High-rise city living means more and more of us are living atop each other in flats and apartments.
But if you own a flat in a block owned by a third party, it can be difficult to establish your insurance obligations.
For tenants, the situation is simple. As no part of the building belongs to you, you simply need to obtain cover for your contents and personal possessions – no buildings cover is usually required.
For leaseholders though, who own the flat but not the freehold, there can be confusion. Do you need to take out buildings cover? Or is it paid by the freeholder?
Typically, you too will only need to insure your contents – not the building. However, you’ll often find that you are actually paying for the buildings cover too, the cost of the premium hidden away under the ‘maintenance’ or ‘service’ fee you pay each month.
For that reason, some leaseholders decide to club together to buy a share of the freehold – giving them a greater degree of control over the building as a whole, and entitling them to shop for a better deal on buildings insurance.
Contents insurance for flat sharers
Assuming you’re happy to leave buildings insurance to your freeholder’s managing agent, then your sole task is to insure your home contents against damage or theft. You’ll find competitive premiums by comparing quotes from our specialist flat contents insurance brokers.
If you’re renting, then you too will benefit from taking out a policy with a flat insurance specialist. Not least because if you’re sharing with friends or fellow professionals, plenty of other insurers will be giving you a wide berth altogether.
There are several reasons why shared houses can strike fear into an insurer. Firstly, there’s every chance that a former tenant could still be walking around with a set of keys. Even closer to home, there may be concerns surrounding the light-fingered tendencies of one of your existing flatmates.
That’s why many insurers who are willing take you on will insist on paying out only in the event of theft by forced entry.
However well you trust your housemates, a more rounded policy is always favourable. Check out your options by completing the quote request form on our flat contents insurance page today.