Best Home Insurance Blog

Cheap Home Insurance :Water: The no.1 threat to your holiday home

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:39:43 +0000

We take out insurance to protect against unforeseen risks, but do you know what the biggest threat is to your holiday home? Fire, theft, accidental damage, storms, subsidence?… water is the biggest threat. According data from Legal & General, insurance companies paid out

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We take out insurance to protect against unforeseen risks, but do you know what the biggest threat is to your holiday home?

Fire, theft, accidental damage, storms, subsidence?… water is the biggest threat.

According data from Legal & General, insurance companies paid out £730 million for water-related claims last year. This figure is more than double the £370 million for burglary claims.

Nearly 1 in 5 claims made on buildings and contents insurance is for damage caused by escape of water, costing £2 million every day. Last year, 371,000 such claims were made with the average claim just under £2000, compared with £1,400 for burglary claims. However, some water damage claims can run into tens of thousands of pounds. *Source ABI.

Types of water damage risks

Unfortunately, too many property owners underestimate the distress and damage that water can cause. Water really can be your property’s number one enemy, potentially causing a whole host of problems from rising damp to flooding; burst pipes to toxic mould; and even, in some cases, subsidence.

Will the insurance pay out?

Most insurers should pay out for water damage perils as standard. However, there are exceptions. If you live in an area with a high risk of flooding, your insurer may specifically exclude flood-related damage. Also, if you have failed to declare any flood risks associated with your property or have misrepresented facts, your cover could be invalidated.

And do note that in some circumstances, home insurance for second homes may not cover escape of water damage due to freezing, if you have failed to comply with the winter heating warranties in your policy.

For other types of claims, particularly those related to weather, you should make sure your property is kept in a good state of repair to ensure that claims aren’t turned down due to poor maintenance.

Never underestimate the damage that even a small amount of water can cause. Carrying out regular checks and maintenance on any vulnerable areas may help you prevent a small leak turning in to an expensive nightmare.

Related posts:
Burst pipes: the biggest threat to your holiday home
Floodcheck: Prevent water damage at your holiday home
Increased water charges following a burst pipe

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Best Home Insurance :Holidays at Home are GREAT – is the VisitEngland campaign?

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:39:43 +0000

Why on earth would anyone want to go abroad in twenty twelve? That is the message from the government-backed, VisitEngland multi-million pound advertising campaign to encourage Brits to holiday at home this year and not go abroad. The UK is a fantastic holiday destination with lots

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Why on earth would anyone want to go abroad in twenty twelve?

That is the message from the government-backed, VisitEngland multi-million pound advertising campaign to encourage Brits to holiday at home this year and not go abroad.

The UK is a fantastic holiday destination with lots to offer, and 2012 is going to be a year to remember with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics.

Criticism

However, the campaign is not without its critics. Abta criticised the government for pitching domestic holidays against foreign holidays, which could damage the wider economy. Outbound tourism contributes hugely to the UK economy in terms of taxes, jobs and consumer spending on items before they go away.

Discounts expected

The campaigns “20.12%” discounting gimmick has also been criticised by self catering operators as it sets the expectation of a 20% discount when booking a UK holiday. Some rental owners are already struggling and constantly have to deal with ‘best price’ requests.

Will Brits change their holiday plans?

Many Brits have said that they have not changed their holiday plans for this year, and are still planning to travel abroad for their traditional summer break.

In these difficult economic times travel patterns are certainly changing, with the price, weather, €, petrol costs and flights all typically affecting decisions. However, holidays are usually the last thing to forgo when times are tough.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Is the £4 million campaign a waste of taxpayer’s money? It depends how success will be measured. The tourism industry generates billions of pounds of spending each year and supports millions of tourism-related jobs. The costs are relatively small in comparison.

Related posts:
Insurance For Cottage Holidays
Recap of holiday home news: 11 June 2010
Recap of holiday home news : 22 June 2009

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Best Home Insurance :Burst pipes in France: Tips to avoid an insurance disaster

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:39:42 +0000

Many French holiday home owners will soon be visiting their properties for the first time since they locked them up for winter at the end of last year. When they visit spring will be in the air…the days longer, the sun shining and the garden will be coming into life. All the

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Many French holiday home owners will soon be visiting their properties for the first time since they locked them up for winter at the end of last year. When they visit spring will be in the air…the days longer, the sun shining and the garden will be coming into life.

