Insurance

Building insurance

We own the building you live in. We must insure it and the common areas. Your share of the building's insurance is in your annual service charge. The insurance runs from 1 April to 31 March. The premium is based on the cost to rebuild the flat. This is called the sum insured which is different from the market value.

The buildings insurance is supplied by Protector Insurance​​​​​​​ (opens new window).

• Leaseholder Buildings Insurance Policy 2023 (PDF, 350 KB)(opens new window)

Types of damage covered by building insurance

Generally, the policy insures the building against the following:

• fire, smoke, explosion, lightning or earthquake
• riot, civil commotion, strikes, labour or political disturbances
• malicious damage
• collision by aircraft, other aerial devices
• falling trees, branches, telegraph poles or lampposts
• theft or attempted theft
• subsidence, ground heave or landslip (an excess of £1,000 applies to each incident or loss)
• accidental breakage of fixed glass, fixed water or heating installations, inspection covers, cables and pipes serving the building
• sudden blockages to drainage

What buildings insurance does not cover

Buildings insurance does not cover every situation. For example, faults by mechanical breakdown and hidden defects are treated as normal repairs. Other examples of situations not covered include:

• wear and tear
• loss or damage to contents and personal belongings, like carpets (if any)
• routine repairs - repairing or replacing worn or broken pipes, heating boilers, or radiators (you can claim for damage to the building caused by a sudden escape of water)
• maintenance failures such as rain seeping through worn-out window seals
• loss or damage after the home has been unoccupied for more than 30 days

If you sublet your property, we suggest that you or your tenant consider additional landlord/tenant's liability insurance. This will cover accidents in your property that cause damage to any of your neighbours' properties. For example, you may owe for repairs if your leaky washing machine damages the flat below yours.

Making a building insurance claim

We will make all claims, directly to the insurers, where we know that an insured peril (for example a storm) has damaged the building or common parts.

All claims for the building will be on your repairs and maintenance statement. 

You must make all damage claims for your property.

If you need to make a claim for your property on the buildings insurance policy, you should:

• check the policy booklet. It will show if the loss is covered and what conditions apply
• understand that the policy has no 'excess' payments, except for subsidence. You pay the first £1,000 for that
• contact the insurer's claims handlers (Sedgwick) at 0161 823 1912 or email protectorclaims@uk.sedgwick.com
• make your claim within 30 days (7 for malicious persons). Include written evidence to support it
• quote policy number 3144036

Contents insurance

You own the property you live in. You are responsible for everything inside it. To protect your belongings, you can get contents insurance from private providers.