By Trevor Dace
The house insurance product has two variations and the cost of the policy is dependent on the options that you choose.
This is where we split up into standard cover and accidental damage (or all risks). If you purchase standard cover, you have to compare anything that you'd like to claim for with the list of 'peril's against which you are insured. If you can't match the cause of the loss to one of the listed perils, you have no valid claim on that policy. The 'onus of proof' is on your shoulders. That means it is you that has to provide proof to the insurance company that the cause of loss is covered.
If you have accidental damage cover, you effectively have an 'all risks' type of cover. With this type of policy you are covered for any and every possible type of loss, apart from those listed in the policy exclusions. With this type of product The 'onus of proof' rests with your insurance company. In this case that it is up to them to prove that you are not insured against that risk.
Standard Cover
You should be able to find in the policy document a list of risks insured plus another list of exclusions that apply only to that peril. It could look something like this:
- Lightning, Earthquake, Fire, Smoke, Explosion - excludes damage caused gradually
- Aircraft plus articles or parts dropped from them
- Impact by animals, vehicles or falling trees or branches - excludes damage caused by lopping or felling trees
- Theft or attempted theft - excludes losses that occur if left unoccupied for over 30 days or left unfurnished or stolen by a lodger or tenant or paying guest.
- Malicious Persons - the same exclusions as for theft
- Burst Pipes - some exclude frozen pipes, others include it
- Storm or Flood - except for damage by frost and damage by storm to fences, gates and hedges
- Strikes, Riot, Civil Commotion, Political Disturbances or Labour Disturbances
- Oil Leakage
- Mast breakage or collapse, Radio receiving aerials, TV Aerials, Satellite dishes
- Subsidence - A complex list of exclusions not detailed
We will examine each of these in greater detail.
FIRE - Fire damage will normally only be paid for where there has been ignition. Smoke damage from the fire is also covered. You cannot claim for the smoke damage to your decorations caused gradually by smoking cigarettes and so on. That is not a fortuitous event, it is something over which you have control. Hence the exclusion. There are some more exceptions to the rule that there must be ignition but they differ substantially from one insurance company to the next, so you should check them carefully in your policy.
LIGHTNING STRIKES - you are fully covered against any damage to your building caused by a lightning strike. If lightning hits your aerial, sorry but that is a contents claim! Even though aerials are listed as an insured peril, they do not appear in the definition of a building. They do appear in contents. So damage to aerials constitutes a contents claim. Similarly with explosion and earthquakes. Fortunately these are relatively rare here in Britain.
AIRCRAFT - This covers anything dropped from anything that flies. Again, luckily for us, a rare occurrence.
IMPACT - The idea is that if your house is hit by a vehicle or an animal, you are protected. With trees, if you have hired a tree surgeon to fell or manicure a tree, you must ensure that all precautions are taken to stop it hitting your home (or sheds. garage etc). Whenever you have a specialist doing this type of job, and they cause damage to your property, then you are entitled to seek payment for the damage from them. But your policy will still exclude such damage so you cannot ask your insurer for help.
THEFT - Cover is very wide, that is the exclusions do not take much away from you. Whenever your house is left unoccupied for any length of time (e.g. 30 days or more), then cover is reduced as the property is recognised as a more tempting target for burglars. In fact, if your house is left unfurnished or unoccupied you should tell your insurance company anyway! Similarly with a tenant or lodger. The risk of the tenant or lodger being involved in the crime is strong enough that your insurance company does not want to insure against that particular risk, hence the exclusion. Once again, if you are doing this, you should tell your insurance company.
MALICIOUS PERSONS - In many ways this is the same as the exclusions relating to theft.
BURST PIPES - Insurers position on this has gradually changed over the years for the better. A good company will cover any leak, from any pipe, tank or water apparatus, even if it has leaked over a period of time. Some insurers will nowadays include damage caused by frozen pipes defrosting. When I first started working in this industry, it was always the case that the burst pipe was not covered, only the resulting water damage. Where there is clear evidence that the pipe has burst because of corrosion or rust then your insurance company might still raise this argument. Should a nail make a hole in a pipe, for example whilst fitting a carpet, then you will require accidental damage cover for the pipe repair but the resultant water damage to your building is paid for under this peril.
FLOOD OR STORM - The definition of a storm varies from insurer to insurer - check your policy. Frost damage is excluded although damage caused by snow is covered. A frequent disappointment is that damage caused to gates, fences and hedges is not insured. Some fences appear to blow down with even the most mild puff of wind! I have seen at least one insurance company offering additional cover, at a premium, for storm damage to these items.
RIOT, CIVIL COMMOTION etc. - Once more, it is rare for such activities to cause damage to your house, but when it does, you have cover in place. In certain circumstances, your insurance company will have a right to recover their outlay from the police force.
OIL LEAKAGE - For those with oil fired central heating, any damage to your buildings caused by oil leakage is covered.
TELEVISION, SATELLITE AERIALS - As mentioned above, your home is protected if any receiving aerial collapses and causes damage. But the aerials, dishes etc themselves are classified as contents and thus, not included in your house insurance policy.
