Press Article
METRO - 27 October, 2011
Home insurance
By Jo Eccles
Trick or treating on Halloween is often regarded as harmless fun, but interestingly, research carried out by one of the UK’s biggest insurance companies revealed that the seven days between 30th October and 5th November are the worst week of the year for malicious damage claims on home insurance policies – apparently, on 31st October, the number of claims is 270% higher than on an average day.
Whilst intentional damage claims are unavoidable, this has brought to my attention the different types of home insurance policies and the things that affect them – something which is often overlooked. Insurance policy details are usually overlooked because people are just simply unaware that certain factors may affect the validity of their insurance. One major issue with home insurance is when buying or selling a property. Purchasers often forget that as soon as they exchange on a property (i.e. when they’ve put down 10% of the property value), but before they’ve completed (when they get the keys) they’re responsible for insuring the property. A house will need to be insured immediately, but a flat on the other hand, will already have building insurance in place.
With lettings, renting out your home usually invalidates your home insurance, meaning that your insurance policy doesn’t cover any damage caused by the tenant. So, if you are renting out your home, make sure you notify your insurance company to ensure you’re still covered. This also applies to home makeovers – the TV shows which feature people doing up their homes often fail to point out the practicalities which will impinge on your home insurance - as soon as you let builders into your home to make alterations (maintenance doesn’t count), your policy is often void.
We always advise our clients carrying out renovation projects on the property we’ve bought them to obtain specific insurance cover for empty properties. Finding companies who will actually pay out if they need to can be incredibly difficult - you usually have to turn to specialist brokers to do so. A lot of people simply overlook this and believe one type of home insurance will cover all.
Another reason to check your cover is when scaffolding is used. I have recently had scaffolding put up on the building where I live, and even though my lovely first floor sash windows aren’t easy to access, anyone could suddenly walk outside by climbing onto the scaffolding. Most insurance companies insist on window locks with keys when scaffolding goes up, rather than a security clasp.
So, with this in mind, before setting off to that Halloween party, perhaps it’s worth having a quick check of your home insurance policy to avoid any nasty surprises!