Storm Damage - Things you should know.

With the recent high winds we've been having, I feel it would be important to remind our clients about the scope of their cover when it comes to Storm Damage; beit to their own home, a let property or an unoccupied property.

Unoccupied properties are often not covered against storm. When a property is unoccupied, the perils that the insurer will cover the property owner against are often restricted to just Fire, Lightning, Earthquake, Explosion and Aircraft only. Extended cover can be sourced which reinstates the standard perils (Storm, flood, escape of water etc) but this cover would carry a much higher premium and the maximum claim amount for the additional perils may be restricted to say £2,500 for any one claim.

One of the most common part of a property which would suffer damage in stormy conditions is fences. On any policy covering a property, it is common that storm damage to gates, fences and posts are excluded.

Another important point to note would be if your property has a flat roof. Flat roofs often carry an increased excess for ingress of water following a storm (typically £500). Also there would likely be an endorsement on the policy stating the flat roof needs to be annually inspected by a builder and for any defects to be immediately repaired.

If you are looking for a quote for your property or would like some advice, please call the commercial team on 01249 463206 or check out our website www.advanceinsurance.co.uk

Winter Weather Advice

So according to various reports in the media, we are in for a bitter winter this year and maybe even record levels of snowfall in November!!

With this in mind, property owners should take some appropriate steps in order to mitigate any potential exposures to claims that the cold weather can bring.

The main risk faced by homeowners by freezing weather is burst pipes.
Water freezes within the pipes, expands, splits the pipe and causes water to escape when the ice thaws.

There are some simple and inexpensive checks and changes you can make to your property to help avoid a loss.

• Ensure your pipes and tanks are well lagged
• If the property is unoccupied you can either drain the water system or, if it is thermostatically controlled, the heating system should be left to operate at a minimum temperature of 15 degrees celcius.
• If you have a gravity fed water system (water tank in the loft), the loft can often get cold due to the loft insulation preventing the warmth from coming through from below. If the property is unoccupied it is best to get this drained. Alternatively, if it is being used to heat the property, you could leave the loft hatch open to ensure some warm air enters the loft.

One thing to note if you do have an unoccupied property is that you may not be covered for burst pipes or escape of water. Check your policy schedule carefully to see which perils you are covered against. Incidentally, we offer unoccupied property policies that can cover all perils including burst pipes and escape of water.

For more information, please contact our Commercial team on 01249 463206 or visit www.advanceinsurance.co.uk

Landlord Policies

Advance Insurance have many Landlord schemes available to us which can cover a wide range of properties including:

·          Residential

·          Commercial

·          Unoccupied Residential

·          Unoccupied Commercial

·          Unoccupied Mixed Residential and Commercial

·          Part occupied mixed Residential and Commercial

With our unoccupied property schemes we can offer various levels of cover from standard FLEEA (Fire, Lightning, Earthquake, Explosion and aircraft only) to full perils.

We can also look at "non-standard" properties e.g long-term unoccupied, previous subsidence issues, adverse claims, structural alterations etc.

Remember, if you have a property which you have purchased with the intention to let it out, this will have to be insured as unoccupied until a tenancy agreement is signed. Similarly, properties that are going through probate which were formally owner occupied are likely to have to be insured as unoccupied if they are pending sale or waiting to be let.

For more information or advice on which policy is best for you, please call our commercial department on 01249 463206.

For more information on what Advance Insurance do, please see our website www.advanceinsurance.co.uk

An estimated 200,000+ companies across the UK do not have any insurance cover.

A survey by LV Broker has reported that one in 20 small businesses are not protected or don't have public liability insurance, while more than 350,000 have no employers' liability insurance and are in danger of being fined £2,500 a day. 

Businesses who have employees or use labour-only subcontractors must have employers' liability insurance or face being sanctioned by the Health and Safety Executive.

According to LV's claims data, there has been an increase in EL claims against employers.

LV stated that ‘slips and trips' liability now makes up the largest proportion of claims after theft and damage caused by leaks, storms and accidental damage.

The research also revealed that 16% of office-based businesses and 10% of residential property landlords have no cover in place.

To discuss your business' insurance needs, please contact our commercial office on 01249 463206.

Property Owners Average Condition

Anyone who owns and wishes to insure a property; beit their own home, a let property or a commercial premises will be asked by their Broker / Insurer the amount of cover they require for the Buildings. The figure given should represent the rebuild value of the property but should also take in to account other factors such as: debris removal, architects, surveyors, consultants, legal fees and VAT and any additional cost of complying with government or local authority requirements.

A lot of the time people will estimate it themselves to be around 60 - 80% of the market value of the property as the market value also takes in to account the land on which the property is built. This may not always be sufficient though depending on where the property is located, its age, ease of access, construction and if the property is grade listed.

On pretty much every insurance policy which incorporates cover for buildings, there will be a condition within the wording of the policy called the "Average Condition". This condition would come in to force where a property owner makes a claim but has not insured their property for a sufficient amount.
It is the property owners responsibility to ensure that they provide the correct value at the time they take insurance out on their property. There are several ways to get an accurate idea of what the rebuild value should be below but if in doubt it is always best to overestimate it (even though it may mean you pay slightly more on your insurance premium).

Gross underinsurance could potentially have quite a disasterous effect on the property owner if the Average condition is applied. The payment made by the insurer would be calculated using the following formula:

(Sum insured / true value at inception) x loss

To put this in monetary terms:

Let's say you own a property and insure it for £300,000 and then suffer an insured £110,000 fire loss, but at the time of the loss the insurers have calculated the building to be valued (rebuild) at £340,000, the insurers would pay (300,000 / 340,000) x 110,000 = £97,059.
This means the property owner would be left to pay the shortfall of £12,941 themselves to get their property fully reinstated where the extra £40,000 cover at inception may have typically cost about an additional £40.

There are several ways to get an accurate rebuild figure for your property. Your mortgage company may give you a figure, you could have a surveyor visit your premises to provide one or there are some online facilities such as the one on the Association of British Insurers (ABI) website.

For more information on what Advance Insurance do, please see our website www.advanceinsurance.co.uk

Insurers updating their Flood Areas

Check your Flood excess!

With the increasing instances in flooding from prolonged spells of rain and flash flooding from short heavy downpours, we have noticed a lot of mainstream insurers have been re-categorizing a lot of addresses as being in "an area at risk of flood".
Insurers have been investing heavily in updated and comprehensive flood mapping systems in order to properly manage their exposure when it comes to acts of nature. The systems provide information on worst case scenarios ranging from the areas "at risk of flooding" due to rivers breaking their banks to the types of soil in particular areas which may effect surface water run-off and cause flash floods. Some of the systems are apparently accurate to within 5 square metres.
The important thing to note here is that you don't necessarily need to live near a natural watercourse to be deemed to be in an area at risk of flood.

If your existing insurer now deems your property to be in a flood risk area, it may effect your policy in the following ways at renewal depending on how severe a risk they rate you to be:

1. They may not offer renewal terms
2. They may exclude Flood cover
3. They may heavily increase your premium
4. They may increase your policy excess for Flood (up to as much as £10,000!)
5. They may do more than one of points 2, 3 and 4.

At renewal, the insurers are supposed to highlight any significant changes to your policy but this can be a single line on a page of writing so could be easily overlooked.

The point I'm trying to make is, when you get your renewal through for your home, let property, business premises etc, even if it's just a contents policy, it's always a good idea to double check the perils you are covered against and the corresponding policy excess for each one.
For more information on what Advance Insurance do, please see our website www.advanceinsurance.co.uk