Newbie ... public liability insurance ?? Confused !

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duncsuk
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 5:27 pm
Location: Cornwall

Newbie ... public liability insurance ?? Confused !

Post by duncsuk »

Hi,
We are in the process of arranging 'half' of our house as a holiday let, which includes a separate entrance, two bedrooms, lounge/diner, kitchen and bathroom. That area is connected to the other half of our house by an internal door. We live permanently in the house, which is our main (and only) residence.

We are considering advertising via one of the 'myholidaylet.com' online agencies and they have said we need public liability cover of £2M.

We currently have the 'usual' buildings & contents insurance, but on checking the policy, it does not allow letting, so we assume we'll need to either add public liability cover via a separate bolt-on policy (if that is possible?) or switch the whole policy to a company which provides the full cover we will need.

However, it really isn't that clear to us what is the minimum we need and who best to approach to arrange it, as it is just an annex of our house and not a second home, as such.

Any advice or guidance would be welcomed.

TIA
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Cymraes
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Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:31 pm
Location: North Wales

Post by Cymraes »

You really do need the liability cover - I carry £5m.

I'd start by speaking to your current insurer and see what they suggest. You are at risk of them not covering you at all even for the part you live in if they are not 100% aware that part of the property is let.

My own home is covered by Hiscox and they would almost certainly cover you in the circumstances you describe but there are plenty of others - this site is supported by a Schofields ad ( on my screen as I type) and I know plenty here use them.
zebedee
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Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: yorkshire dales

Post by zebedee »

Hello,
You need to speak with the specialist holiday insurance brokers who will be able to ensure you have the appropriate cover.

There is one listed above on this site, others include Boschers, NFU and a quick search of the site for insurance will give you other names that escape me.
duncsuk
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 5:27 pm
Location: Cornwall

Post by duncsuk »

Thanks for the replies. I now have a quote from Schofields :shock: ... premium over £550 !! Must have seen me coming.

My current insurance (= content £50K, unlimited building cost) is just over £100, so I am very surprised at uplift for public liability cover (£5M) and other bits and bobs. And the rebuild cost is limited to what I ask for.

Also, as it happens, I'm self-employed (Handyman) and have public liability cover (£1M) for my trade for just £60 per year. Unfortunately, I couldn't add on a new trade as 'holiday let' to that policy.

Are premiums really so high ??

I live in the lowest category risk area.

Awaiting a call back from NFU. Hopefully, they can be more competitive ?
zebedee
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Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: yorkshire dales

Post by zebedee »

I presume your premium is for contents and building? If so there are the re build costs etc which can vary depending upon your property.

Definitely shop around, you may get a better deal. Use the search facility on this forum like I suggested to get the name of other companies.

(Don't forget, your insurance will become a deductible expense for tax)
nealh
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Location: Cyprus
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Post by nealh »

We are insured via Intasure (if you use them go via the link in the top right corner as LMH/Paolo gets a commission at no extra cost to you) and had a shock when this years premium came through - nigh on an extra £200!!! As we have never (fortunately) had to claim I contacted them and haggled the price down. Apparently there has been an actuarial review of holiday let policies which is why renewals were so much more - not sure if that is BS or fact.

Glad to say that premium ended up only slightly more than last year so I would say it is worthwhile challenging a premium to try to get it reduced even once you have shopped around for the best deal.
Puffin Lodge Filey
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Post by Puffin Lodge Filey »

We have just had a quote £173.50 for contents and public liability of £5m for our two bedroom holiday home from Jelf Insurance. We don't need to insure the building as the property is leasehold.
Bunny
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Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:48 pm
Location: South of England

Post by Bunny »

We used to rent out our annexe which was attached to the main house. We had awful trouble finding a standard policy that would cover holiday lettings, without taking an additional specialist policy just covering the annexe. In the end, we found e-sure would cover it at very little extra premium. They just put a few exclusions on the policy that we were happy with.
duncsuk
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 5:27 pm
Location: Cornwall

Post by duncsuk »

Thanks for further ideas.

Unfortunately, esure declined to offer cover as it would be 'new business'. They only offer to extend cover for existing customers.

Schofields have a standard policy and cannot remove any clauses to reduce premiums, so I'd have to pay for, for example, 'accidents to domestic staff' !!

