Tag Archives: Home Insurance

Zurich Private Clients Cover Improved

Back in 2016, we were pleased to add Zurich Insurance Group to our closely vetted panel of insurers with this including the Zurich Private Clients section catering for high net worth clients wishing to cover the likes of their luxury homes and expensive motor vehicles.

Well, we are pleased to inform our discerning clients that Zurich Private Clients cover has recently been enhanced. Below we provide details of some of the improvements that have been made: –

Home Insurance Enhancements

Home Emergency Cover totaling £1,500 has been added to the policy as standard with this covering emergencies such as water leakage requiring an approved repairer to attend 24/7.
New Acquisitions notification period has gone up from 60 days to 90 days.
Jewellery limit has gone up from £15,000 to £25,000 per item.
Sums insured for specified antiques, fine art and valuables is now index-linked on an annual basis.
Cyber Assistance cover has been added including damage to home systems due to a cyber event up to £100,000.
Antiques and fine arts limit has risen from £25,000 to £50,000 for each item.
Extended cover now includes contract works for up to the lesser of 20% of the sum insured or £1 million.

Motor Insurance Enhancements

Alternative transportation costs limit has risen from £3,000 to £5,000.
Breakdown cover is for named individuals on the motor insurance certificate as opposed to specified vehicles.

Any new customer taking out a Zurich Private Clients policy will benefit from these enhancements immediately. Existing customers with a Zurich Private Clients policy will benefit from the above enhancements immediately with the exception of cyber and home emergency cover that will be incorporated at renewal from around December 2019 onwards.

The above improvements in cover can only be of potential benefit to our high net worth clients so they are most welcome. We are pleased to inform you that, since adding Zurich Insurance Group to our panel, we have been most impressed with the service that they have provided.

You May Find These Statistics About Burglaries Of Interest…..

To come home and find that your property has been broken into and items damaged/stolen is a terrible situation to find yourself in and one that you could do without. It is an invasion of your privacy and will no doubt take up quite a bit of your time such as informing and meeting with the police, making a list of your stolen belongings and replacing them as well as contacting your insurance provider.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) obtained data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) entitled Nature of Crime: Burglary covering the 12 month period to the 31^st March 2017 that we think you may find of interest. We highlight some of those statistics below relating to domestic burglary with entry but full details can be found on the ONS website.

About the burglars

81% of the offenders were males, 9% were females and 10% were both.
0% were under 10 years of age, 3% were between 10 to 15 years of age, 33% were aged 16 to 24, 49% were aged between 25 to 39 and 18% were 40 years of age and over.
42% of the victims were burgled by strangers, 16% were broken into by people that they had either spoken to or seen in the past and 42% were burgled by people that they knew well.

When did the burglaries take place?

65% of the burglaries took place during the week.
35% of them happened at the weekend.
.45% took place in the morning/afternoon
55% happened in the evening/night

Which side of the property did they gain access through?

49% front
41% back
8% side
2% more than one way

Method of entry

75% through a door
24% via a window
3% through other ways

What were the major items stolen?

35% tools/work materials
31% garden furniture
11% bicycles, bicycle parts
9% sports equipment
5% children’s toys/baby items

Cost of items stolen

35% £1,000 or more
14% £500 to £999
24% £200 to £499
5% £100 to £199
8% £50 to £99
9% £20 to £49
4% £1 to £19
1% no cost

Contact with burglars

54% somebody at home
46% no one at home
60% violence or force used or threatened
40% neither violence, force or threats

We trust that you found the above statistics of interest. If you own your own home then you will no doubt wish to make sure that it is adequately insured along with the contents and personal belongings or, if you rent a property, you will wish to make sure that your personal belongings and any furnishings/white goods etc that you own are insured. In that respect, why not get in contact with us here at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 to discuss your requirements and obtain a quotation.

Covea Added To Our Insurance Panel

Here at AIB Insurance, we are pleased to announce that Covea Insurance plc has recently been added to our carefully vetted panel of insurers. It provides a variety of personal and commercial lines insurance products including cover for the likes of private car, home, motor breakdown, motor trade, motor fleet, shops, offices, surgeries, property owners, tradesmen and professionals as well as cover for high net worth clients.

