James Gibb Block/Buildings Insurance – Annual Review

Those of you who had their block insurance arranged through us last year will remember that we consolidated our portfolio before the May 2016 renewal and, as a result, extensively searched the market, though various brokers and insurers, to ensure the best value deal for our customers. All owners benefitted from an overall reduction in premium rate as a result of this.

On a quarterly basis, we meet with our brokers (currently Marsh) and our insurers (currently Allianz) to discuss key indicators such as performance, service delivery, claims history, changes in legislation etc. We are satisfied, as a result of these meetings, that the service provided is swift, efficient and straightforward. These are hugely important factors when dealing with insurance as we know that making a claim typically happens under stressful circumstances.

Of course, as important as delivery of service, are premium costs and it is our duty, as your Property Managers, to ensure we secure the best financial deal for you as well as ensuring the provider delivers on service.

On your behalf, we are delighted to have secured a renewal deal, with our current brokers and insurer, which imposes no increase in the premium rate from last year’s level. (The premium is calculated by multiplying the declared value by a defined rate).

This is, of course, great news. It’s not the only thing that determines the overall premium, though. There are some variables that are out with our control, such as Insurance Premium Tax (IPT).

When we renewed our policy last year, IPT was set at 9.5%. In October 2016, this was increased to 10%. This had no effect on your existing premium as IPT is charged at the rate in place at the time of renewal and remains for the duration of the policy.

In June of this year, the Government is increasing IPT to 12% but, since the renewal on the 28^th May, the IPT on your renewal policies are 10%, a 0.5% increase from last year.

Peace of Mind

It is also important to ensure that the “declared value” of your development; i.e. the potential cost of re-build, is maintained at a level commensurate with inflation, rising costs of raw materials etc. Because of this, all brokers / insurers perform an annual index linked review of declared values. This year, we have agreed a modest 2% increase in declared value for most of our developments and this will be reflected in your overall premium. This annual index linked review gives insurers, us and you peace of mind that your property is fully covered in the event of a total loss situation.

This increase in declared value will not apply to those developments (mainly services from our Aberdeen office) that had a re-valuation survey performed within the last year.

Your new insurance schedules / certificates are available to view on your on-line portal accessed from our website. The certificate offers details of insurer, sums insured, premium, excesses etc. Your insurance policy is also available on our website, in the “Documents and Guides” tab. Commissions are unchanged from last year and are available to view on your development schedule on your on-line portal.

If you have no access to our website or portal and wish to see any of the above documents, please contact your local office for details.