Specialist Types of Insurance
When it comes to home insurance there is not a 'one size fits all' option. Different types of people will require varying levels and types of cover.
In part six of our guide we will look at some of the other aspects of home insurance.
Student possession insurance
Students are seen in a completely different light to regular home owners and tenants largely due to them being perceived as being more vulnerable to theft.
Students living in halls of residence or in shared accommodation are likely to have a lot of unsecured possessions. This can range from laptops, games consoles, iPods, mobile phones and more. They are also perceived to be away from their student residence for long periods of time, whether this is whilst at university or between term times.
As well as covering for the standard fire, flood, vandalism, theft and accidental damage a student contents insurance policy will cover their high-risk and high-value items that they hold most dear to them.
Cover is available for items that are frequently taken away from the home and bicycle's can also be covered under a policy.
Some items may also be covered under the policy of a students parents. It is worth checking this as it will avoid paying out for duplicate cover.
Self build insurance
For those of you who are handy with DIY work and are thinking about planning an extension, renovation, conversion or building a new home then self build insurance is for you.
When working on either one of these projects there will no doubt be a lot of money involved, therefore insuring yourself, the building and those around you is essential.
- Public liability insurance - If a member of the public was walking past the building site and were somehow injured as a direct result of your negligence, they could take you to court. This insurance cover will cover the cost of the claim.
- Employers liability insurance - If you are employing someone to help you out with the project, whether they are a friend or family member, then you legally have to have employer liability insurance. If your employee is hurt or killed during the building work this will protect you from the costs of going to court.
- Site risk insurance - This will protect the site you are working on from common incidents such as structural damage, fire, floods or storm damage. This will also protect all the tools and equipment that are being used on the project.
- Contractor/Supplier disputes - In the event that a dispute arises with a contractor about the quality of work or a supplier of materials, then this will cover the legal costs if the dispute was taken to court.
Listed buildings insurance
A listed building is a place of special interest and is acknowledged by the secretary of state and placed on a register. There are more than 500,000 listed buildings in the UK and as such they are worthy of special protection.
There are three different types of listed buildings, these are:
- Grade 1 - Buildings of an exceptional interest
- Grade 2 - Buildings that are considered important examples of special interest
- Grade 3 - Buildings of special interest
Buildings of any size or category can be listed for a number of reasons and are done so to protect them for future generations. It is because of this that the owner has a degree of responsibility to look after the building but also must get consent if any form of demolition, extension or alteration is required.
With all this is mind it is worth covering using a specialist insurer that covers the following:
- Reinstatement cover - The insurer would need to know how much it would cost to rebuilt the entire structure using like for like materials and building methods.
- Valuation - A proper valuation would be required from historic buildings experts.
- High net worth cover - A specialist insurer will cover buildings with a value of more than £250,000 and contents in excess of £75,000.
Holiday home insurance
If you own a holiday home chances are that you will only be staying there for short periods of time or may even be earning an income from it by letting it out.
A regular home insurance policy will not cover a holiday home as if you are away from the property for a set period of time this could invalidate your policy.
If you were to take out specialist holiday home insurance there would be no unoccupancy restrictions and it could include specialist cover for letting out your property, this would include rent guarantee insurance and public liability insurance.
When it comes to theft you will need to shop around as some companies require that minimum security requirements are met whilst others do not. Again depending on the country your holiday home is situated in you may not be covered for certain natural disasters where they are common.
Working from home
As the recession continues its bite more and more people are setting up a home business.
This can be anything from computer consultancy, teaching, physiotherapy, gardening and so much more. If your business requires you to have expensive, specialist equipment and/or you must employ other people then you will need to speak with your current insure about your options of specialist work from home insurance.
If you have any employee's, you will be required by law to insure their safety with employer liability insurance. This is so that in the event that any employee past or present wishes to take you to court for injury or disease you will be covered for the costs and any eventual payout.
The insurer will need to know the type and value of any stock you hold. This could be in the form of food goods or computers and servers.
In part seven of our guide we will take a look at ways in which you can reduce your home insurance premium.