For the relatively modest income we are likely to get from the let, I start to whether it is all worthwhile. Anyway, more on my list to try .. not giving up just yet.
Giraffe
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Location: Cornwall, England

Post by Giraffe »

Part of this year's hike is due to the government's tax on insurance premiums. I also have a recollection that in the Autumn Statement the Chancellor added another tax increase for next financial year - 5%. Am I right?
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newtimber
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Post by newtimber »

duncsuk wrote: Schofields have a standard policy and cannot remove any clauses to reduce premiums, so I'd have to pay for, for example, 'accidents to domestic staff' !!
This seems sensible - if you can't manage to clean the property yourself for any reason and you need to get someone else to do it, then you're covered.
Bunny
Posts: 3387
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:48 pm
Location: South of England

Post by Bunny »

duncsuk wrote:Thanks for the replies. I now have a quote from Schofields :shock: ... premium over £550 !! Must have seen me coming.

My current insurance (= content £50K, unlimited building cost) is just over £100, so I am very surprised at uplift for public liability cover (£5M) and other bits and bobs. And the rebuild cost is limited to what I ask for.

Also, as it happens, I'm self-employed (Handyman) and have public liability cover (£1M) for my trade for just £60 per year. Unfortunately, I couldn't add on a new trade as 'holiday let' to that policy.

Are premiums really so high ??

I live in the lowest category risk area.

Awaiting a call back from NFU. Hopefully, they can be more competitive ?
My other detached 3 bedroom holiday cottage is with NFU. I pay around £288.00 per year. I've always found them very helpful, flexible and most importantly, they pay out without quibbling.
duncsuk
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 5:27 pm
Location: Cornwall

Post by duncsuk »

Well, after considerable research, long telephone conversations with companies/brokers, we seem to have finally found cover at a reasonable cost. The companies suggested above were all far too expensive (the highest quote I had was over £650 from NFU !!) and seem to really err on the side of caution based on our set-up ... where our house is split in two, with a (locked) connecting door.

The best quotes came via brokers, even taking into account their commission. It seems they can talk directly with underwriters to fine tune policies in line with our needs and best describe the actual arrangement of our property.

The best offer so far was via Intelligent Insurance (using Insurance company MIDAS) including 'Home Emergency' cover for £280 ... which seems a fair price for the cover offered (£1M buildings, £100K contents, no accidental damage, legal protection, £2M liability ...)

Personally, I feel some of the big names are taking advantage .. but that's just my humble view.
duncsuk
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 5:27 pm
Location: Cornwall

Post by duncsuk »

Well, after considerable research, long telephone conversations with companies/brokers, we seem to have finally found cover at a reasonable cost. The companies suggested above were all far too expensive (the highest quote I had was over £650 from NFU !!) and seem to really err on the side of caution based on our set-up ... where our house is split in two, with a (locked) connecting door.

The best quotes came via brokers, even taking into account their commission. It seems they can talk directly with underwriters to fine tune policies in line with our needs and best describe the actual arrangement of our property.

The best offer so far was via Intelligent Insurance (using Insurance company MIDAS) including 'Home Emergency' cover for £280 ... which seems a fair price for the cover offered (£1M buildings, £100K contents, no accidental damage, legal protection, £2M liability ...)

Personally, I feel some of the big names are taking advantage .. but that's just my humble view.
duncsuk
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 5:27 pm
Location: Cornwall

Post by duncsuk »

Well, after considerable research, long telephone conversations with companies/brokers, we seem to have finally found cover at a reasonable cost. The companies suggested above were all far too expensive (the highest quote I had was over £650 from NFU !!) and seem to really err on the side of caution based on our set-up ... where our house is split in two, with a (locked) connecting door.

The best quotes came via brokers, even taking into account their commission. It seems they can talk directly with underwriters to fine tune policies in line with our needs and best describe the actual arrangement of our property.

The best offer so far was via Intelligent Insurance (using Insurance company MIDAS) including 'Home Emergency' cover for £280 ... which seems a fair price for the cover offered (£1M buildings, £100K contents, no accidental damage, legal protection, £2M liability ...)

Personally, I feel some of the big names are taking advantage .. but that's just my humble view.
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