on the insurance forum.

propertyman

idave wrote: »

Question: I can't really read legalese and I have a strong suspicion that what comes back from building management will be almost unintelligible. Is there anyone / any advice service I can approach who will decode it for me?

The building insurance policies are normally straightforward and the insurer or broker will often help in explaining them,a nd getting additoinal cover

The important thing is to expunge ideas of cherrypicking legalese etc or that a 24 hour concierge is ample security ( having had to sack or dismiss more than a few for sleeping or "meditating" at 3am and 2 for being the thief), and stretch your understanding into new areas

idave

Hello all and thanks to the suggestions. I tried calling a couple of brokers in my area and they basically all said that there is no insurance that will cover my situation.

More specifically one of them said:
1. I could take buildings insurance, but that would be extremely expensive for what I need. The block's insurance covers already 90% of what I would get from my own third-party buildings insurance... or in other words, it makes no sense to get a buildings insurance only for the flooring.
2. A content insurance would never cover wooden flooring.

So now I am back to square one. But really, has no one ever had to get insurance for my kind of scenario?

G_M

I suspect that many (most? even all?) flat owners just assume that either the freeholder's buildings policy, or their own policy, covers 'everything'.

Few people read the detail, or consider different risk scenarios, as you are doing.

All credit to you!

Having said that- sorry, I can't help. Again I'd refer you to a specialist forum, or a specialist broker, as I suspect you will not get the specific answer here....