need insurance - any suggestions?

[charlie-ia]

We're having trouble getting insurance for our house. Its in ireland, and we're here.
We've tried all the Irish insurers we can find, But no one will insure buildings over 100 years old if they need work doing on them.

We're also not sure what type of insurance we are asking for, as obviously its not just plain "house insurance". the building is empty and unoccupied and will stay that way for the forseeable future. its not listed, and we dont plan any changes to the building except repair. it doesent have any contents as such at the moment.

we got an email on monday that confirms that everything is finished at the solicitors, so we want to get it insured as soon as possible.

does any one know any suitable irish insurers, or can you suggest an english/multinational firm?

 

[Pford75]

Not sure if they cover Ireland...but worth a call. I'd go through a broker who will do the leg work of finding a suitable insurer....our broker has been very good.

http://www.aon.com/uk/en/

List of Northern Irish brokers here:

http://www.4ni.co.uk/fulllisting.asp?cat=383&level1=16&style=0

 

[charlie-ia]

thanks for the list of brokers,
what exactly am I looking for on the Aon site?
this illustrates where one of my troubles arises. I dont know what type of insurence Im asking for. what do i type into a "search" box? im getting absolutely nowhere!

a customer says he insures the buildings he renovates on a monthly basis. is this how it usually works? he said he'd ring back with the phone number, but he hasnt yet.

anyone else know anything? its making me anxious having no insurance!
what type of insurance do you lot have?
was it a big palava?
what are the insurers going to need to know to give us a quote?

 

[charlie-ia]

silly B&gger! i never looked at this page (over there on the left hand side!<<)

thats probably a good start, though more would be useful

 

[Nemesis]

Plenty of info on this site about insurance.

http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/insurance_during_renovation.shtml

 

[charlie-ia]

yes, thankyou.
(now they tell me!)

 

[Anita]

We also had trouble getting anyone to insure our 18thC listed farmhouse (even before confirming that it had a structural fault). Also, one of the 2 companies that did eventually agree to give us a quote for insurance would only agree to reinstate any damage with modern day materials and methods. This was obviously totally unacceptable to both ourselves and no doubt the CO!

However we use a broker based in Taunton called Bruford Valance. They are a small firm - extremely helpful, and we are now insured under a historic houses policy - which covers everything from cottages to castles!

Can't put my finger on telephone number just at present - but will look it out and if you need to come back to me - then it will be at the ready!

 

[Nemesis]

Was your house empty?

Getting insurance for an empty property undergoing repair is pretty specialist and 'normal' house insurance doesn't tend to cover that.

 

[stickybeak]

.

 

[charlie-ia]

thanks for the help so far.Im afraid i have a lot of questions!
i never realised it would be so complicated. i hate doing this kind of thing.
we've got a couple of proposal forms sent back, both look much like this
http://www.crestunderwriting.ie/img/upload/Overseas%20606%20Home%20Insurance%20Proposal%20Form.pdf

you see all those tickboxes? most of our answers go in the grey ones. that doesnt look too hopeful to me.

we have no idea of the date of construction. the estate agent said about eighty years old. the coal bunker says 1916. the house looks victorianish, but there is an outline in the render that suggests it was once one storey. we have nothing in writing. do we put the youngest possible age?

what do we say about the state of repair?

Construction 20. Are all the buildings built of brick, stone or concrete and roofed with slate, tile, asphalt, metal or concrete
and use and in good condition and repair?

everything needs something doing to iit(all the usual problems fairly severely), but the surveyor said the structure was sound. do we just tick yes and move on? the house itself is fine but the usual bit of repointing etc means a lot of.

Another form we had didnt mention metal in thet list of acceptable roofing materials. The main house and main barn are slate, but the "extension" has a tin roof, and so do the sheds. the "extension"isnt an extension, more of an appendage, just another bit of the house of a similar age but a different size.(hard to describe. if its built at the same time is it an extension?)

