Flat Insurance

There are a number of variables in the ownership of a flat that makes insurance somewhat trickier and involved than many other types of property insurance. Flats, for example, may be:

• owned on a freehold basis, with the owner of each flat in any one building having a share in the collective freehold;
• owned on a leasehold basis, with annual ground rent and a management charge (usually including a contribution to the cost of building insurance) paid to the owner of the freehold;
• occupied by you and your family as your principal place of residence;
• occupied by you and your family on an occasional basis as a second or holiday home; or
• let to tenants from whom you earn an income from rents.

Each variable has an impact of the kind of flat insurance you may need and, since it may prove a challenge to determine just what kind that is, here at UKinsuranceNET we make it our business to offer the advice you need and arrange the insurance appropriate to those needs.

Why do you need flat insurance?

Whether you have bought the lease or freehold to your flat, it is likely to represent a significant financial investment and one which you need to safeguard. Flat insurance offers probably the best way of doing just that.

The structure and fabric of the building which houses your flat needs to be protected against such diverse risks as fire, storm damage, smoke damage, escape of water, impacts, vandalism and theft. Flat insurance may also extend to any contents you own.

As the property owner, you also have a duty of care towards neighbours, visitors and members of the public who may suffer an injury or have their property damage as a result of contact with the flat you own. Claims arising from your alleged breach of that duty of care may assume very considerable proportions and the public liability cover typically included in flat insurance may be at least £1 million.

If your flat is let to tenants, this duty of care is all the more important and landlord liability insurance is necessary to safeguard you against claims from any tenant or visitor who is injured or has their property damaged as a result of your alleged negligence.

If the flat is let to tenants your flat insurance may also include provision for the loss of rental income you suffer following an insured risk which leaves the accommodation temporarily uninhabitable.

What you need to know when buying cover

If you own the lease of the flat, insurance is typically arranged by the freeholder and a proportion of the costs included in your payment of annual charges.

You need to know whether that is the case and, if so, the extent of insurance arranged on your behalf by the freeholder. You need to know what is covered and what is excluded under the terms of any such insurance.

If your flat is let to tenants, it is imperative that you check the terms of the building’s insurance to make certain that letting is permitted.

Why choose us?

It is pretty clear, therefore, that flats come in all shapes, sizes, and forms of tenure. At UKinsuranceNET we have expertise and experience in arrange insurance for them all