Property Works

If you are doing any kind of in depth works or renovation to a property, you will probably know that you cannot simply insure it on an ordinary household insurance policy and hope you are covered. Even with unoccupied property insurance, finding a company to give you more than basic FLEEA cover may also be difficult. Understandably, if you are pouring a lot of your own money into improving your property you may want to cover yourself a little more comprehensively. In the unhappy event that something else besides fire, lightning, aircraft, earthquake or explosion causes damage to your property, you do not want to find yourself paying for replacement materials and work that’s already been done.

Why do insurers limit cover to FLEEA?

There is a lot of scope for damage being done during a contract, and a property insurance company has no power over who does what work on your building, so they limit their liability by limiting the cover provided.

What can I do about covering my property more fully?

The majority of building contractors will have their own public liability insurance in place to cover themselves against damage caused by their mistakes, usually for an amount of £2,000,000, which is more than adequate to pay for repairs to most properties. It is also common practice within the trade to produce a schedule of insurance as proof of cover when asked, so do not be afraid to ask to see a copy.

Another type of insurance cover available to builders is contract works insurance. Liability cover will only cover a claim where a builder has caused damage or injury through negligence, so if an external force causes this, your builder will not be liable, and a claim won’t be paid. Contract works cover offers more than this, as it will cover the building for loss and damage to the materials used and the labour paid for, up to the point where the building project is finished and can again be insured under a normal property insurance policy.

What if I'm doing the building works myself?

Some insurance companies also offer a type of contract works cover for private individuals called a self build insurance policy. These policies usually have many cover options available to suit your specific needs, such as liability covers to protect you and anyone you may employ, plant cover, tools cover and more. Generally, self build insurance policies are far more involved projects for people with a lot of in depth knowledge of building and the planning and the legal and management issues that go with it.

FAQ's

I have bought some land with a property on it that I intend to demolish, but I have been told I still have to insure it?

Yes, this is true. You will need a property owner's liability insurance policy. This is to cover you in the event of injury, death or damage to individuals or their property on or adjacent to your property, for example, if a tile fell off the roof of the property and injured someone. In order to reduce the risk of injury or damage occurring, and therefore the probability of a claim being made, insurers will normally stipulate that the property must be secured to prevent unauthorised entry and kept in a good state of repair.