Jason McClean - The Home Insurer

Hi Tony

We do not sell Rent Guarantee Insurance as we have deemed it a worthless product given prior experience.

There may be an insurance out there that you can get that is worth its weight. If you find it, do let us know.

Apart from the insurance route, using reputable agents who vet properly is your best defence.

Hope this helps in some way.

Regards

Jason... Read More

Hi JB

Property owner’s liability will normally cover anything to do with the communal building. If a tile falls off the roof and hits a car, then that is usually covered.

You are right; inside the flat, the landlord will need to protect their own liability. If there is a ripped carpet supplied by the landlord and someone trips on it, then the landlord will be liable, not the block insurance.

Most landlords will take out minimal £5k contents insurance to access the £2million liability associated with it. These sorts of polices are usually £100 or less for the year.

All the best,

Jason... Read More

Hi Tim

If you have more than 4-properties then generally you can access some price discount when held together in a portfolio.

The other benefits are same renewal date, terms, endorsements and insurer.

However, portfolio insurance is not for everyone. Some of your properties may be in a flood risk area, so insuring them separately may be best to get flood terms included.

Savings on portfolios grow with scale. Manage your expectations, cost is not the only reason to buy insurance; you need cover you can depend upon.

We are happy to talk through options, please call 01832-735388 or fill in the form here on Property 118 and we will call you.

Regards

Jason... Read More

Hi Fen Jen, Tom will try calling you shortly. We received your form mid-July and note policy needed September, so are now in a position to engage with you. Sorry for any delay! Regards, Jason... Read More

Hi G Master

The tenant isn't buying the insurance, so not an issue to insurers.

However, the landlord will have to disclose tenant type when applying for insurance and that may impact on cover.... Read More

Hi Folks

My understanding is if you are a legal UK resident (regardless of where you are in the world), then you can buy the insurance.

Hope this helps.... Read More

Hi Raz

Sadly the same is true of the policies we sell - you must be a UK resident for them to be activated.

I believe this is down to any potential claims where litigation will not cross borders and are subject to UK laws. I also understand any payments potentially due would be in Pounds Sterling.

If you have UK residency in law then you should be OK to purchase, but you would need a UK bank account also.

It sounds like your insurer has done a decent job of not selling you something that would be worthless to you.

I hope this helps, but cannot think of a supplier that meets your needs.... Read More

Hi NG

Answering your issues from an insurance perspective:

1&2: Pure legal discussions, you need to talk to a solicitor.

3: It is up to the managing agent to meet the demands and needs of the stakeholders/owners/freeholders/interested parties.

3a: If as a stakeholder you have told them the excess for escape of water needs to be under £1k, then they need to deliver it or explain why they cannot. It's up to you to tell the management company the requirements you need from the insurance and then check what is delivered meets them.

Given the suggested history of escape of water claims at this property, they may not be able to get any cover or be forced to take a high excess. Insurers are under no obligation to offer under £1000; they will offer their best terms only.

They might get you a £1000 excess but at 10x the premium price - then it is a decision stakeholders need to make on what to do.

3b: That's up to the management company how they communicate.

Hopefully that helps from an insurance perspective.... Read More

Hi Adrian

You are covering a lot of ground here, so I'll try to answer each point in turn.

Insuring as a block is common, with a managing agent organising. You need to tell the managing agent what you need from your insurance. You should be named on the policy as an interested party. That means the property owners liability should extend to you if ever needed.

If you need loss of rent on the block policy, then you need the managing agent to deliver that within the block policy. This is fairly common so shouldn't be an issue.

Saying that, a managing agent arranging insurance on the cheapest possible price is likely to go for a lower quality policy that may well exclude all sorts of perils or have high excesses (this is needed to achieve lowest possible price). It's best for you to read the policy and ensure it covers exactly what you need.

Your tenant voiding the insurance is an interesting one. How? I'm not sure how they could do this in practice. If you mean leaving taps on and flooding the entire building, then the block insurance escape of water would cover it...as long as it is not excluded. Again, check the policy meets your needs.

In terms of blocks and renting, this is very common, but not all policies are equal. You need to read the policy, wording, excesses and exclusions and make sure it meets your needs.

The block policy in place should meet your needs. But policies are all different and you are the only one that knows your exact needs against what your current policy delivers. If the managing agent hasn't arranged insurance to meet your needs, then you need to tell them and get it updated.

We can tailor a block policy to meet almost any requirement, so here to help if needed. 01823-735388.... Read More

Hi Angie

If you are the named policyholder, then the payment/benefit from the policy is made to you.

If it's a cash settlement then you may decide not to allow/tell the tenant about any amount for disturbance.

Insurance policies are not there for betterment, so new kitchen units is something different and it's up to you how you spend the settlement. If it's not a cash settlement, then the insurer will only reinstate as required with their contractor.

I don't know of any legal obligation for the landlord to share any policy benefit with a tenant; unless the insurer prescribes in contract how the money must be spent - check your own policy details.

However, I'd argue there is a moral obligation to let the tenant know there is financial compensation for disturbance. The money is there to offset against their inconvenience.... Read More

Hi Barbara

It's difficult to comment without knowing the details of the insurance you had in place. How they treat malicious damage and claims depends on the company and the circumstances.