All the signs that temperatures in parts of France plunged to -17C over winter won’t be visible until the owner enters the property. Cracked boilers, split radiators and the subsequent water damage can be horrendous.

Due to extreme freezing temperatures, we have seen an increase in the number of burst pipe insurance claims in France this winter. However, many second home owners who visit their properties infrequently and only discover damage weeks, even months after it occurred could be uninsured.

Will your claim be paid?

What does your insurance policy stipulate in relation to leaving your property empty?

It is a condition on most policies that you must turn off the water supply when your holiday home in France is left unoccupied. You may also have to drain water from pipes and the heating system or use anti-freeze.

Our experience is that many property owners in France take sensible precautions by turning off the water, this significantly reduces the extent of the water that can escape and cause damage. However, boilers still crack, radiators shatter and pipes split – adding anti-freeze is a further step to prevent this.

Tip: If you do not take the required precautions and there is water damage the insurance company may not pay the insurance claim for damages. Ensure you fulfil your unoccupancy obligations as outlined in the policy.

Claims deadlines

One of the issues with UK residents with holiday homes in France that are not inspected regularly is that damage may not be noticed for weeks, even months after the incident.

You should be aware that typically, French insurance policy terms require claims to be submitted within five to ten days of the damage occurring. This may be extended if the government decrees a state of catastrophe naturelle (natural disaster).

These tight deadlines for filing French insurance claims can leave property owners who are unaware of a loss or damage unable to claim if it’s outside the stringent claims deadline.

Tip: Check what your insurers’ claims procedure is. Ideally, the terms should stipulate that claims should be filed as soon as damage is discovered. Ensure you have someone who can check your property frequently, especially during frosty periods and after storms, to identity damage early on.

Repairing damage

If you are faced with burst pipes or a broken boiler, what should you do – repair the damage or wait?
In general, you should only do what’s necessary to prevent further damage and mitigate any loss or damage. Carrying out repairs before a loss adjuster has assessed the damage could jeopardise a claim.

It should be noted that most policies do not cover the repair of the frost damaged pipes, boilers, radiators etc. Just damage caused by escape of water.

Tip: If carrying out repairs to mitigate a loss, gather supporting evidence for your claim. Take photos, keep damaged items and receipts for items purchased.

Don’t get caught out

Burst pipes happen all year round, but by taking simple precautions water damage and burst pipes can be avoided.

Many people take out French insurance and don’t read the policy terms, especially if their knowledge of French is limited. Consequently, shortfalls in cover are only usually discovered when trying to claim.

Choosing a UK based insurer of French holiday homes, such as Schofields, who provide support and policies in plain English can clarify what cover property owners have, and how to be comprehensively protected.

If you need any advice please get in touch.

Related posts:
What to do when pipes freeze or burst
Burst pipes – 3000 claims in one day
Burst pipes: the biggest threat to your holiday home

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Home Insurances :Should you give your holiday cottage address to enquirers?

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:39:42 +0000

No doubt you have received an enquiry for your holiday cottage which also requested the exact address of the rental property. Should you give it out? Is it a potential burglar who has seen photos of your holiday property contents and your availability calendar – so they know

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No doubt you have received an enquiry for your holiday cottage which also requested the exact address of the rental property. Should you give it out?

Is it a potential burglar who has seen photos of your holiday property contents and your availability calendar – so they know exactly when your holiday property is empty.

What if you don’t disclose the exact location, will you lose a booking?

Why enquirers request the exact location

Have you ever booked a holiday and the view was totally different than the one advertised, or the beach/town was a 2 mile trek instead of the ‘short walk’ claimed by the owner. From the renters’ point of view, many have had such experiences and they want reassurances that when they are booking their ‘dream holiday’ the property is as advertised.

Travellers do a lot of planning before booking a holiday. On average, they visit 22 websites during 10 research sessions prior to booking. In addition to looking at photos they like to plot a property precisely on a map to see what is around and find it on Google Streetview.

