The Importance of a Block Buildings Insurance Policy

Communal buildings insurance can be complex, but without it, it can pose significant problems for you and your neighbours. Ultimately, to ensure that your full reinstatement value (the cost of re-building your home from scratch) is covered when things go wrong, having a communal buildings insurance policy in place can help put your mind at rest.

Communal buildings insurance policies typically cover the main structures of your building including the walls, roofs, floors, pipes, gardens and services and communal area contents. The most common claims that are made are for water damage caused by a leak between flats or escape of water from the roof. In more extreme cases, claims of damage caused by fire or even a tree hitting the building.

So what happens if you don’t have a block buildings insurance policy? In circumstances where flats hold different insurance policies, each will have its own policy excess, and claiming for communal damage can be problematic – which insurance company is responsible for settlement if the roof of the building covers more than just the claimant’s property for example.

In accordance with your deed of conditions, or the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, owners will have an obligation to ensure that the building is adequately insured. This is most commonly organised by the factor. It’s always recommended that one block insurance policy is jointly shared between the owners.

At James Gibb, most of our developments entrust us to arrange their communal block buildings insurance by delivering the best deal to our customers. We assist in the claims analysis, statistical evaluations and risk analysis of the insurance processes, to ensure that owners can enjoy quality service at the best premium.

Sound good? Get in touch and we can see how we can help you with your block insurance policy and property factoring.