The House Insurance Policy Explained

The buildings insurance product has two variations and the price that you pay varies according to the options that you choose.

The policies can be categorized into standard cover and accidental damage (or all risks). If you purchase standard cover, you have to compare any loss you have with the list of 'peril's that you are insured for. If you can't match the cause of the loss to one of the listed perils, you have no valid claim on that policy. The 'onus of proof' is with you. That means it is you that has to prove the cause of loss is covered.

If you have an accidental damage policy, you then have an 'all risks' type of cover. By choosing this style of policy you are covered for any and every possible type of loss, apart from those listed in the policy exclusions. With this style of product The 'onus of proof' rests with your insurer. That means that they have to prove that you are not covered against that risk.

Standard Cover
You should be able to find in the policy document a list of perils covered together with a list of exclusions that apply only to that risk. A typical policy could look something like this:
- Fire, Smoke, Lightning, Earthquake, Explosion - excluding damage caused gradually
- Aircraft plus articles or parts dropped from them
- Impact by animals, vehicles or falling trees or branches - apart from damage caused by lopping or felling trees
- Theft or attempted theft - apart from losses that occur if the property left empty for over 30 days or left unfurnished or caused by a lodger or tenant or paying guest.
- Malicious Persons - the same exclusions as for theft
- Burst Pipes - some exclude frozen pipes, others include it
- Flood or Storm - excludes damage by frost and damage by storm to fences, gates and hedges
- Riot, Strikes, Political Disturbances, Civil Commotion or Labour Unrest
- Leakage of Oil
- Satellite dishes, Television Aerials, Radio receiving aerials, Mast breakage or collapse
- Subsidence - A very tricky subject that needs a whole article all to itself

Let's run through each of these in more detail.

FIRE - Provided that there has been actual flames then there shouldn't be a problem. Smoke damage caused by the fire is also covered. You certainly can't claim for the discolouration to your fixtures and fittings caused by the continual smoking of cigarettes and so on. That is not an accident, it is something that you chose to do. Hence the exclusion. There are further exceptions to the rule that there must be ignition but they differ greatly from one insurer to the next, so you should check them carefully in your policy.

LIGHTNING STRIKES - you are fully covered against any damage to your building caused by a lightning strike. If lightning hits your aerial, sorry but that is a claim on your contents policy! Although aerials are detailed as an insured risk, they are not part of the definition of a building. They do appear in contents. So aerial damage constitutes a contents claim. It's the same story with earthquakes and explosions. Fortunately these are relatively rare here in the UK.

AIRCRAFT - This covers anything dropped from just about anything that flies. Again, luckily for us, an extremely rare happening.

IMPACT - The idea is that if your home is hit by a vehicle or a wild animal, you are covered. Concerning trees, if you have hired a tree surgeon to fell or manicure a tree, you need to make sure that every care is taken to prevent it falling onto your house (or out buildings). Whenever you have an outside contractor doing this type of job, and they cause damage to your property, then you are entitled to seek payment for the damage from them. However your home insurance policy will still exclude this damage so you cannot claim from your insurer.

THEFT - Cover is very wide, in other words the exclusions do not take much away from you. Whenever your home is left empty for any length of time (e.g. over 30 days), then cover is reduced as it is seen as a juicier target for thieves. In fact, if your home is left unoccupied or unfurnished you should inform your insurer anyway! Similarly with a tenant or lodger. The likelihood of the tenant or lodger being involved in the crime is such that your insurer does not want to insure against that particular risk, hence the exclusion. And again, if you are doing this, you should inform your insurer.

MALICIOUS PERSONS - This is much the same as the exclusions relating to theft.

BURST PIPES - The insurance companies attitude on this has gradually changed over the years for the better. A good insurer will pay for any leak, from any pipe, tank or water apparatus, even where it has been leaking over a period of time. Some companies will also now include damage caused by the defrosting of frozen pipes. When I began my career in this industry, it was strictly the case that the burst pipe was not covered, only the water damage caused by the pipe bursting. Where there is clear evidence that the pipe has failed due to rust then your insurer might still invoke this argument. If a nail makes a hole in a pipe, say whilst having a carpet fitted, then you will require accidental damage cover for the repair to the pipe but the water damage to your house resulting from the leak is covered under this risk.

STORM OR FLOOD - The definition of a storm varies from one insurance company to the next - check your policy. Damage from frost is excluded although damage caused by snow is covered. A common disappointment is that damage caused to hedges, gates and fences is not covered. Some fences seem to blow down with the lightest gust of wind! I have seen at least one insurer offering additional cover, at a premium, for storm damage to these items.

RIOT, CIVIL COMMOTION etc. - Again, it is rare for these to damage to your home, but should it happen, you have cover in place. In some circumstances, your insurance company will have a right to recover their costs from the police force.

LEAKAGE OF OIL - For those with oil fired boilers, any damage to your house caused by oil leakage is covered.

TELEVISION, SATELLITE AERIALS - As mentioned above, your home is protected if any receiving aerial collapses and causes damage. But the items themselves are defined as contents and therefore they are not included in your home insurance policy.

Article Source: http://www.myaddirectory.com

This article detailing the different clauses of a buildings insurance policy was written by Terry Cod. He has many years of experience working as a claims adjuster with a number of UK insurance companies. His website www.instant-online-insurance.co.uk offers cheap uk motorcycle insurance with online quotes and secure online payment.

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