Why it Pays to Ensure You Have Adequate Insurance Cover for Your Property

             

The recent incidence of a major fire starting in Archie’s Bar and quickly spreading to a four-storey building, causing traffic disruption in the centre of Glasgow as thick smoke billowing from the building clouded the city centre’s busy thoroughfares, provided a graphic illustration of just why property owners should ensure that they have adequate insurance arrangements in place.

 

Whilst many property owners, like the rest of us, are tempted to kid ourselves that misfortune is something that only ever happens to someone else, unfortunately, the facts show time and time again that anyone who thinks that they can save themselves some unnecessary expenditure by skimping on their insurance, sooner or later discovers this to have been a false economy.

 

Fire insurance was probably one of the first policies ever written for property insurance. But whilst the incidence of fire in a building is uncommon, it is usually catastrophic. Fortunately, nightclubs and pubs tend to be heavily regulated and must have adequate fire exits and so on before being granted a license, so that it is usually a fire in a residential property that is the chief cause for concern, particularly if the property is under common ownership since a fire in one home will often require a number of homes within the same building to be vacated for a period of time.

 

That’s why all the various property owners of a building under common ownership would be advised to ensure that they all have adequate fire insurance arrangements in place because if one property owner in the building is not insured, then that effectively means that the building is not insured. Where possible it is preferable for the various property owners of a building under common ownership to co-ordinate their fire cover through the same insurer so that, in the event of a fire occurring, they are seeking the reinstatement of insurance cover from a single source.

 

The good news is that if you have a decent insurance policy then, provided that you are adequately insured, you will almost certainly be covered for fire damage. It is of course essential that you have some sort of insurance cover - indeed it is so obvious that I suspect that some property owners occasionally forget either to arrange it or to pay their insurance premium. One of the advantages of a common insurance policy is that this is all taken care of for the policyholder.

 

The advice to the various property owners of a building under common ownership concerning fire cover applies equally to water damage cover - and water damage insurance claims are far more common than fire claims, particularly at this time of year.

 

As we enter the bleak mid-winter, property owners should ensure that they have their pipes adequately lagged and continue to adequately heat their properties, particularly if they are likely to be left vacant for a period of time. And, as a general rule, proprietors should ensure that they maintain their property properly. Whilst the biggest cause of an outbreak of fire in a property is its electric circuit, the biggest threat to a property on an ongoing basis are such prosaic matters as inadequate plumbing and faulty bath seals; items that might appear minor but can prove costly and cause havoc if left unattended.

 

That’s why property owners should seek to ensure that they do all the simple little things, such as turning off all the taps and switching off all the lights whenever a building is to be left vacant for any period of time. But, above all, property owners must ensure that they have adequate insurance cover.

 

Insurance might sometimes be regarded by some property owners as a necessary evil, but only by those who have yet to find themselves in a position where they need to call upon the services of their insurer. After all, insurance is all about transferring certain risks of owning a property from the proprietor to the insurance company.

 

And whilst the most obvious advantage that insurance cover provides is probably peace of mind, there are less obvious benefits too, such as health and safety, security or fire prevention advice. Policyholders might also receive a visit from an insurance company surveyor to examine the property and conduct a risk analysis to lessen the potential for a catastrophic event arising.

 

Disasters don’t always happen to someone else. They can happen to anyone. That’s why property owners would be well advised to take steps now to ensure their properties are adequately ensured against fire and water damage.

 

Keith Bagnall is a Director at Ross + Liddell, property managers

 

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