A Rough Guide to Unoccupied Property Insurance

In this month's edition, we explore the option of Unoccupied Property Insurance and how it could help you if your home or property is left empty for a period of time. 

We also take a look at why senior executives feel they are in greater danger of facing liability claims, there's news on a new post-Brexit insurance agreement recently signed with Switzerland and we list the common lies that drivers frequently use when renewing or applying for car insurance. 

A Rough Guide to Unoccupied Property Insurance

 

Unoccupied property insurance can offer vital cover for your home, for a myriad of circumstances. Differing from vacant property insurance, it offers protection if your home is broken into or damaged or vandalised when not occupied. Here, we’ll break down the reasons for its use and how it could help you:

What is an unoccupied property?
Typically, a property would be deemed to be unoccupied if it was left empty for 30 days or more. Unoccupied property insurance typically comes into play if you know that your property won’t have any inhabitants, be they renters or owners living there for an extended period.

How does it differ from vacant property insurance?
Unoccupied property insurance is used for properties that still have possessions in it, which could be personal belongings or furniture, for example. A property would be deemed vacant if no one lived there and it was empty of possessions, whilst conversely, it would fall into the bracket of being unoccupied if it contains items used to live (utensils, household appliances, beds etc).

Under what circumstances could I need it?
This is where the product’s flexibility comes into play. Unoccupied property insurance could be used in a number of situations. For example, if you’re taking an extended trip somewhere, if the property is a holiday or second home, if you’re renovating or moving house and haven’t completed a sale on your previous home and even if you’re a landlord in between tenants.

What can it cover against?
Unoccupied property insurance can be used to help cover the cost of water leakage, break-ins, vandalism both inside and out or even natural disasters.

Aren’t these things typically covered by a normal house insurance policy?
No. Your standard home insurance policy isn’t designed to cover any damage or problems with your home if it’s been left unoccupied for an extended period of time, so if you know that your home won’t have any dwellers for a set period, it’s certainly better to have this cover in place.

To find out more about what unoccupied property can do for you, whether your property is used personally or commercially, please contact us.

Senior executives 'feeling at greater risk' of liability claims

 

A new study conducted by QBE Business Insurance has revealed that senior executives are more at risk and vulnerable to liability claims. Surveying 2,500 business owners and senior members with a wide range of industry experience from across the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, the study analysed the potential impact of an increase in responsibility and focussed on execs with an average of six years of experience.

The findings, reported by Insurance Business UK, offered the following:
• 70% have noted an increase in their role’s remit and responsibilities over the past twelve months
• 34% feel that senior management accountability has increased
• 23% have had a claim made against them at least once during their time in a senior role
• 32% were concerned about having a claim made against them in the future

What we can garner from this is that senior managers and executives across the continent are all feeling more and more aware of the potential for claims to be made against them as a result of the shifting nature of their role.

“Senior executives are more exposed now than ever to liability claims arising from omissions and decisions made while acting in such capacity,” offered QBE’s management liability manager, Carly Eveniss.

“While this is in large part due to the expanding remit of their roles and external pressures like increased regulation, it is also symptomatic of a shifting culture whereby senior executives are increasingly seen as legitimate targets for legal action as disgruntled parties seek the right to have recourse to the party they deem responsible.”

To discuss our liability packages and see how we could help you to cope in your senior role, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

Switzerland the latest to sign post-Brexit agreement with UK

 

The United Kingdom and Switzerland have signed an insurance agreement to allow the countries to continue to trade after Britain leaves the EU. Given the current tense state of negotiations in Parliament at present, this could come into effect on March 29th, the original date for leaving the European Union, or after, depending on when the exit occurs.

Regardless, news of this agreement with the Swiss insurance sector offers some welcome encouragement that the industry can continue to function once Brexit is finalised.

Chancellor Philip Hammond offered the following on the news: “The UK insurance industry contributes approximately £35bn to our economy and employs over 324,000 people. Links to financial industries like the Swiss insurance market are important for global financial systems and it’s vital that trade continues between our two countries so firms have the certainty they need to continue to do business and invest in the UK’s bright future.”

Tulsi Naidu, chief executive of Zurich Insurance UK commented: “This is a pragmatic and pleasing development to come from the chancellor and his Swiss counterpart.

“It’s a welcome step, ensuring that straight forward trade can continue between our globally-important financial markets – one we welcome as a Swiss-based insurer that has been trading in the UK for over 100 years.”

The news comes after the Association of British Insurers (ABI) called on Prime Minister Theresa May to avoid the dreaded No-Deal scenario after the Conservative leader’s original Brexit deal was soundly rejected and comprehensively defeated by Parliament in January. After the UK and US signed a similar deal in December, news of another important insurance trader committing to keeping business running, as usual, is welcome news for the industry.

The common lies that cost drivers when it comes to car insurance

 

We’ve all been guilty of telling the odd white lie to make some circumstances easier, whether to spare a loved one’s feelings or to avoid a sticky situation in our personal lives.

We can strongly advise that lying on your insurance is almost certainly not the way to go, however. Go Compare have released a set of the most commonly used lies by customers when purchasing car insurance and we can personally confirm that a small fib on any of these questions is likely to cause you real problems when making a claim.

Your job
It might seem odd to lie about your occupation in an effort to lower the cost of your insurance, but your job does have an effect on how costly your premium will be. Even so, it’s not worth the potential hassle or problems that can come with offering false information to your insurer.

Past damage or claims
Whilst it’s inherently important to notify your insurer of any major incidents or accidents that you’ve experienced, it’s also key to make sure that you declare any minor dents or knocks, even in the event that you didn’t make a claim. It’s vital for insurers to get a full picture of any damage that your car has suffered in order to help them make the right decisions when it comes to processing claims; failure to do so can make that process far more difficult.

Previous convictions or points
Past driving offences and penalty points have to be declared, both during your policy and when applying for a new one. Failing to disclose both of these to your insurer can land you in hot water and could see your policy become invalidated, or even cancelled.

Car use
This is one of the most common fibs told by drivers; how the car will be used during the term of their policy. Depending on how your car will be used, whether that’s for social, social and commuting or business use is key as it will decree how you will be charged. For instance, those using their vehicle for social and commuting use will typically expect to pay more due typically using the road during peak periods.

Fronting
Plenty of parents will arrange for their child to be listed as an additional driver on their policy to lower their premium, but the person who uses the car the most must be named as the main driver. Assign your child as an additional driver when they will, in fact, be using the vehicle the most is known as fronting, which insurers consider to be fraud. Again, to save a bit of money, it’s simply not in your best interests to do so.

We all understand the need to keep an eye on your finances, but these practices are proven to cause problems for drivers when they try to make a claim. Make sure that you truthfully represent yourself when sorting out your policy and save yourself some major bother down the road!

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