EM Private Clients Home Insurance Guide

Private Clients Insurance Guide Helping to reduce your home insurance premium www.erskine-murray.co.uk

www.erskine-murray.co.uk

Time to review your home insurance cover to help keep costs down. The Covid-19 pandemic has had many implications for the insurance market and it is now common knowledge that we are now seeing a rise in insurance premiums as an unavoidable affect on all policy types. This comes following a market wide increase in the premium for High Value home insurance over the last couple of years with premiums increasing by between 5-15% for claim free business as insurers sought to recoup the increased cost of claims payments. It’s inevitable therefore that insurers will also focus As they say, the devil is in the detail, and in these on current policyholders when they make a claim to current difficult times, it certainly pays to drill down make sure the correct values are in place on their and examine every last detail to ensure you are policy. For this reason, it is essential that levels of correctly covered and that your policy reflects cover are reviewed, ensuring they meet your current current values. requirements. This guide takes a look at the following areas: The easy way to do this is to discuss your home insurance cover levels with an experienced • Buildings Cover professional broker, who can ensure your policy • General Contents Cover provides adequate cover in the event of a claim • Fine Art, Antiques and Collectables being made. • Jewellery & Watches • General Risk Management On a daily basis, we are asked: “How can we reduce • Policy Excess the premium?” To answer this question, we have • The benefits of a policy portfolio compiled the following guide, giving helpful tips and showing you how a policy review, in which you examine the specifics in detail, may well result in a reduction in your annual premium. www.erskine-murray.co.uk

Buildings Cover www.erskine-murray.co.uk

Buildings Cover Buildings insurance covers the cost of repairing damage to the structure of your property. This includes the walls, windows and roof as well as permanent fixtures and fittings such as baths, toilets and fitted kitchens. As a general rule, buildings insurance covers the cost of rebuilding your house from the ground up. It is likely to differ from the market value of your home and often includes the cost of services like demolition, site clearance and architects’ fees. The best solution is a combined buildings and general contents policy so everything would be covered and you don’t have to worry. All too often, people make the following mistakes: • Insuring the purchase price and not the building cost • Including outbuildings in the overall cost • Adding the cost of renovation works to the current level of cover Instead, you should look to: • Ensure your home is insured for the total rebuild cost • Allocate some of the sum insured to outbuildings - some insurers will charge a lower premium for outbuildings, or even give free cover, helping to keep the premium down • Review the overall building sum insured following renovation works. www.erskine-murray.co.uk

General Contents www.erskine-murray.co.uk

General Contents Cover As a general rule, your ‘contents’ are the items that you would take with if you moved home. Be careful though most insurers would category carpets and curtains in General Contents even though most people do not take these when they move home. The best solution is a combined buildings and general contents policy so everything would be covered and you don’t have to worry. Common mistakes people make when arranging Contents cover: • Including items under General Contents that should be covered by Buildings insurance, such as built-in wardrobes, kitchens and bathrooms • Not bothering to check whether items have increased or decreased in value over time • Not amending cover if circumstances change, such as children leaving home • Including valuable items within the General Contents section. Instead, you should look to: • Ensure only relevant items are included in General Contents and items such as kitchens, bathrooms, built-in wardrobes and certain entertainment systems are insured under Buildings cover • Carry out a room-by-room inventory of your General Contents at least every 5 years to determine which items have increased or decreased in value - for example, entertainment systems have developed over the past few years and your current system may well have decreased in value • Amend cover if your circumstances change, such as children leaving home • Make sure items such as Fine Art, Antiques and Collectables are covered within the Valuables section of your policy, rather than General Contents, as the premium rating may well be lower. We can advise on any of the above issues, ensuring you have adequate levels of cover in place, accurately reflecting the value and rebuild cost of your home, and helping to keep premiums down wherever possible. www.erskine-murray.co.uk

