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Home
Insurance in the UK
The
following information is correct up to:
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Can an insurance
company turn down my application for home insurance?
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Yes they can -
insurance companies may cancel, decline or refuse your application for
home insurance for any of the following reasons:
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You have a high risk
occupation |
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You live in a location
that suffers from subsidence |
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You live in a location
that is prone to flooding |
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You live in a listed
building |
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You have a criminal
conviction |
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You live in a property
that has a none standard construction |
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You have already made
too many claims |
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Your property has been
left unoccupied for more than 30 days |
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You have personal
possessions that have a very high value |
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What is covered by
Building Insurance?
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The average buildings insurance covers
things such as the overall structure of the property as well as
fixtures and fittings of your home, e.g. walls, roof, floors, ceilings,
windows and doors, built in cupboards, kitchens and bathroom suites.
Most home insurance policies also cover outdoor structures such as
garages and sheds,, gazebos and greenhouses etc. Items which might not
be specifically covered included gates and fences, boundary walls or
damage to supply pipes such as water and gas. It is always important to
read the small print on your policy very carefully in order to find out
exactly what is covered.
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A good buildings insurance policy should
cover the full cost of repair or rebuild if any of the following should
happen:
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An earthquake |
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A lightening strike
hits your property |
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If you have a burst
pipe dues to your plumbing freezing |
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You have a fire |
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Some sort of explosion
- such as a gas leak |
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If a vehicle crashes
into your property |
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Vandalism |
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Storm damage |
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If a tree falls onto
your property |
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New for old cover
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Most contents insurance policies are
usually based on a 'New' for 'Old' type business model, What this means
is that in the event of you making a claim, any old contents or items
will be replaced with equivalent new items. Normally the insurance
company will keep the right to either repair or to replace the lst or
damaged item. Cash settlements do not always get offered as the
insurance company may have struck a deal with a particular supplier who
can provide the product at a greatly reduced price. This helps to keep
the overall cost of any claims down, which in the longer run will also
help to keep everyone's premium at a lower level
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The odds of needing to
make a claim
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There
is aone in 10 chance that you will be burgled or suffer from some form
of accidental damage.
As
of 2012 the average buildings type policy is £171 pounds a
year where as home contents insurance is £140 a year. These
prices will vary massively according to the property type and its
location.
The
percentage of home owners that have buildings insurance is 76% and the
number of home owners that have contents insurance is 64%. The
remaining 24% and 36% respectively are assumed to be self insuring.
i.e. they are prepared to fund any losses themselves, which for
something like just a broken window may seem like a good idea however
in the event of a flood or a fire where you have lost everything means
that it is not such a good idea. Over the insurance industry as a whole
there were 2.1 million home insurance claims made during 2017, the
avaerge of these claims came to £1,500
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