Insurance, Claims & Accidents

Archive for the ‘Specialist Insurance’ Category

Your garden is an extension of your property.  We all appreciate the need for adequate household insurance cover but few of us actually consider whether or not the policy will cover goods we have in our gardens.  Take a look outside.  Could you afford to replace all of the goods in your garden if they were damaged in a storm or if an opportunistic thief decided to help themselves?  Many people couldn’t.

Providers of cheap home insurance have found that the number of claims for garden equipment has risen considerably in the past five years.  Many policies will automatically cover the goods in your garden but others will not.  It is essential that you familiarise yourself with the particulars of your home contents insurance policy so that you know what you are covered for.  You may find that while some things are covered by your home insurance, you are not fully covered for all of the equipment in your garden.

It is hardly surprising, then, that individuals can choose to purchase separate garden insurance.  These tailor-made insurance policies are now becoming more prevalent as people realise the costs involved in replacing their garden goods.  Generally these policies are offered by all of the main contents insurance providers.  As with most insurance policies, individuals can pay monthly or annually and an excess will be applied on any claims.  However, the premiums are usually quite low.  Also, remember, as with your home insurance, if there are any items of considerable value in your garden shed then these should be itemised separately on the policy.

Protecting your home against the unexpected is absolutely essential, although it may be tempting to skip on it. All sorts of events can happen, from flooding to subsidence, to render your single biggest investment null and void. If you haven’t got at least buildings insurance in place this could prove a major financial disaster for you.

Most mortgage lenders will give you no option when it comes to buildings insurance – you’ll have to take it out as a condition of the loan, to protect their own investment as well as yours.

Lenders couldn’t care less about your personal possessions however, and protecting them against damage and loss will be entirely up to you. Most sensible people will take out home contents insurance, as you never know what’s around the corner. Burglary seems always to be on the increase no matter what the state of the economy is.

If you want to keep the costs down you could opt for the very basic form of home contents insurance, which is indemnity insurance, though if items are lost or damaged you’ll only get replacements of the same age. ‘New for old’ is the most usual option, slightly costlier but replacing items with brand new ones.

Bear in mind that if you are away from the insured property for any considerable length of time the contents insurance may become invalid.

Although items such as cameras and mobile phones will normally be covered by the home contents insurance even when taken outside the home, you’ll need a separate travel insurance policy to protect them when on holiday.

Flood insurance is one of those things that may or may not be included in a standard buildings (or buildings and contents) insurance policy. Some companies see flooding as a separate risk, depending on the location of the building to be insured.

Naturally, each policy should be reviewed before purchase and then again on a yearly basis to ensure that nothing has changed that might affect your coverage. This annual review is especially important if you live in a flood prone area, a floodplain or if something has changed recently that could cause flooding where there was previously little to no risk. The latter could occur from several incidents such as standard subsidence, new construction, planting or removal of trees and / or water breaks or issues with ground water or currently existing water pipes. You should also be aware that your building or home might be more vulnerable to flooding if there has been some type of structural damage in the past, particularly at the foundation or roof levels.

When many people think of floods, they think of the Great Flood or some other monstrous disaster. Flooding can be minor and still cause a great deal of damage, from ruining your belongings to causing structural issues and perhaps the worst of all – creating a breeding ground for mould and mildew. Once mould sets into the walls and floor it can be extremely difficult if not impossible to remove.

You may also choose to increase coverage on the building or home if it is currently unoccupied as a flood may go unnoticed for quite some time.