I understand why the insurer says lifestyle choice and then puts it down to wear and tear. Have you tried holding the deposit?

If I took the above as malicious damage then in most cases, the cover will be capped at £10k. If uninhabitable then I would expect loss of rent to kick in until it is made right. However, in your case, the only malicious damage accepted was the boiler and therefore the majority of the delay may be for repairing the wear and tear.

It's a terrible position to be in; and one I myself am currently in with a property I own myself. I didn't see a claim personally and so far spent £6k repairing the property. It's taught me more about agents and the importance of regular visits than anything else to this point.

I digress...your renewal price is high, happy to see if we can reduce that for you if you wish to get a quote and we will do what we can to help.

https://thehomeinsurer.co.uk/property-118-landlord-insurance/... Read More

Hi oi2004as

Whatever you think, you need to answer the question. If it asks: "Have you had any claims in the last 5-years", which is a common question, then you need to answer yes.

What normally happens is they ask the nature of the claim and when you disclose RGI, they will then normally disregard it - but all insurers are different and some may take it into account.

Simply answer the question exactly as it is asked, don't try to interpret it. It's not your job to tell the underwriter what is relevant.

This may knock out quotes from a lot of price comparison sites or make price comparison more expensive, so maybe call and talk to a trusted provider or broker and you should get a competitive quote, with correctly disclosed claims.

I hope this helps.... Read More

Hi Jonathan

The Home Insurer has taken on most of the landlord new business and renewals in the last 12-24 months. Please do visit our website and click on the Feefo link for our independent client reviews: www.thehomeinsurer.co.uk, or call to have a chat about any insurance needs on 01832-735388.... Read More

Hi Roger
If the fire claim is ongoing, then you will struggle to get a new insurer to take it on. Any further claims will potentially end up in contested liability - was the damage existing or prior?
In these cases it is best to stay with your existing insurer until the claim is complete. If they are not offering you renewal, then we may be able to get terms elsewhere but the price scale will be totally different to what you were paying previously; you will need a specialist policy.
If the claim is settled, then I'm surprised you are struggling to get cover. Maybe there is something to do with the circumstances that is putting underwriters off?
Either way, if you would like to chat it through or try us for a quote, always happy to help a Property 118 reader - please call 01832-735388.... Read More

Thanks, Steve, really appreciate the endorsement and glad Doug was able to help!... Read More

Hi Steve

Yes, please see here: https://thehomeinsurer.co.uk/about-the-home-insurer/

Let me know if anything I can assist with?... Read More

Hi Julia

Short term rentals/Air BNB can be insured no issues. Without any AST it can be deemed a short term commercial holiday home. Prices for insurance tend to be a little higher than standard let but otherwise straightforward. If we can help any further, do call 01832-735388 and speak to us, we'd be happy to help.... Read More

Hi DSR

The devil will be in the detail of the tenancy agreement reference who pays what. However, anything structural on the building that you own is normally your responsibility and for you to insure, repair and maintain.

As the tenant has no ownership of the building, it would not be usual for him to pay the insurance - that is your cost protecting your asset.

I would suggest you speak with your insurer's claims line, explain what has happened and see if the £250 can be reclaimed or not as part of the overall claim.

It is your policy, so you are liable to pay the excess; the tenant is not the insured party and has no financial interest in the property.

Moving forward, however you structure the costs and tenancy is up to you, but the insurance should be in your name as you are the owner of the building. If the tenant insures in his name, then with no insurable interest, it could easily be worthless in a claim.

I do hope this helps.

Best

Jason... Read More

Hi Hitesh

With the information you have provided above I would suggest:

1: AGEAS as the insurer is within its rights to cancel a policy mid-term if new information previously undisclosed comes to light.

2: You 100% told your broker. What you told them should be noted in your statement of fact or schedule. The insurance is based fully on the written documents and it is your responsibility to read these and agree them. If it is on there then the broker did disclose correctly to AGEAS. If not, then the broker will say it is your responsibility to read documents and ensure the cover is appropriate and as per your needs.

3: The relationship you describe above is 'sub-letting' in insurance terms. We have providers that can cope with that but many of the big providers will not permit it.

4: I suspect AGEAS has not moved from its position but once it realised you were sub-letting did the right thing and advised your policy was not appropriate. You have done the right thing placing cover elsewhere, ensuring the subletting arrangement is noted on the statement of fact or schedule and permitted within the wording.

5: I'm not sure what you would be hoping to gain by taking any legal action? Ultimately the paperwork should have been shown to you at quotation and then you accepted it. It is your responsibility the paperwork is correct and offers the cover you need.

Appreciate it may be frustrating but if you have a correct policy with the cover you need in place now and you received a pro-rata refund, I struggle to see what may be gained by legal action now.

Do let me know if I can help any further.... Read More

Hi Carole

Fire and loss of rent is normally an insured peril.

Landlord Insurance normally requires an AST to be in place.

If your AST actively contracts to reduce your insurance cover, then an insurer may try to use that to repudiate a claim. Certainly first time I've heard of this in the UK if that is so.

I'd feel disappointed by the agent and insurance company in your situation and suggest you speak to their complaints departments and then the Ombudsman if not satisfied.

I hope this helps and if I can assist any further, let me know.... Read More