Tag Archives: Buildings and Contents

Over £1 Billion Per Annum Saved By UK Inland Flood Defences

Some interesting research has been carried out relating to the amount that is estimated is being saved in flood damage here in the UK due to the inland flood defences that have been put in place over the years.  The research was carried out by Risk Management Solutions (RMS) on behalf of Flood Re.

The research took into account many thousands of weather event simulations so an awful lot of work has obviously gone into producing the information. The research took into account the situation both without and with flood defences.

You may be surprised at just how much flood damage could be caused inland such as due to rivers breaking their banks. Apparently, it is estimated that with flood defences in place the cost of water damage could amount to around £0.7 billion. However, without flood defences in-situ it is estimated that the cost of damage caused by water could be in the region of £1.8 billion.

That is a huge potential saving of around £1.1 billion as a result of having inland flood defences in place.

An example of the benefit of having flood defences in place can be found in Bewdley, Worcestershire. This small, picturesque Georgian town has the River Severn running through it. For many years, on occasions, the river burst its banks and a significant number of homes and businesses running along the side of the river were flooded causing a great deal of flood damage to buildings and their contents as well as much heartache for the owners of those properties. That was until a few years ago when flood barrier defences were strategically put in place along the side of the river. Since then, there has not been a significant problem with flooding in that location.

Owners of properties within flood risk areas of the UK are likely to be charged more for their buildings cover so it may be a good idea to shop around. In that respect, why not get in touch with us here at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 and discuss your requirements with an experienced member of our team who will do all that he or she can to help source suitable, competitive, quality home insurance to cover both your buildings and any contents.

25% Of UK Households Have No Contents Insurance

Whilst it is not a legal requirement to insure the contents and personal possessions in your home, surely it is a sensible thing to cover against the likes of fire, theft or accidental damage. After all, the cost of replacing things like your furniture, white goods and clothes could run into many thousands of pounds.

Well, according to the recently published ABI’s Home Insurance Premium Tracker covering 2018, a staggering one in four households here in the UK have not bothered to arrange such cover. That equates to around six million households.

Yet, the average cost of insuring home contents is only £127 per annum. That is a mere £2.44 per week – a small price to pay for the peace of mind of knowing that you can replace your contents if they are damaged in a fire and only have to pay the excess towards the cost of the items replaced.

Below is a list of the percentage of households in the UK that do not have home contents insurance broken down on a regional basis: –

Northern Ireland                      18%

South East                               19%

East Midlands                         21%

Yorkshire & Humberside        22%

East Anglia                             22%

South West                              22%

Wales                                      22%

North West                              24%

Scotland                                  26%

West Midlands                        28%

North East                               32%

London                                    45%

As you can see, Northern Ireland has the lowest percentage of households without contents cover at 18% and London has the highest percentage at 45%.

The above tracker also revealed that the average premium for buildings insurance in 2018 stood at £258 per annum with this being a drop of 8% when compared with the previous year. The average cost of combined buildings and contents insurance was £307 per annum with this being 1% more than in 2017.

Here at AIB Insurance, we have an extensive panel of closely vetted insurance companies that provide buildings and contents cover. So, if you are a single person living in rented accommodation looking to insure your contents or a family living in your own home looking to cover the buildings and contents, why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak with a friendly, experienced member of our team. He or she will discuss your requirements and then look to obtain a no-obligation quotation from one of our panel members with a view to providing you and your family with complete peace of mind. We look forward to being of assistance.

Choose An Insurer That Pays Out For Most Of Its Claims

HomeIf you want to arrange the likes of home (buildings and contents) insurance either for the first time or are considering moving your cover from your existing insurance company to a new provider there may be several factors that will have a bearing on which insurer you take out the cover with. For most people, the number one consideration is how much they will have to pay in premiums to the insurance company to protect their home and contents in the event of things like fire, flood, accidental damage and theft.

That may sound fine but the reason why you require such cover is to give you peace of mind so that if your home was burned to the ground, your Rolex stolen or your skiing equipment damaged in transit you could claim and the insurer would cover the vast majority of your claim to rebuild your property and/or replace or repair the damaged items. So, surely another factor that you should consider when deciding which insurer to arrange the cover with is the percentage of claims that it ends up paying out for.

In that respect, you may be interested to read that, on the 1st March 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the “General Insurance value measures data – year ending 31 August 2017”. This document includes data from 36 insurance companies (UK and EEA firms) about claims acceptance rates, average claim pay-outs and claims frequencies. The publication can be viewed on the FCA’s website via the following link: –

https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/data/general-insurance-value-measures-data-year-ending-31-august-2017

If you take a look at the Claims Acceptance Rate column in the section relating to Home Insurance you will see that there is a wide variance in the percentage of claims insurers agree to pay out for.Home

At the top end of the scale the following insurers accepted 97.5% to 100% of claims: –

• Chubb European Group Limited
• Hiscox Insurance Company Limited
• Hiscox Syndicates Limited
• Acromas Insurance Company Limited
• Liberty Insurance Limited
• Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance PLC
• The Salvation Army General Insurance Company Limited

You will note that both Chubb and Hiscox are in the top scale of 97.5% to 100% when it comes to meeting claims. We are pleased to say that, here at AIB Insurance, they are two of the companies that feature highly on our panel of insurers when it comes to arranging buildings and contents insurance for our high net worth clients.