Covea Insurance plc can trace its history going as far back as 1958 when Norman Insurance was established that was renamed MMA Insurance in 2000. Covea Insurance was launched in 2012 following the merger of MMA Insurance with Provident Insurance. It has won a number of awards including the Gold Accreditation for Investors in People in October 2014 and the Insurance Times Awards – Customer Champion of the Year and Training, Excellence and Impact (Insurer) in December 2014. It has 7 offices in the UK at which it employs about 1,500 staff. It has in excess of 1.9 million policyholders that, in 2017, produced premiums of £739 million. It has a Standard and Poor’s “A+ Stable” rating signifying its financial strength.

We have been most impressed with the range and quality of tailor made products offered by Covea whether it is to insure an executive five bedroomed detached property on an exclusive estate, a luxury apartment in a desirable area of London or a terraced property on the edge of a town, a family car or a top of the range high-powered sports car or an office for one of our professional clients. The level of service provided by the extremely knowledgeable staff at Covea is exceptional with no request being too much trouble.

Should you be in the unfortunate position of needing to make a claim, their dedicated UK based team is available 24 hours a day throughout the year including bank holidays. They pride themselves on their speed of response, calmness, support and attention to detail throughout the claims process being very conscious that it is, potentially, a stressful time in your life.

AIB Insurance looks forward to working closely with Covea and building on what has quickly become an effective partnership that can only be beneficial for all parties concerned including our highly valued clients both existing and new.

If you would like to find out more about Covea Insurance plc then why not visit their website at www.coveainsurance.co.uk

Choose An Insurer That Pays Out For Most Of Its Claims

If 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.

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.

Aviva Private Clients Division Joins Our Panel Of Insurers

AIB Insurance is very pleased to inform our high net worth clients that the Aviva Private Clients division has recently been added to our select panel of insurance companies. Its Distinct Home, Distinct Motor and Distinct Travel products provide bespoke cover for the discerning individual whether it is to insure an Edwardian country mansion, a penthouse in Mayfair, a Rolls-Royce Phantom or provide cover for a luxury holiday.

Aviva is the largest insurance company in the UK having in excess of 15,000 million customers. Its history goes back as far as 1696 when the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society was established. In 2000 Norwich Union and CGU PLC merged as CGNU and in 2002 it became known as Aviva. It has offices in numerous countries around the world employing about 30,000 people and has a worldwide customer portfolio of over 33 million. The company deals with over 10 million calls a year and in 2017 paid out more than £34 billion in benefits and claims.

Aviva Distinct Home insurance provides outstanding, tailor made cover with a level of service that is second to none at every stage of the process from initial enquiry, setting up the policy to making a claim with a dedicated home claims adviser dealing with the latter to provide you with complete peace of mind. There are numerous benefits including worldwide, warranty free, all risks cover, access to a number of specialist suppliers, cover for student and visitors belongings and guaranteed building reinstatement.

Aviva Distinct Motor insurance provides bespoke cover that aims to exceed what is expected by our clients. Some of the benefits include new for old replacement if your car is under three years of age, choice of repairer, £4,000 to hire a car or a Mercedes-Benz C class whilst your car is being repaired and your no claims discount is not affected if an uninsured driver collides with your vehicle and you are not at fault.

Aviva Distinct Travel insurance provides an exceptional level of cover to give you complete peace of mind wherever you are travelling around the world. For instance, you have £10 million of medical emergencies and associated expenses cover worldwide, a UK based experienced claims team who are available 24 hours a day, up to £15,000 of cancellation cover and winter sports cover included in the policy.

Let us all hope that you do not need to make a claim for either say a fire in your home, a motoring accident or for medical treatment whilst on holiday but, if you do, you can be assured that your claim will be dealt with promptly with support every step of the way. We very much look forward to being of assistance.

If you would like to find out more about the insurance products offered by the Aviva Private Clients division the why not visit their website at www.aviva.co.uk/aviva-private-clients/

Water Escape Claims Increase

Our 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 cylinder 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

Whilst 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.

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.

Plum Underwriting Added To Panel

We are pleased to announce that Plum Underwriting Ltd has been added to our carefully selected panel of insurers. It is worth noting that we undertake a great deal of due diligence about those wishing to be included on our panel.

Plum Underwriting Ltd is located in London EC3 and was set up in 2002 initially to concentrate on the home insurance marketplace. It now tends to focus on specialist and non-standard commercial and domestic properties in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

For instance, all risks home insurance can be arranged on the likes of high and medium net worth owner occupied properties. Cover is automatically included for things like cyber cover, legal expenditure, home emergency and identity theft for the later type of properties with travel insurance also being included for high net worth homes.