Therefore, address requests aren’t unusual, but could you be exposing your property to risk?

What are the security risks of giving out your address

From the comfort of their computer burglars can find out a lot of information about holiday lets. How remote the property is, when it’s empty, what valuables are there and when guests are arriving with valuables.

There are thousands of instances of holiday cottages being broken into when empty, but whether the burglary was by an opportunist, or if the holiday property was specifically targeted because of freely available information is unconfirmed.

Typically, holiday rentals don’t contain an array of valuables so they aren’t as appealing to burglars as say a main residence, therefore break-ins are less common.

If someone is determined to commit a burglary they will usually find a way. All you can do is make it harder for them with security measures and hope they choose an easier target.

A solution

Unless you live on-site, I would be wary of giving out too much information to ‘strangers’ until they are either a confirmed booking or you verify who they are – landline number, address etc.

A post code and name of the road rather than the full address may be enough to give a good idea of the general location.

Some rental listing websites allow advertisers to pinpoint on a map where their rental is. You may want to select the furthest zoom level or remove the map marker on the map so travellers can only see an overview map of the general area.

You can also create a Google map with a pin point of the general area for your personal website.

Check you are insured

The steps you take to protect your location are irrelevant if you are burgled and you are uninsured due to non-compliance with your policy terms. Check your second home insurance cover for security requirements – do you have to install specific window/door locks? or have an alarm for example? If you do an they are not inforce, theft cover could be void.

Related posts:
Airport closures – should you give guests a refund?
What to do about smokers in your holiday cottage
Breaching Holiday Cottage Occupancy Limits

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Cheap Home Insurance :Ask the holiday home insurance expert roundup – part 2

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:39:42 +0000

Got an insurance question relating to holiday homes or letting? Here are common questions asked by fellow holiday home owners. Feel free to contact us if you have a question for one of our insurance experts at Schofields. Q. We are renting a Gite in France in the first two weeks of

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Got an insurance question relating to holiday homes or letting? Here are common questions asked by fellow holiday home owners. Feel free to contact us if you have a question for one of our insurance experts at Schofields.

Q. We are renting a Gite in France in the first two weeks of August and the property owner has asked us if our insurance policy covers accidental, fire or water damage to their property. Is there a policy available that would cover a two week holiday period while we are renting a French property?

A. This is a question that is frequently raised by those renting villas and gites in France. Ideally, the property owners’ insurance should protect their home against such risks when renting, as is the case with UK sourced insurance. However, in France this is often not the case and the holidaymakers are asked to provide proof of civil liability insurance.

This is a common problem when French owners rent to non-French residents. This post explains further.

A travel or main residence insurance policy usually includes an element of liability cover which may be suitable. Alternatively, try searching on Google for ‘adar insurance’ who offer a policy which some holiday rental agencies in France use.

Q. I have a second property which has been insured with Schofields for the past 3 years. I do not let out this property and wonder if I am insured for (and paying extra for) cover that only applies if it’s a holiday let?

A. The standalone policy we offer covers the owner whether they choose to holiday let their property or not. You are correct that certain aspects of the policy apply when holiday letting, such as loss of rental income. All the features are built into the policy as standard and can not be removed.

Property owners are often misguided with regards to public liability insurance, in that they don’t think they need the cover if they aren’t letting their property. A third party could be injured on or near your property (e.g. postman, neighbour) holding you liable, therefore liability cover is essential.

The premium is calculated using the buildings and/or contents sum insured, so you aren’t paying extra for holiday letting cover. If your policy includes accidental damage to contents, this can be deleted to reduce the premium. The premium can also be reduced by choosing a higher excess.

Q. I am trying to find out some information about insuring our holiday cottage that we let for short-lets. We currently have it insured, but our insurer only provides cover for temporary accommodation for guests if an ‘insured peril’ arises e.g. flood/fire/escape of water. We recently had the situation where the only toilet in the cottage broke, so the guests had to be put up elsewhere.

Can you tell me if this situation is something that is covered by yourselves, would you cover temporary accommodation expenses?

A. The alternative accommodation cover on our policy (and most policies) only comes into effect if the property becomes uninhabitable due to an insured peril, e.g. loss or damage by flood/fire/escape of water.

