ChatterBank1 min ago
Building insurance
11 Answers
Hi
I live in a small 1 bedroom maisonette that I own. Within the building there is a 2 bedroom flat and at the front of the property is a small shop. Building insurance is split equally 3 ways. My problem however is that because there is a shop, the buildings insurance has to be (so I'm told by the freeholder) commercial insurance. This means my share of this years will be £263 which I think is way way too much money for such a small property. Is this correct (ie splitting it 3 ways) and does it have to be commercial insurance? I suspect I'm being had over!
TIA
I live in a small 1 bedroom maisonette that I own. Within the building there is a 2 bedroom flat and at the front of the property is a small shop. Building insurance is split equally 3 ways. My problem however is that because there is a shop, the buildings insurance has to be (so I'm told by the freeholder) commercial insurance. This means my share of this years will be £263 which I think is way way too much money for such a small property. Is this correct (ie splitting it 3 ways) and does it have to be commercial insurance? I suspect I'm being had over!
TIA
Answers
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You need to look at your lease. That will lay down the way in which the insurance premium is to be split. If it says 3 ways equally, you can't get out of it.
I think it unlikely that ordinary household cover would be acceptable where a shop is included in the space but - as already suggested - you could ring a few insurers & find out.
I think it unlikely that ordinary household cover would be acceptable where a shop is included in the space but - as already suggested - you could ring a few insurers & find out.
Hi
If the lease says a three way equal split then you are bound to that. Otherwise the premium should be apportioned by the size of each unit within the property assuming the build specification is the same throughout.
The insurer will rate the whole building on the basis of the highest risk which presumably in this case is the shop.
If your unit is separated from the shop by walls and floors/ceiliings which are fire retardent up to a certain level/number of hours and there is no communicating staircase or other void that fire could travel along then you might have an argument for having your property rated differently (I am not sure what the number of hours is the insurer could tell you) .
Finally, the policy will almost certainly include Property Owners Liability - again, unless specified in your legal agreement with the owner I dont see why you should pay a proportion of that.
If the lease says a three way equal split then you are bound to that. Otherwise the premium should be apportioned by the size of each unit within the property assuming the build specification is the same throughout.
The insurer will rate the whole building on the basis of the highest risk which presumably in this case is the shop.
If your unit is separated from the shop by walls and floors/ceiliings which are fire retardent up to a certain level/number of hours and there is no communicating staircase or other void that fire could travel along then you might have an argument for having your property rated differently (I am not sure what the number of hours is the insurer could tell you) .
Finally, the policy will almost certainly include Property Owners Liability - again, unless specified in your legal agreement with the owner I dont see why you should pay a proportion of that.
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You should contact an insurance company that will come over and review the asset. If the asset is legaly devided to 3 different spaces each with a different purpose the insurance shouldn't be commercial for your "piece" of the building as it is not a commercial space. I bet you can even check this out online - https://www.boltinsurance.com/
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