Guide to Apartment Building Insurance

Introduction - Many Owners and managers of residential blocks of flats are being advised to phone around to make sure that they obtain the best apartment building insurance deal and the right cover to suit their needs. Apartment building Insurance is certainly a specialist are of the market and many blocks simply do not bother to phone around for quotes as the the sheer effort in obtaining alternative quotes , then having to discuss all of the options with the other flat owners is very time consuming.

Managers and owners are being advised however that unless they review apartment building insurance arrangements on a regular basis, they could be failing in their duty which may open them to a compensation claim from another flat owner. Managing a block of flats can often be a thankless task and sometimes the pitfalls seem to out way the rewards. One of the reasons for a comprehensive overhaul, of your apartment building insurance arrangements is to ascertain if Directors & Officers Liability Insurance is in place.

Any one managing a block should consider that the flat owners buy this policy to protect the directors from claims from other flat owners. Any decisions made about the running of the block or any delayed or failure to act can open a director up to a claim for compensation. Directors and officers insurance for residential blocks of flats is no longer an expensive insurance policy and premiums can start from as low as £135.00 per annum for a £100,000 sum insured. This seems a small price to pay especially when you consider that the premium can be split by all the flats, not just those who are member of the flats management committee. It is anticipated that many owners or mangers of blocks of flats simply do not have the correct insurance in place, which is why speaking to a professional advisor who can ask the correct questions relating to each individual block can help calculate the correct apartment building insurance needs.

Often the biggest delay in obtaining a block of flats quotation relates to the supply of previous claims information . Any building insurance quotation for flats is going to be based on the previous claims record and often managers do not keep up to date details. This situation is made worse if individual flat owners are allowed to make claims directly from the policy.

 Management companies or owners that put in place a proper claims recording system and specify rules that have to be adhered to when making claims are often able to be obtain flats quotes much quicker as they have all the required information to hand. Please remember that you insurance broker will only send you your renewal notice 3 weeks prior to the renewal date and in this time, you will have to collate all the required information for a quote and possibly meet up to agree terms with the other flat owners.

If you are considering changing your insurance policy and are obtaining alternative quotes, make sure they are on a like for like basis. If you change companies to save premium and subsequently find out that your new policy has a very high excess, you will not be popular, especially from the flat owner that want s to make a claim.

Buildings Insurance polices for blocks of flats do vary from insurer to insurer and certainly larger blocks that employ staff such as porters, doorman, gardeners & general handymen will need to make sure that employers liability insurance is included as part of the blocks of flats insurance package. Also if the property has a lift fitted, it will need to be inspected at regular intervals. It is surprising that many owners and managers of blocks, do not realise that they have a statutory obligation to have their lift inspected. This service can be provided by an insurance company who can also provide additional covers such as sudden & unforeseen damage & breakdown cover.