Insurance information for homeowners

Transcription

1 Insurance information for homeowners LO

2 Insurance information for homeowners Enclosed with this leaflet is: A copy of the Insurance Schedule A copy of the Summary of Cover Circle s Contents Insurance leaflet Please note that when the term Circle is used, this refers to all housing associations within the Circle Housing group, including: Russet Homes, Wherry Housing Association, South Anglia Housing Association, Old Ford Housing, Circle 33 Housing Trust, Roddons Housing Association, Merton Priory Homes, Mole Valley Housing and Mercian Housing. Building Insurance All leasehold buildings (including shared ownership) where Circle is the freeholder are insured by Circle. This information leaflet is for customers who own a property where Circle is the freeholder and therefore insures the building. There are some customers who own or rent a property where Circle is not the freeholder. Instead, Circle holds a head-lease from the freeholder. Where Circle holds a head-lease the freeholder (and not Circle) will insure the building. If your freeholder is not Circle the way you make a claim and the insurance policy and conditions may be different. Please contact us for further information if this applies to you. In new shared ownership houses (as opposed to flats) Circle is most often responsible for buildings insurance. This is not necessarily the case for all shared ownership houses, however, as on some older leases the shared owner is responsible for buildings insurance. Please contact us or refer to your lease if you are

3 unsure who insures your building. Your mortgage provider may ask for a copy of our insurance schedule which is enclosed with this leaflet. How do I pay for building insurance? Where Circle is responsible for your building insurance, you will pay towards Circle s insurance policy. This is most often charged to you through your service charge, although in some parts of Circle this is billed separately. What is covered? This cover is for external and structural parts of the building and includes fixtures and fittings such as kitchen units or bathroom suites. There is no cover for your contents and this should be insured separately. It s worth remembering that floor coverings aren t covered in the policy. Details of what is covered and exclusions are in the summary of cover included with this leaflet. Please make sure you read it thoroughly. How much is the excess? At the time of going to print, the insurance policy is with Zurich and is subject to an excess of 50. This is the amount of the claim that the insurers do not cover. In most cases, insurers will inspect before agreeing to pay the claim. If, after the inspection, they agree to meet the cost of the claim they will ask you to pay the 50 excess. The excess is applied per property/per claim. It s worth remembering that the insurance company won t do any work for you until you have paid the excess. Where the claim relates to subsidence, then the excess increases to 1,000 per

4 property/per claim. In the event of large claims such as a fire or flood affecting an entire block, or in the event of subsidence, Circle would deal directly with Zurich Municipal and re-charge leaseholders the excess due. Examples of where you may need to make a claim A leak from the property above has damaged your ceiling and walls. Your window is smashed by a ball from someone playing nearby. A small kitchen fire has damaged your fitted kitchen units. Carrying out some DIY you dropped a hammer into the bath, cracking the plastic or enamel. Contents Insurance For full insurance protection you must have home contents insurance. It is the responsibility of any homeowner to arrange their own contents insurance. This will cover loss or damage to the possessions in the home, and most policies also have the benefit of covering your liability as occupier to protect against claims being made against you by a third party. (i.e. you left a tap running which caused flooding to the flat below) Circle offers a home contents insurance policy underwritten by Aviva. The premiums are highly competitive and you can pick your own sum insured to reflect the value of the contents in your home. Please see the attached leaflet outlining what Circle s home contents insurance covers and the payment options available to you.

5 How to make a claim 1. In an emergency outside office hours please phone Zurich s 24 hour claim line on Please quote our policy number: JHA 22S During business hours you can also contact your local team on the details in this flier. 3. You will be sent a claim form to complete. The first section of the form will be completed for you. You will need to complete the second section. 4. Return the form to Zurich Municipal by: Post: Property Claims Unit, Zurich Municipal, PO Box 108, Farnborough GU14 0XQ Fax: zmpropertyclaims@uk.zurich.com 5. If you have arranged for repairs or works to be carried out for example, emergency boarding, please submit the invoices with your claim form. 6. Once Zurich Municipal has received the claim they will check that your claim is covered by the policy. They will contact you and deal with the claim until completion. 7. Where possible they will appoint one of their approved tradesperson to assist you. In some cases they may need to inspect the damage first and may appoint loss adjusters to help manage the claim. 8. All claims are subject to the policy excess shown in your summary of cover.

6 Contact Us If you require further advice about our insurance policies for buildings and home contents cover, please contact your local team: Circle Living Circle 33, London E: Circle Living Old Ford, London E: Circle Living Russet Homes, Kent E: Circle Living South Anglia Housing Association, Bishop Stortford E: Circle Living Wherry Housing Association, Norwich E: Circle Living Roddons Housing Association, March E: Circle Living Merton Priory Homes, Merton E: Circle Living Mercian Housing, Birmingham E: Circle Living Mole Valley, Dorking E: