Jason McClean - The Home Insurer

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