Contents only ?

gospete

I'd be most grateful if someone could offer any advice or opinions.

I have an apartment that I occupy for approximately 6 months a year. It is on the second floor in a small block. I consider it to be in a safe area in terms of crime rate. Buildings insurance is covered by the block as a whole.

My question is this...
Does separate 'contents only' insurance really make sense for me, bearing in mind that I don't keep valuables of any significance when I'm not there.

I took the insurance out because I thought it was the 'norm'. But my feeling is that it doesn't give me peace of mind in terms of third party damage from (or to) neighbouring apartments etc.

Is there a simple explanation somewhere telling me the sort of things covered by 'buildings' vs 'contents' insurance without having to resort to pages of small print?

Any advice would be most welcome.

agrinnall

All policies will provide a Key Facts document, but the devil is in the detail so the only way to be completely certain is indeed to read the fine print.

FutureGirl

Contents insurance will only cover your belongings IE carpets, sofa's, clothing, tables, TV etc.

The usual things covered by buildings and contents policies are storm damage, fire, theft, escape of water, flood etc. No policy will cover you for wear and tear / gradual damage / faulty workmanship etc. However, each policy is different as to what it covers and the exclusions.

However, most standard buildings and contents policies have a clause stating certain incidents are not covered if the property is left unoccupied for more than 30, 60 or 90 days (depending on policy). These will usually be malicious damage, theft, water damage, etc.

If you aren't bothered about insuring your personal items, then don't get insurance.

gospete

Thanks for the reply.

I suppose what I'm more concerned about is the scenario if something went wrong in my flat and affected the flat below.
Or conversely if a problem in another flat affected mine.

Would such a scenario be covered by Buildings insurance or Contents insurance?

FutureGirl

Generally speaking, no.

If there is a leak / fire in your property, and it affected a neighbouring property, then they will claim from their own insurance policy.

If it was the other way round IE your neighbour had a leak / fire which impacted your property, you claim from your insurance, not your neighbours.

Your policy covers your property only. The only exception may be if there is any negligence involved.

gospete

Thanks for clarifying things.
From what you say I assume that it would be the blocks Building insurance that would address such a claim?
From what I understand is the norm, there is no separate buildings policy for an individual flat.