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Guide to Home Buildings Insurance & Contents Insurance
Introduction - it is possible to obtain a combined home insurance uk Buildings & Contents Policy for your Home or sometimes the policies are purchased from different sources as it is more economical to do so. There is sometimes confusion as to what constitutes Buildings and what is Contents and many people worry that they will not be correctly insured. Providing your sums insured are adequate and you have a combined policy or two separate contracts, you shouldn’t really need to worry though. By reading the following notes , we hope that you will find it easier to know what is the appropriate section to insure under.
If you have obtained a mortgage on your property, your lender should have given you a sum insured in your survey report. Frequently the amount requested is higher than the actual true rebuilding cost, As insurance at the requested amount is a requirement of your mortgage loan, the fact that it is incorrect is academic and you should insure for the stated sum to avoid being in breech of your policy conditions. If you do not have a mortgage on your property, you will be required to calculate your own insurable sum and we are unable to offer assistance in this matter suffice to say that the Association of British Insurers produce an excellent guide to rebuilding costs based on the property size. You can view this guide located in their consumer zone by clicking here. It is essential that you insure your building for the correct amount as failure to do so will almost certainly result in the imposition of an average clause following a claim at the property.
Most Popular Home Insurance Companies - the most popular home insurance companies for buildings and contents insurance are as follows:-
Contents Cover - contents includes just about everything in the home (and your garage or outbuildings) belonging to you or a member of your family. Some policies are now extended to give a small amount of cover for your guest’s effects as well. Your policy cover will also include cover for items that you do not own but you are responsible for (a rented television set for example). Examples of your Contents are; Furniture, furnishings, moveable fixtures& fittings, electrical equipment, your clothing. Special Light fittings that you would perhaps take with you on leaving the building should also be insured as Contents. Food, Drink and Money (up to certain limits are also classed as contents. Any fitted furniture, such as built in wardrobes or a fully fitted kitchen should be insured as Buildings. It is advisable though to insure fully fitted carpets as contents as this seems to be insurers accepted practice. You contents policy may provide you with Theft cover for items in your garage, garden or outbuilding but you should check this matter before accepting cover.
Buildings and Tax Issues - Assetsure are able to offer insurance quotations for buildings that are unoccupied that have been purchased for renovation purposes. At the end of the renovation, we will then offer a standard buildings insurance quotation on either a homeowners or a let property basis. Many people are now deciding not to purchase old property to renovate but are acquiring land and building their own properties. One of the many advantages of building your own home or indeed holiday home is that all of the building work is free of value added tax. At the present rate of taxation, this will save you 17.5 %. In all probability, you want do the building work your self, many people are competent enough for the small jobs and resort to a bona fida contractor to handle the majority of the works. If you are using a contractor and they are registered for VAT, make sure that all of their invoices are zero rated. Also. any purchased invoices should also be zero rated. If you do decide to be the project manager, you will have to pay VAT on materials but remember to keep all of the invoices as you will be able to reclaim the VAT by contacting the revenue and VAT Office. They have produced a very useful leaflet which we can obtain free of charge, called VAT notice 719. The issue of VAT on new build homes is an important one and you could end up saving a fair amount of money. Of course there are a few considerations
Some people though, still favour renovating older property, that perhaps has more character and this scenario is also pretty much free of VAT. VAT registered builders must charge a reduced rate of 5% on the supply of labour and materials which again you can reclaim when the project is completed. There are more rules and regulations regarding unoccupancy of the property but generally speaking anything that has been unoccupied for in excess of three years will be able to receive the benefit. There are also tax breaks for the owners of listed buildings. Work can be zero rated but you have to make sure that any work carried out has been approved and the necessary planning consents carried out. The work has to be classed as listed building consent and cannot be just general maintenance. The VAT notice building & construction 708 deals with this. It certainly pays to obtain any of the above mentioned leaflets, if you are planning to renovate a property, you may find that the tax man is prepared to give you a little assistance.
Copyright Assetsure Limited 2010 Assetsure is an Appointed Representative of Intasure, a trading name of Blenheim Park Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Assetsure Limited is an appointed representative of Highhouse Insurance Services Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Policy especially designed for Holiday Homes & Second Homes
