House Insurance - Frequently Asked Questions
Clever Zebra knows that looking after a house can be stressful. We’re here to help take the stress out of your home insurance.
Here are some common questions people ask when they sort out their home insurance.
1. Do I need to arrange buildings insurance myself?
3. How do I ensure that my building’s ‘sum insured’ is correct?
4. How do I calculate my contents Insurance?
5. Can I still get insurance if I live in a subsidence prone area?
6. If I claim on my buildings insurance will my premium go up?
1. Do I need to arrange buildings insurance myself?
If you own a house: Yes! Your mortgage lender will normally insist on this. Of course, if you no longer have a mortgage this doesn’t apply.
If you own a flat: Check with your free-holder. A free-holder will usually arrange the buildings insurance for flats.
If you rent your home: No. The owner will arrange buildings cover. If you live in a council owned property, check with your council about buildings insurance.
The sum insured is the maximum amount you may claim on your policy. How to establish the correct sums insured for your buildings and contents are explained in the next two paragraphs.
3. How do I ensure that my building’s ‘sum insured’ is correct?
The market value of your property is not necessarily the ‘sum insured’. All insurers view the ‘sum insured’ as being the total cost of rebuilding the entire property in the event of a claim. This is referred to as the rebuilding cost. Clever Zebra recommends that you check your rebuilding cost by using the free table provided by the Association of British Insurers.
4. How do I calculate my contents Insurance?
It can be tricky to add up the value of the contents of your house – it’s easy to miss things out and end up significantly underestimating the value of your possessions. Clever Zebra recommends that you take one room at a time and then calculate the cost at today’s prices of each individual item within that room. It will be painstaking but well worth it for peace of mind.
5. Can I still get insurance if I live in a subsidence prone area?
Yes, but your premium and excess will be higher. Provided that repair work has been successful you should be able to get insurance even if your property has already been affected by subsidence.
6. If I claim on my buildings insurance will my premium go up?
Not necessarily. Your premium relates to the intensity of claims made by you and others around you. This means that the effect of your claim may not be as great as you might think.
7. I’ve got friends who live in houses almost identical to mine very close to me. Why are their rebuilding costs so much lower than mine?
Trying to work out why costs are different can be baffling, not to mention completely unfair! Two houses may look identical on the surface but the factors that contribute to the building costs can vary considerably. If you really are unsure, double check your friends’ rebuilding figures and make sure your rebuilding costs are insured accurately by considering the following factors:
· How is the structure of your house built?
· What are the labour costs in your area?
· What materials are needed for construction?
8. Rain has leaked through my roof and my insurers won’t pay out for it! The insurers are telling me that this is a result of wear and tear.
If the rain has come through your roof as a result of a heavy storm you have good reason to claim – your policy should cover you against natural disasters. However, if your roof is getting old and the leakage is simply due to a decline in its condition then the insurers are right that this is not what your insurance is for.
9. If I had a fire I’d just move to another house. Why should I have to spend money on insurance that will cover the rebuilding of my home?
The most common thing that happens when there is a house fire is that there is some part of the structure that is still standing – it is very rare that a house will be burnt to the ground. When this happens the local authority may force the owner of the house to finance the cost of keeping the structure standing or demolishing it entirely.
Unfortunately, either way, this costs a fortune! Faced with such a huge cost the Clever Zebra would be likely to gallop off over the horizon leaving nothing but a huge cloud of dust. Should these events ever arise Home Rebuilding Insurance will provide you with full cover.
10. When my furniture was damaged by fire I asked for cash rather than a replacement. Why won’t my insurer pay the full cost of replacement?
If you read your policy carefully you will find a clause stating that, if the insurer chooses to replace an item, they can negotiate a discount with the supplier. By turning down the offer of a replacement you may be offered the discounted amount that the insurer would have paid to the supplier.