On the 25th January 2017, the first publication of the General Insurance value measures data – year ending 31 August 2016 was produced. On that day, James Bridge, Assistant Director, Head of Conduct Regulation, Association of British Insurers, said:
“Every day home insurers pay out over £8 million in claims to customers, and are committed to doing all they can to ensure that insurance delivers when the worst happens. The FCA data shows that the vast majority of claims are paid out.”

https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2016/12/fca-value-measures-response/

When AIB Insurance recommends an insurance company to a client, we take several things into consideration such as price, claims experience and the quality of the customer service. So, if you are looking for home insurance or, indeed, any other insurance cover why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 to discuss your requirements with an experienced, friendly member of our team who will arrange to provide you with a competitive quotation. We look forward to being of assistance to you.

Water Escape Claims Increase

FloodOur clients may be interested to read that insurers here in the UK continue to pay out huge sums of money in respect of domestic claims for damage caused by water escape. In fact, it may come as a surprise to you to hear that such claims involve the biggest payouts for insurance companies providing this type of cover.

According to information provided by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), some £483 million was paid out by insurers for claims relating to the escape of water from domestic properties in the nine months from the 1st January to 30 September of this year. Unfortunately, that is a rise of 1% when compared with the first nine months of 2016. The average amount paid out by insurance companies for escaped domestic water damage is £2,638 per claim.

Such claims will no doubt include damage caused by people leaving taps on whilst filling up a bath thus leading to it overflowing and damaging both the upstairs and downstairs of a property. There will probably be numerous claims for water leakage from the likes of washing machines and dishwashers. As more homes have central heating systems fitted these days, damage caused by leakages from them is a factor as is greater use being made by the building industry of materials that are not as water resistant. More properties now have the likes of cloakrooms and en-suite bathrooms and en-suite shower rooms included in the design.

So, what can you do to reduce the likelihood of suffering such damage? Well, apart from making sure that taps are turned off after use, there are many things you can look at such as you should check the hoses on appliances such as washing machines to make sure that they are not leaking. If you have a hot water Pipecylinder in your airing cupboard make sure that it is not leaking. Check that the toilet basins are not cracked. Make sure that radiators are not dripping water from the pipes that enter and come out of them as well as at the end of the top of the radiators where you occasionally let out the air. Also check the main stopcock that allows cold water into your home to establish that there are no drips coming from it. If you feel it is safe to do so, go up into the loft and make sure that the water tanks are not close to overflowing.

Do make sure that you have adequate buildings and contents cover in place so that, should you suffer water damage, you have the peace of mind of knowing that your claim will be speedily dealt with. In this respect, it is worth noting that here at AIB Insurance we have an extensive panel of insurers who are renowned for providing quality cover but also have an enviable reputation for processing claims. So, if you would like to receive a competitive quotation why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak with a knowledgeable member of our team.

Protecting Your Home Against Burglars

BurglarWhilst it provides homeowners with peace of mind to have home insurance, should there be the need to claim on the policy in the event of the likes of a fire, it is undoubtedly an unpleasant experience to say the least should such a thing happen in your property or perhaps worse still should you suffer a break in by a burglar. Well, Co-op Insurance has done some research to find out some effective things that can act as a deterrent to a thief.

The insurer made contact with twenty five ex-burglars who were able to suggest a number of measures that homeowners could put in place to possibly reduce the likelihood of them being burgled.

Apparently, 26% of those ex-burglars that took part in the research felt that movement activated security lights provided the greatest deterrent to burglars here in the UK. No doubt, it would be sensible to consider having such lights coming on that would light up the front and the back of the home as well as the sides to provide the best overall potential protection against a burglar breaking in and stealing your valuables and possibly causing damage to your property.

The research revealed that 22% of burglars were of the opinion that CCTV cameras acted as the biggest deterrent to burglars. Again, presumably it would be a good idea to have such cameras located in positions that provide complete coverage of all the doors and windows and the surrounding area of the property.

Interestingly, 15% of ex-burglars that took part in the research felt that the major thing that would stop them trying to break into a home would be a barking dog. It just shows such a pet is not only something to love and care for but a dog also provides some useful practical benefit to a family.

Now, you may have thought that monitored burglar alarms were high up on the list of things that would act as a deterrent to a burglar trying to break into a property. Well, only 11% of the ex-burglars taking part in the research were of the opinion that such alarms were the most effective deterrent.

Also worth noting is that it is not a good idea to shut your curtains or blinds prior to departing on holiday as this may suggest to a burglar that the property is presently unoccupied. It is also not a good idea to leave post sticking out of the letterbox so why not ask a neighbor to check this out whilst you are away and push the letters through the letterbox onto the hall floor.Burglar

We do hope that you have found the above to be of benefit. If you are interested in arranging home insurance then why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak with one of our team who will discuss your requirements and arrange a quotation without any obligation. We have an extensive panel of insurers at our disposal so we should be able to provide a quality, competitive quote for most sorts of property, contents and personal belongings.