PROPERTY INSURANCE

"If I had my way I would write the word 'Insure' upon every door of every cottage …, because I am convinced that with sacrifices which are inconceivably small, families and estates can be protected against catastrophes which would otherwise smash them up for ever.” These are the words of Winston Churchill, words, which still ring true nowadays. So here is a general outline of the main aspects to be considered when seeking a property insurance coverage.

LET’S START WITH THE JARGON

Risk: it designates the property to be insured, whether it is the house you are in the process of building, the one you live in, the one you rent, or the one you invest in.

Damages: the damages that can be possibly done to your property are all here deemed accidental or due to theft. These are the only ones an insurance company is likely to agree to cover of course.

Quote: it is the form that is used to compile all the information needed to establish the best insurance package for each considered risk.

Insurance policy: it is the contract agreed by both parties: the insurance subscriber and the insurance company. It defines the specifics of the cover and it stipulates the costs and conditions of this cover.

Premium: it represents the cost of the insurance policy. It is paid once yearly or typically by monthly installments.

Franchise: it represents the value of damages that an insurance subscriber contractually agrees to pay. In such a case, the insurance company covers only the costs of damages exceeding this franchise.

Civil responsibility: it reflects the obligation that one has to repair the prejudice that he/she caused by virtue of the legislation or of a contractual responsibility.

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF INSURANCE CONTRACTS

Your profile, whether your are an investor, an owner-occupier or a tenant, can dictate the type of cover you contract, whereas the type of risk, house or apartment, that you insure, can dictate the conditions through which you contract your insurance.

The insurance contracted by the property owner-occupier

The owner-occupier protects his/her property by protecting all together the building (the construction including the internal fixtures and fittings) and the contents (the furniture and the personal belongings). The cover may generally include civil responsibility - building.

· When the risk is a house: the contract is drawn directly between the insurance company and the insured party.

· When the risk is an apartment in an apartment block, a contract for the entire building is drawn on behalf of each of the insured parties through the management company of the apartment block.

All the owners jointly agree on nominating one company to insure them all at once. The insurance protects each individual risk against accidental damages towards the building’s common and private areas, to the exception of the personal contents.

The premium are paid by the management company and reallocated as any other common charges to each owner, based on their share of the building. If one owner feels the level of insurance is insufficient, it can usually be topped up and added to the individual insurance for personal contents, which needs to be contracted separately by each owner.

The insurance contracted by the tenant:

Contracting an insurance is not mandatory by law but it is often imposed by the rental contract. It reflects the responsibility implied in contracting the lease and taking care of someone else’s asset. The tenant is then asked to get insurance for the property internal fittings and contents (furniture and personal contents) and against civil liability - building.

Tenants’ contracts are often standard contracts, which are likely to cover the risk at least against accidental damages created by fire, water leakage, glass breakage, theft as well as the cover for civil responsibility - building.

When there are several tenants, the responsibility is allocated proportionally to the value of the occupied space.

The insurance policy is contracted in the same fashion whether the rented property is a house or an apartment; in both case the contract is drawn between the subscriber and the insurance company.

The insurance contracted by the private investor:

The investor can contract an insurance to protect the building and some of the contents, at least the fixtures and fittings in the kitchen and the bathrooms. A cover for civil responsibility - building could be included.

At some point in time investors with property portfolios decide to rent some of their properties out. A cover against lost rental income may also be contracted.

· When the investment property is a house, the contract is drawn directly between the subscriber and the insurance company.

· When it is an apartment, the contract is drawn through the management company on behalf of all the owners, regardless of their status: owner-occupier or investor. It generally covers protection for both private space and common areas. The costs of the insurance policy are reallocated to each proprietary according their share of the building.

WHAT THE INSURANCE CONTRACT PROTECTS YOU AGAINST

You can require an insurance protection for everything you own and for every imaginable situation. We are below listing the most common covers that you are likely to come across when investigating for yourself.

Most common types of cover

Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are covers that you could find in most standard insurance packages. It is however very important to review the small print under each of the headings.

For each of them you usually find instances that are covered and others, which are not covered unless specifically requested (and at an extra cost). You also have a list of situations that are just not covered. So when you think a cover against water damage protects you no matter what, it could protect you against a burst pipe but not for damages created by condensation.

Some headings are also misleading; a protection against lightning could be found under the “fire” heading and not under that of “forces of nature”

6 Civil responsibility

Civil responsibility is also a recurrent item in most standard insurance packages and for the purpose of clarity, we need to distinguish between the two types that you will come across:

· Civil Responsibility - Family: as the head of the family unit, you are responsible for the damages – physical and material - created by your negligence or by that of a member of your family (pets included). This cover is irrelevant of your housing situation and of your property investment portfolio.

· Civil Responsibilty – Building: not to be confused with the above. As the owner and as the occupier of a building, you are responsible for the damages – physical and material -, which may be linked back to this building. The contents of the cover vary with the type of building and with its components, for example, whether there is a lift in it, whether there are some outdoor structures such as a swimming pool, etc.