This is where we split up into standard cover and accidental damage (or all risks). If you purchase standard cover, you have to compare anything that you'd like to claim for with the list of 'peril's against which you are insured. If you can't match the cause of the loss to one of the listed perils, you have no valid claim on that policy. The 'onus of proof' is on your shoulders. That means it is you that has to provide proof to the insurance company that the cause of loss is covered.
If you have accidental damage cover, you effectively have an 'all risks' type of cover. With this type of policy you are covered for any and every possible type of loss, apart from those listed in the policy exclusions. With this type of product The 'onus of proof' rests with your insurance company. In this case that it is up to them to prove that you are not insured against that risk.
Standard Cover
You should be able to find in the policy document a list of risks insured plus another list of exclusions that apply only to that peril. It could look something like this:
- Lightning, Earthquake, Fire, Smoke, Explosion - excludes damage caused gradually
- Aircraft plus articles or parts dropped from them
- Impact by animals, vehicles or falling trees or branches - excludes damage caused by lopping or felling trees
- Theft or attempted theft - excludes losses that occur if left unoccupied for over 30 days or left unfurnished or stolen by a lodger or tenant or paying guest.
- Malicious Persons - the same exclusions as for theft
- Burst Pipes - some exclude frozen pipes, others include it
- Storm or Flood - except for damage by frost and damage by storm to fences, gates and hedges
- Strikes, Riot, Civil Commotion, Political Disturbances or Labour Disturbances
- Oil Leakage
- Mast breakage or collapse, Radio receiving aerials, TV Aerials, Satellite dishes
- Subsidence - A complex list of exclusions not detailed
We will examine each of these in greater detail.
FIRE - Fire damage will normally only be paid for where there has been ignition. Smoke damage from the fire is also covered. You cannot claim for the smoke damage to your decorations caused gradually by smoking cigarettes and so on. That is not a fortuitous event, it is something over which you have control. Hence the exclusion. There are some more exceptions to the rule that there must be ignition but they differ substantially from one insurance company to the next, so you should check them carefully in your policy.
LIGHTNING STRIKES - you are fully covered against any damage to your building caused by a lightning strike. If lightning hits your aerial, sorry but that is a contents claim! Even though aerials are listed as an insured peril, they do not appear in the definition of a building. They do appear in contents. So damage to aerials constitutes a contents claim. Similarly with explosion and earthquakes. Fortunately these are relatively rare here in Britain.
AIRCRAFT - This covers anything dropped from anything that flies. Again, luckily for us, a rare occurrence.
IMPACT - The idea is that if your house is hit by a vehicle or an animal, you are protected. With trees, if you have hired a tree surgeon to fell or manicure a tree, you must ensure that all precautions are taken to stop it hitting your home (or sheds. garage etc). Whenever you have a specialist doing this type of job, and they cause damage to your property, then you are entitled to seek payment for the damage from them. But your policy will still exclude such damage so you cannot ask your insurer for help.
THEFT - Cover is very wide, that is the exclusions do not take much away from you. Whenever your house is left unoccupied for any length of time (e.g. 30 days or more), then cover is reduced as the property is recognised as a more tempting target for burglars. In fact, if your house is left unfurnished or unoccupied you should tell your insurance company anyway! Similarly with a tenant or lodger. The risk of the tenant or lodger being involved in the crime is strong enough that your insurance company does not want to insure against that particular risk, hence the exclusion. Once again, if you are doing this, you should tell your insurance company.
MALICIOUS PERSONS - In many ways this is the same as the exclusions relating to theft.
BURST PIPES - Insurers position on this has gradually changed over the years for the better. A good company will cover any leak, from any pipe, tank or water apparatus, even if it has leaked over a period of time. Some insurers will nowadays include damage caused by frozen pipes defrosting. When I first started working in this industry, it was always the case that the burst pipe was not covered, only the resulting water damage. Where there is clear evidence that the pipe has burst because of corrosion or rust then your insurance company might still raise this argument. Should a nail make a hole in a pipe, for example whilst fitting a carpet, then you will require accidental damage cover for the pipe repair but the resultant water damage to your building is paid for under this peril.
FLOOD OR STORM - The definition of a storm varies from insurer to insurer - check your policy. Frost damage is excluded although damage caused by snow is covered. A frequent disappointment is that damage caused to gates, fences and hedges is not insured. Some fences appear to blow down with even the most mild puff of wind! I have seen at least one insurance company offering additional cover, at a premium, for storm damage to these items.
RIOT, CIVIL COMMOTION etc. - Once more, it is rare for such activities to cause damage to your house, but when it does, you have cover in place. In certain circumstances, your insurance company will have a right to recover their outlay from the police force.
OIL LEAKAGE - For those with oil fired central heating, any damage to your buildings caused by oil leakage is covered.
TELEVISION, SATELLITE AERIALS - As mentioned above, your home is protected if any receiving aerial collapses and causes damage. But the aerials, dishes etc themselves are classified as contents and thus, not included in your house insurance policy.
