If you are a service charge payer then part of your service charge will go towards the buildings insurance for the block.

If the legal structure for your block is a “Freehold or Residents Management Company” then you may be able to choose who you buy buildings insurance from. But, even if the Freeholder places the insurance you have a right to suggest to him that he accepts or investigates an alternative quote you obtain.

The questions are: Are you paying too much for your block of flats buildings insurance? Could a Managing Agent buy it cheaper for you? Are you insured for the right amount?

• Bulk buying insurance (like a Managing Agent does) saves money!
• The Ringley Group with Residents Insurance Services buy £3.4 billion insurance each year!
• All leaseholdersupport.co.uk members can join the Ringley Group block buildings insurance policy
• Becoming a BlockCare 100 member of leaseholdersupport.co.uk is FREE
• Many new leaseholdersupport.co.uk Clients saved up to 20% when they joined our block buildings insurance policy
• You can spread the cost and pay by installments
• If we can't beat your current insurance premium, we will give you £10 for a night in

Research by the Ringley Group suggests that 9/10ths of small blocks of flats self manage or struggle without a Managing Agent. If you are not a Managing Agent and buy just 1 policy (rather than hundreds) you wont benefit from discounted rates available to bulk buyers.

• Paying too much for insurance
• Being under insured read what happens if you’re under insured and what to do about it
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  There is a rumour that insurance companies will always try to wriggle out of paying claims in full. Well, perhaps there is a little truth in this, but you can protect yourself against this happening.

  The other myth is that the buildings insurance value, or “sum insured” has something to do with the value of the block or property. It doesn’t. This is because the land is effectively FREE and the “sum insured” just needs to reflect the cost of rebuilding the property (including foundations).

  Most policies recommend that if you are placing insurance for the first time you have a buildings insurance re-instatement value set by a Chartered Surveyor. This is the sum that the insurers index or increase according to the retail prices index thereafter. Insurers also recommend that this is checked “periodically” or say every 3 years.

  The point is that if you are say 10% under-insured, and you make a claim for £3,000 then the insurer may well deduct 10% off the value of your claim!

  

  All BlockCare 100, 200 and 300 members get access to our block policy discounted insurance rates. Its cheaper when like the Ringley Group together with our partner Residents Insurance Services buy £3.4 billion insurance each year!!

• Claims not being paid out in full read about the principle of averaging
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  The principle of averaging means, averaging out the value of any claim, based on the value of the buildings sum insured. In the industry this is a well known insurer’s policy and is a method by which they seek to protect themselves from people deliberately not insuring their building for the right amount to save money.

  The point is that if you are say 10% under-insured, and you make a claim for £3,000 then the insurer may well deduct 10% off the value of your claim!

  The other myth is that the buildings insurance value, or “sum insured” has something to do with the value of the block or property. It doesn’t. This is because the land is effectively FREE and the “sum insured” just needs to reflect the cost of rebuilding the property (including foundations).

  Most policies recommend that if you are placing insurance for the first time you have a buildings insurance re-instatement value set by a Chartered Surveyor. This is the sum that the insurers index or increase according to the retail prices index thereafter. Insurers also recommend that this is checked “periodically” or say every 3 years.

  

  All BlockCare 100, 200 and 300 members get access to our block policy discounted insurance rates. Its cheaper when like the Ringley Group together with our partner Residents Insurance Services buy £3.4 billion insurance each year!!

• Not having items in the common parts, boundaries or fences insured
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  Make sure your buildings insurance policy is a “block of flats policy”. Else, if you have a normal domestic insurance policy you may well not be covered for items in the common parts, the pictures, the sofa, the floor tiles…… and perhaps the boundaries and fences too!

  All BlockCare 100, 200 and 300 members get access to our block policy discounted insurance rates. Its cheaper when like the Ringley Group together with our partner Residents Insurance Services buy £3.4 billion insurance each year!!

• The small print. We're proud of ours
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  POLICY WORDING AWAITED

  All BlockCare 100, 200 and 300 members get access to our block policy discounted insurance rates. Its cheaper when like the Ringley Group together with our partner Residents Insurance Services buy £3.4 billion insurance each year!!

Unless you are a Manging Agent it is hard to get reasonably priced buildings insurance because the local high street insurer is unlikely to specialise in policies just for blocks of flats