Posts Tagged ‘Home And Contents Insurance’
Home Insurance. Flood Alert
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors warns that if you can’t get insurance for your house, you’re in big trouble. Mortgage lenders won’t lend on houses that are uninsurable and as a result its value could fall by up to 80%.
It’s a high flood risk that’s most likely to make your house uninsurable. According to a recent survey, 6.5 million homes are already at risk from flooding of which 1.5 million are in high risk areas. The government has completed flood defences in many such areas and protection for a further 80,000 homes is due this year. But concerns have also been expressed about a further 120,000 new homes planned for the Thames Gateway which are potentially in a high “at risk” zone. Yet many areas remain vulnerable. And if global warming continues, by 2030, the 1.5 million at risk could mushroom 3.5 million. Back in 2003 the Association of British Insurers (ABI) agreed the principles which committed UK insurers to offering home and contents insurance for properties in areas which are assessed to be at a flooding risk once in seventy five years or more. The rider was that the flood defences had to be already in place or would be completed by the end of 2007.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has the responsibility of developing and maintaining these flood defences but within the insurance industry there’s widespread concern that insufficient progress is being made. As a result the insurers have has warned the government that there could be widespread withdrawal of insurance cover if progress is stepped up.
In the mean time, those in areas threatened by flood water could find their insurance premiums soaring. Whilst the insurance industry agreed to provide insurance cover, their commitment was simply to maintain premiums at “reasonable” levels. But there was no definition of what “reasonable” means. As a result premium increases of 60% have been common with up 400% increases in bad areas. In a tiny number of cases, cover has been withdrawn altogether, mostly in country areas where DEFRA considers the cost of defending a cluster of a few homes to be uneconomic.
Environmentalists warn that unless DEFRA gets it’s skates on, the UK ’s current bill for flood damage could rise from £950 million a year, to £3.2 billion. After all, the average insurance claim for household flood damage is £30,000 – that’s even higher than fire damage. And localised events like the 2004 flood at Boscastle, Cornwall , can cost the insurers over £15 million.
If you are in any doubt whether your home or proposed home, is in a flood risk area, you should visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk. This is DEFRA’s web site where you can check whether they think your home is at risk of flooding. Their maps were originally designed for planning purposes and provide information on a post-code basis.
Whilst many insurers use the DEFRA information, others like More Than, have their own flood maps. These assess homes individually rather than post code areas. This means that if your existing insurer increases your premium for flood risk and uses the DEFRA information, you may still be able to get a cheaper rate from an insurer using it’s own flood data if its data identifies that your property is beyond the “at risk” zone.
The ABI has recently added to the pressure on DEFRA to accelerate the building and upgrading of flood defences. It has warned that unless the government increases its spending on flood defences, the insurance industry may not continue their commitment to the 2003 principles.
That would be bad news for many homeowners.
Tags: Association Of British Insurers, Environment Food, Flood Defences, Flood Risk, Flood Water, High Risk, Home And Contents, Home And Contents Insurance, Institution Of Chartered Surveyors, Insufficient Progress, Insurance Flood, Insurance Industry, Insurance Premiums, Mortgage Lenders, Risk Areas, Royal Institution Of Chartered Surveyors, Rural Affairs, Thames Gateway, Tiny Number, Uk InsurersRelated posts
Home And Contents Insurance. Poor Maintenance Can Invalidate Your Cover.
Most home and contents insurance claims proceed smoothly, except perhaps for occasional disagreements about how much something was worth. But another re-occurring difficulty is where damage is due to poor building maintenance. The homeowner has a duty of care and the insurers take a dim view of claims that the homeowner could, and should have, avoided. AS a result insurers may scale down or even reject your claim.
To avoid such problems you should give your house an annual Maintenance MOT. A springtime check would be good. By carrying out just a few simple checks, it should be possible to find problems at an early stage.
Rain, wind, snow and frost place some of the biggest day-to-day strains on the structure of your home. Consequently, most homes develop a few problems in the autumn and winter months, so a springtime check can save much time and expense further down the line.
It’s not as if you’ll be paying money that you could claim later on an insurance claim. Indeed, any costs you claim that were really a maintenance issue, will be rejected by your insurance company.
Here’s our 10 point springtime MOT for your home:
• Clean out the gutters. Autumn can be especially hard on gutters as lots of debris can accumulate. That must be removed. Blocked gutters and down spouts can quickly cause enormous damage if water is left to overflow and penetrate the structure. But please be careful with this job. Working up ladders is dangerous so why not get your window cleaner to do the job!
• Now get your binoculars out and check the roof. Search for cracked, loose or slipped tiles. A leaking roof can result in costly damage. Ceiling damage, rot, redecoration can quickly swallow up money. Then there’s the a safety issue. If a tile slips off, someone could be badly injured. Even your car could take a direct hit!
• Check out your exterior paintwork. Any cracked, peeling, or blistered paintwork needs attention. Touch it up to preserve the wood from damage. Summer time can be surprisingly hard on paintwork. High temperatures and big temperature changes create expansion and contraction cracks ready to let in the following winter to do its worst.
• If you’ve heavily used an open fire during the winter, get the chimney swept. Heavy build-ups of soot can easily catch fire and during the summer the soot absorbs damp.
• Take a walk around the house and make sure that nothing is covering over the damp course. Pilled up garden rubbish is the most common offender. Grass cuttings are not your home’s best friend! If damp gets past the damp course your walls inside will get damp resulting in damaged to plasterwork decoration. Over time, rot will set in.
• When you are planting shrubs and trees you need to ensure that their roots are not going to cause future damage. If roots penetrate your drains or get into your foundations you’re in for horrendous bills. Willow and Popular trees are some of the worst offenders. Are you aware that you shouldn’t have a Popular tree within 150 feet of your property? If a new house is built within this distance, it has to have specially reinforced foundations!
• Whilst on the subject of trees, you probably think that your buildings insurance will cover damage caused by falling trees. Yes they will - if the tree was well maintained. But what happens if the tree was rotten or already damaged? Yep, you’ve guessed it, that’s a maintenance issue. You’re liable! Unless you can show that you took reasonable care of the trees, the insurer can refuse any subsequent claim. If have big trees you could have big problems. You are advised to get an annual report from a tree surgeon detailing any work that is needed – and don’t forget to carry it out and keep the paperwork! Such action demonstrates that you have taken due care and therefore, any related claim will be accepted.
• Do you have any climbing plants on the house? Check out that they haven’t caused damage to your brickwork or render. Ivy is the biggest offender. And never let climbing plants get onto your roof – that’s a recipe for disaster!
• Now go inside your house. Remember to have your central heating boiler serviced – it’s been a hard winter! And get its carbon monoxide emissions checked. Whilst the engineer’s there, also get him to give your radiators the once over.
• Finally, up into the loft. Check for signs of leaks and rodent damage to the wiring. Squirrels love warm lofts and they love the insulation around wiring! The fire brigade hate squirrels! And a dirty job. Whilst you there, remove any old bird or wasp nests and block up the openings.
Take these steps and you’re unlikely to run into a problem with any structural insurance claim. Your home will also love you!
Tags: Annual Maintenance, Autumn And Winter, Building Maintenance, Costly Damage, Dim View, Duty Of Care, Enormous Damage, Frost Place, Home And Contents, Home And Contents Insurance, Insurance Claim, Insurance Claims, Leaking Roof, Maintenance Issue, Occasional Disagreements, Poor Maintenance, Rain Wind, Redecoration, Springtime, Stage Rain