If you are going to have renovation works carried out on your home or your business’s premises then Plum Underwriting Ltd can arrange specialist cover providing complete peace of mind.

Cover can also be arranged for unoccupied properties and holiday homes and insurance can also be provided for landlords looking to insure their let properties.

A non-standard home insurance policy can be put in place for people who may otherwise have found it difficult to arrange cover. For instance, those who are bankrupt, properties that have suffered with subsidence, those in danger of being flooded and homes of a non-standard construction.

The company has built an enviable reputation for the level of customer service it provides and the range and quality of products that are competitively priced. We have to say that our dealings with Plum Underwriting Ltd have been excellent. We look forward to that relationship continuing for many years to come that can only benefit our clients.

You can find more information about the company on their website www.plum-underwriting.com

For bespoke home insurance why not get in touch with us here at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351.

40% Of Landlords Are Women

Landlords may like to set aside some time to read the Simple Landlords Insurance – Women in Property Report 2017 with 500 tenants and 400 landlords participating in the survey. The report contains many interesting statistics one of which is that around 40% of landlords here in the UK are now women.

Compare this with the fact that in the region of 17% of women are owners of business then the percentage of women that are landlords rather stands out. So, what are some of the differences in relation to male and female landlords?

Although the main reason why men and women invest in property is to generate monthly income, females were more likely to do so than men. A larger percentage of men invest for capital growth.

When a new tenant moves into a rental property women landlords are much more likely to speak to them than men. The same applies when the tenant moves out. However, there are a slightly greater percentage of women landlords who never personally speak to their tenants in comparison to male landlords.

Women landlords are more likely to rent to people that are on housing benefits as well as students, those people that have retired and single employed people than male landlords. Male landlords are more likely to rent to family tenants than female landlords are.

Most tenants did not mind whether their landlord was male or female. However, 15% of male tenants preferred a landlord that was male and 11% of females preferred a female landlord.

Female landlords were more likely to have a smaller portfolio of investment properties (1 to 2 properties) than men. Male landlords were more likely to have a larger portfolio of properties (3 to 10 plus properties) than female landlords.

Women landlords were less likely than their male counterparts to have bought an investment property to let out with the assistance of a buy-to-let mortgage. More women owned their investment properties outright than male landlords.

It is interesting that women landlords were more confident about the year ahead than male landlords in respect of their investment property portfolios.

More information can be found in the above report that may prove of interest to both male and female landlords.

If you are a landlord then why not get in touch with us here at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 and we will be happy to discuss your insurance requirements and obtain quotations from our extensive panel of insurers.

Home Insurance Premiums Rise In 2016

Unfortunately, according to the most recent AA British Insurance Premium Index that looks at the average of the 5 cheapest premiums, there has been an increase in the cost of obtaining home insurance last year. This comes on top of higher fuel prices seen at filling stations and an increase in motor insurance premiums.

In the space of 12 months, the cost of buildings cover rose to an average of £114.43 per annum in the final quarter of 2016 from an average of £106.36 per annum in the last quarter of 2015 with this equating to an increase of 7.6%. Between the third and fourth quarters of 2016 such cover rose in cost by 1.1%.

In the space of a year, the cost of contents cover rose to an average of £60.69 per annum in the last quarter of 2016 from an average of £58.67 per annum in the last quarter of 2015 with this being an increase of 3.5% although, interestingly, the cost of such cover between the third and fourth quarters of 2016 actually dropped by 5.7%.

In the space of 12 months, the cost of combined buildings and contents insurance rose to an average of £157.27 per annum in the final quarter of 2016 from an average of £150.67 per annum in the last quarter of 2015 with this being a rise of 4.4%. Between the third and fourth quarters of 2016 such premiums rose by 0.3%.

London and the South East is the region in the UK where it costs the most for a combined buildings and contents insurance policy with the average premium being £165.93 per annum in the final quarter of 2016. The West and West Country is the least expensive for this type of cover in the same period with the average premium being £146.58 per annum.

Here at AIB Insurance, we have an extensive panel of insurers offering buildings and/or contents insurance. So, why not get in touch with a member of our team on 02380 268 351 to discuss your requirements and obtain a quote without any obligation to see if we can save you any money on this valuable type of cover.