Building Insurance on an older Flat that has suffered 'Historical Movement'

moonwolf_3

will not give quote for property without mortice locks and lockable windows. Oh my gosh, what I am going to do now?

put locks on?:p

toja

The estate agency just spoke with the house seller. They say insurance is standard provided through their mortgage lender and is £45/men. I would say, as a standard is a bit expensive… Also if it is standard, should I possibly ignore the past movement and try online insurances?
Locks are ok to change, but I will go bankrupt if I need to install doubled lockable glazing everywhere in the house to provide security…

moonwolf_3

will not give quote for property without mortice locks and lockable windows

.. im surprised NFU wont even give a quote without lockable windows, might have expected the premium to be a bit higher but not that they wouldnt insure.. are you sure they wont offer you any cover?

if it is standard, should I possibly ignore the past movement and try online insurances?

depends on what piece of mind you want for cover on any possible further movement.

find out exactly what the cover the present house seller has, to make sure you are comparing like with like.
Just because they may not have full cover for movement, doesnt mean they have got the right insurance, just the right insurance to help them sleep at night!

what sort of windows do you have currently? they only want locks , not double glazing

twiglets_2

Toja - i agree with moonwolf that its worth checking what cover the current owners have.

Having just sold a house with "historical movement" I'd just advise you to be careful. If you don't disclose it to your insurers now and then there is a problem in the future then you may not be covered. Also, you need to bear in mind that when you come to sell this house in the future then your buyer will have the same concerns as you have and so you need to be in a position to prove you've got insurance with full cover.

One option may be to take over the current owners insurance. This is what happened when I sold my house with movement. My insurers asked to see a copy of the buyers survey and then their underwriters approved the transfer.

Hope this helps. Don't be completely put off a house with movement but at the same time just be aware of the complications!

toja

Thanks moonwolf and twiglets. One question. If the seller insists that they have a standard insurance cover (not influenced by movement factor), how do I check if this is correct?

moonwolf_3

find out who it is with and ring them up, tell them that you are purchasing !

toja

Feel like have to inform you on the thread - finally insured the house with the previous vendor's insurer for £35/month (£33/month + £2/month legal protection)

jpppp

Gotta thank you for your posts on here!

I went with NFU after having the door slammed my face, for exactly the same reasons as above. and they covered me for building and contents for £23 a month, which is less than i'm paying in my old house for just buildings. I told them in detail about the previous movement that came up on the survey and they were fine with it. Fully covered with £500 subsidence excess.

MSE comes to the rescue again Bravo! :T

JP

VeryFrustrated

A quick question ... roughly what did your survey say? Was it something along the lines of 'long standing and non-progressive and likelihood of further significant movement seems remote. No structural works are considere necessary'?

I would like to know before I approach NFU with my query

VeryFrustrated

I called NFU today, I gave full disclosure they agreed to insure me (buildings insurance, I added contents too) and to acknowledge in writing that there is historic movement, non-progressive etc. They were not concerend at all.

So, not a problem.

I hope this helps the next reader.