Insurance
Downloads
Insurance (PDF, 267K) Insurance policy letter (PDF, 69KB) Summary of insurance cover (PDF, 68.3KB) Policy document (PDF, 156KB) Adobe PDF reader (free) How to claim and get help in an emergency (PDF, 593KB)This section contains information about insurance. Insurance protects your home and your belongings against any damage or theft. Unexpected incidents can happen, and by having insurance cover you will minimise the costs that you could face if things go wrong.
You can also download a leaflet in the box to the right which tells you about:
- contents insurance
- buildings insurance
- other types of insurance
- how to make a claim
Building insurance
Under the terms of your lease, we normally insure the structure of your building against major accidents or disasters, such as:
- Fires and lighting
- Explosions and earthquakes
- Impacts (such as from an aircraft)
- Riots, civil commotions and malicious acts
- Theft
- Storms, flooding and overflowing water tanks and pipes
- Oil escaping from fixed heating installations
- Subsidence, landslips and heave
Damage caused by the following incidents are not covered by our policy:
- Wear and tear
- Wet or dry rot, rust or corrosion
- Vermin, insects, damp or mildew
- Storms or flood damage to hedges, patios, paths and rivers
- Collapses from faulty design, workmanship or materials
- Pressure waves from aircraft travelling at or above the speed of sound
- Contamination by radioactivity
- Wars or acts of terrorism.
Your home will not be covered if there has been a landslip or heave which has been caused by the coast or river wearing away the land.
You can download a summary of the cover provided by our insurers from the box on the right of this page.
How do I make a claim on my building insurance?
If you need to make a claim on your building insurance, please contact our insurers, Zurich on 01252 387 249 or in an emergency on 0800 028 0336.
Our insurers will then decide if your claim is covered by the policy, and will tell you how to proceed. You will often need to get a quote from at least two reputable builders, or you can ask Zurich to use their own approved contractor, who will then visit your property and carry out the work that is needed.
If the claim is the result of criminal damage, you must report the crime to the police as our insurers will not accept your claim without a crime reference number.
What if my claim is urgent?
Sometimes ‘emergency’ work can be carried out straight away and a claim can be made later. This may be when your home needs to be made safe, such as after a break-in or water damage.
If you need to contact the insurers in an emergency, please phone 0800 0280 336.
If you pay for any emergency work, you must make sure you get a receipt. You can claim for the cost of the work later as long as the damage is covered by the policy.
If you can, you should contact the insurers directly first of all to get their permission to go ahead and have the repairs carried out. Zurich may suggest you use their approved contractor and may offer to make arrangements for the contractor to visit you and carry out the works. This may be the quickest and most convenient way of dealing with an emergency. However, you do not have to use Zurich's contractor, especially if there is another you would rather use. Please be aware that Zurich may well limit what they pay to what they think is a reasonable cost of getting the works done. So if you find you have overpaid for the works, you may not be fully reimbursed.
Do I need to pay an ‘excess’?
An 'excess' is the amount you are expected to pay yourself when you make a claim. In this case, you will need to pay an excess of £50 for each loss when you make a claim. However, if the damage is caused by subsidence, landslip or heave, the excess will be £1,000 for each loss. As a homeowner you will need to pay the excess directly to our insurers or their appointed contractor from your funds. If you have paid for work to be completed and need to be reimbursed by the insurer then the excess will be deducted from the settlement.
Remember: it could take several weeks for Zurich to deal with your claim. You may therefore have to pay for the repair work to be done before you get money from the insurance policy.