Fine Art, Antiques & Collectables www.erskine-murray.co.uk

Fine Art, Antiques and Collectables It’s important to review your policy to ensure any Fine Art, Antiques and Collectables are adequately insured for the correct sums. Common mistakes people make include: • Not getting items revalued • Not specifying individual items • Not allocating valuables to the right section of the policy. Instead, you should: • Check on the last time you had items valued and, if necessary, have them revalued, as the value may well have changed • If you’ve had a recent valuation, it may be better to specify individual items rather than include them under the unspecified blanket option • Ensure you are correctly allocating possessions to the correct section of the policy. www.erskine-murray.co.uk

Jewellery & Watches www.erskine-murray.co.uk

Jewellery & Watches The amount you pay per thousand pounds of cover is highest in this section of the policy. If you have a large collection of jewellery and watches, this is potentially an area where you could benefit from the largest premium saving. Ask yourself the following questions: Wearing habits of your jewellery & watches • Are any items permanently kept in the home safe or bank vault, and never or infrequently worn? • Do you keep all your items in the safe, with only a small number out on a daily basis? • Would a floating limit of items out of the safe work for you? • If there are items that you don’t wear and you don’t have a home safe, is it possible to either invest in a safe or deposit them in a bank vault? Specified or Unspecified? • Can you specify individual items under ‘Jewellery & Watches cover’ rather than including them in an unspecified blanket option? Change in Circumstances • Do you review the sum insured periodically, allowing not only for new purchases but also items that may have been given away, sold or disposed of? We can advise on any of the above issues, ensuring you have adequate levels of cover in place, accurately reflecting the value of your valuable personal possessions and helping to keep premiums down wherever possible. www.erskine-murray.co.uk

General Risk Management www.erskine-murray.co.uk

General Risk Management Look at your general risk profile and answer the following questions: • Have you upgraded your alarm? • Do you have a fire alarm system / smoke detectors? • Do you have a leak detection system installed? • Are insurers aware of the physical security on your doors / windows? • Is your home gated? • Do you have CCTV? Presenting a full risk management profile to insurers can sometimes reduce your premium or allow insurers to be more flexible when they are reviewing any security upgrades they require. Policy Excess Insurance Portfolio • Sometimes, by increasing the • Would you benefit from having all your Policy Excess you can reduce the cover included in one insurance premium cost. portfolio policy? • Consider what amount you would • Some insurers will give a discount if they make a claim for: would you claim for include both your home and motor £500, £750 or £1,000? Then apply this insurance in one portfolio policy. amount as your policy excess. • Do you have other properties you could • If you’re looking to insure for major include in your portfolio policy? losses only, opt for the higher That could help to reduce your premium. excess amount. • Most policies carry an excess waiver for larger losses over £10k or £20k We can advise on any of the above issues, ensuring you have adequate levels of cover in place and helping to keep premiums down wherever possible. We are happy to advise on General Risk Management issues and show how the amount of your Policy Excess can affect the level of premium. We can also advise on which insurers offer a discount for including all insurances within one portfolio policy. www.erskine-murray.co.uk

Keep your sums insured up to date It is important that your sums insured are kept up to date and adequate cover is arranged so that in the event of a claim you are fully covered. Some of the scenarios we have identified may mean that you are currently under insured and you may need to increase levels of cover within your current policy. However, implementing some of the other issues we have mentioned may well help to mitigate any premium increase. Talk to Erskine Murray today The Private Client Insurance market is constantly changing and it is important that you discuss your requirements with a professional and experienced specialist broker, such as Erskine Murray, who has access to the most up to date, market-leading policies. For a confidential discussion about how we can help with your personal insurance requirements, please call Paul Huntley on 07717 876691 or email [email protected] Erskine Murray 1 Penman Way, Grove Park, Leicester, LE19 1SY Telephone: 0116 265 4300 Erskine Murray Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Firm Reference Number 707444. Erskine Murray Limited is registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number 09564100. Registered Office: Rossington’s Business Park, West Carr Road, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 7SW. www.erskine-murray.co.uk