Q: Can you advise us on the issue of terrorism insurance? We are a block of 12 flats in south London and we have recently renewed our buildings insurance policy. We were invited to purchase terrorism insurance. Our block is a self-managing block (although there is a separate private freeholder) in a residential neighbourhood, not close to …
Q: Due to our recent claims history (four claims in two years totalling £17,510) our insurance premium has increased substantially, and the insurer is imposing an excess a £1,500 Escape of Water Excess with effect from renewal. The advice we have followed previously was that the management company has to pay the excess, as owners could …
Q: Last year when our building insurance became due for renewal, we were met with an almost 100 per cent increase in the premium because all insurance providers had changed the rules about coastal properties and flood insurance. We took the decision as a committee that, because there are no flats on the ground floor, …
Insurance Q: Our residential block comprises 43 flats over nine floors and is part of a complex that includes commercial units at ground and first floor levels. The complex is owned by the freeholder, he has granted a 125-year lease from 1989 to our landlord. He then leases the flats on the same term to …
Falling Masonry Q: We are a residents’ association for a nine-storey block of flats comprising 43 units. The residential block is part of a complex with commercial units on the ground and first floor. The freeholder has leased the residential block to a head lessee who in turn leases the units to 43 leaseholders. We …
Insurance Expiring Q: We are in the process of employing a new management company and phoned them to advise them our building insurance expires at the end of this month and could they please attend to it, only to be advised that due to a change in legislation they cannot advise us on that and …
Cosy Relationship Q: Our lease allows the freeholder to place the insurance without consulting us, and I believe the longstanding cosy relationship they have with their insurers does not work in the interest of residents. We therefore want to obtain quotations from alternative insurers and then coax, cajole or pressure the freeholder into accepting what …
Q: Our current block insurance contains an “unoccupancy” clause. Coverage is conditional on no flats being unoccupied for more than 30 days unless the insurer agrees in writing to cover excess unoccupancy. In practice, individual residents can be absent from their flats for longer periods. Is FPRA aware of any block policies which accept longer …
Q: We as the RTM for our flats have, for a number of years, arranged buildings insurance cover on behalf of the freeholder. There does seem to be an anomaly however: the policy which we took over a few years ago contains cover for the freeholder’s loss of rental income (from the four flats out …
Q: I have had a request to supply a copy of the property insurance to agents acting for a leaseholder. They say “As we are the managing agent for our client we have a duty of care to ensure they have adequate cover. If you can’t release this information, would it be possible for you …