Are all the buildings free from cracks and free from signs of subsidence, landslip or heave

it has "settlement cracking." do we mention this, or wait until we're asked?

what percentege of the cost do we put to outbuildings? they amount to a larger volume than the house and are in worse repair (but could be very nice). and there is an acre of land. we just bought it as a job lot. we just took a jab and put a quater of the total cost for want of a better idea.

Do the amounts insured represent the full cost of reconstruction?

we put the price we paid for the place. im not sure what the question means at all?

What counts as "are you planning any building works"?
we dont want to build anything. just repair and renew everything. does "building works" include this? . the repair may throw up problems that lead to building, but we dont know yet.
(sounds abit like the cob wall saga- im just asking do i tick yes or no?)

Im also beginning to think that insurance is pointless at this stage. what exactly are we trying to insure?if the whole place does fall down it doesnt matter cos it would be cheaper to rebuild anyway. if we relpace like for like it is at the moment we wouldnt end up with much! that sounds flippant,but i think fire is about the only thing that could trouble us. if i look at all the things you could claim insureance for, and look at the house, its all happened already. what would we get for our pennies?

im also still looking for a name for this insurance. "renovation insurance" isnt turning much up

 

[Nemesis]

Did you contact the PPUK site people who do 'renovation insurance'? (I posted the page link above...)

http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/insurance_during_renovation.shtml


Also - try asking the Ecology Building Soc if they have insurers they could suggest.

http://www.ecologybuildingsociety.co.uk/

 

[charlie-ia]

tried the first link, but the house isnt worth £200,000, and we have no contents. am i looking at the wrong thing?

 

[Nemesis]

La Playa's Renovation Portfolio provides a flexible and comprehensive solution for renovators, including cover for:

Existing Structure: cover for while your property is unoccupied/insecure - especially if the property is listed. While most household policies would only provide basic fire cover for the existing structure during the works, La Playa's Renovation Portfolio offers the full range - including "All Risks" and Subsidence cover.


Property Owners Liability: to protect you from claims for injury or damage to people other than your contractors (inspectors, visitors, even trespassers)


Contractors All Risks (CAR): the cover traditionally held by the lead contractor, including Employers Liability, Contract Works, hired in plant etc


Any combination of the above depending on your project
Don't let "computer says no" insurers put you off your dream project - contact us for more information and a competitive quotation


It's worth asking them...

 

[charlie-ia]

i rang laplaya. on the phone they say minimum £300 000.

no wonder the insurance forms ask if we have domestic servants!!

bruford valance will ring back after lunch, but the lady didnt like the sound of it being unoccupied.

does everyone on this site live in theire houses? (i suppose a caravan counts)
is everyone insured, or do most people not bother untill the house is fit to live in?

 

[Nemesis]

Rathera lot I agree for a renovation policy!

Worth trying Ecology to see if they have any suggestions? As they give mortgages for wrecks and are nice people to boot it could be worth trying.

 

[charlie-ia]

couldnt get any answer at ecology, though i might do better if i sent my perfectly good phone away to the landfill and got one of them newfangled touchtone ones insted.

 

[Stephen]

Try Hiscox - http://www.hiscox.com
They are a firm I know LaPlaya use a lot, but may have a deal for lower value properties that LaPlaya may not be prepared to deal with.

Norwich Union have underwriters who are prepared to look at historic buildings and unusual situations. Try going to them direct.

Speak with the Listed Preprty Owners Club, as they run a scheme. http://www.lpoc.co.uk

 

[charlie-ia]

oohh, im bout ready to scream! managed to get through to a few people, including julie in stationary! either they dont insure roi, or rhe numbers i were given were for brokers only (they dont like the public using those numbers aparently. one very rude lady!)

having more luck with irish insurers. im still not sure what im asking for. holiday home insurance seems to be what im getting offered so far! is this going to be adequate?

 

[Nemesis]

I can't think so! The place isn't really in the sort of condition which normal insurance covers, is it?

Have you tried talking to conservation socs in Ireland who might have some contacts? Tell them you are rescuing a historic but unlisted Building at Risk, which may yet prove to be older than it first appears.

 

[charlie-ia]

does it need insuring?