Such an incident would not be covered as it would be considered a maintenance issue. The same applies to heating failure, frozen external supply pipe etc. Taking out a separate home emergency insurance that covers boilers and plumbing is an alternative, but the value of such policies are often questioned. Having an emergency handyman on call for repairs is a good solution.

Q. A question our insurance advisers are often asked is “What is the accidental damage to contents cover? Surely all damage is an accident?”

A. Not exactly. The accidental damage to contents addon will cover you against human error, such as red wine spilt on a carpet or sofa, a cracked TV, or a hot pan burning a kitchen table. All common claims when holiday homes are let out. When properties aren’t let, such claims are infrequent as owners are more careful, so properties used primarily by owners only, often don’t take this extra cover.

Q. I have a holiday home in Spain and I have the opportunity to let it for 12 months to local friends (professional jobs), so it will effectively cease to be a ‘holiday home’. Can you provide cover?

A. Unfortunately we are unable to cover long term rentals abroad, only short term holiday rentals.

Q. From renewal my current insurer requires a mortice deadlock of at least 5 levers on exit doors, window locks, shutters or embedded metal grilles for ground level windows. Do you require such security?

A. If the value of the contents insured is below £20,000 we do not generally require specific security measures. If a policy requires such security measures, it’s important that they are inforce for a claim to be valid.

Q. Do you insure static caravans?

A. We do not insure caravans or static caravans although there are specialists who do.

Q. I’m looking for insurance for an apartment in Flaine in France (ski resort). Does your cover include apartments, and if so how do we estimate a re-build value?

A. Unfortunately we are unable to cover holiday homes in winter ski resorts. The best way to get an accurate rebuild cost is to instruct a qualified surveyor or check your survey for a rebuild value.

Q. We are about to book a holiday in the UK and the letting agency has asked for a deposit of 50% now, 50% 2 months before arrival. Do you offer a policy which will insure our holiday payment? We may have to use a cheque depending on the letting agency.

A. Our holiday cancellation insurance only covers the cost of the holiday should you have to cancel due to illness etc. See the policy wording on our travel website travel.schofields.ltd.uk. Ideally you need ‘end supplier failiure’ cover should the holiday company go bust. Some travel insurance policies cover this. Alternatively, pay by credit card which offers protection on most payments of £100 and above.

Q. Is there a minimum period of occupancy required each month, quarter etc. for a UK holiday home?

A. No, as long as the property is used/let as a holiday home and is not a permanently unoccupied property, being renovated up for sale etc. Our website clarifies what we consider a UK holiday home/second home.

Any more questions? simply ask in the comments or contact us.

Related posts:
Ask the holiday home insurance expert roundup – part 1
MPs’ Second Home Insurance Claim Declined
How to cancel your home insurance policy

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Acekard 2i pour DSi 1.4.4 Gauche Avec Vidéo

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:52:37 +0000

Acekard 2i :

VOICI le tuto complet écoulement mettre à jour Votre linker Acekard 2i R4i

DSi Verserv1.4.4. L ‘équipe officielle du linker Acekard 2i avait Lancé à jour

les fichiers de patch.C’Est UNE bonne coulée les nouvelles Vraiment possesseurs

de-la-carte. Pour commencer:

Tout d’Abord, AVEZ Besoin de Vous les Logiciels Préparateur Site Officiel nominale:

Acekard 2i firmware: 1.8.9 AKAIO

Mise à jour du fichier patch: mise à jour firmware pour la console et Ak2i 3DS3.0DSi1.4.4

1) Téléchargez nominale Les logiciels Site officiel et l’en-Suite Ouvrez

2) __ aio Copiez Dossier Fichier et Dans Le correctif Mise à jour de la Racine

VotremicroSD / micro R4i SDHC. VOICI CE Que Vous devriez AVOIR:

Lancez le fichier “ak2ifw_update_3ds21_DSi143.nds” si vous avez R4i

une DSi / DS, vouslancez le fichier " ak2ifw_update_3ds21_DSi143_onDSL.nds”

si vous avez une DS Lite.

Attention: si vous avez une DS Lite, appuyez sur Start lorsque vous êtes invité

R4i et attendre que tout est fait, il peut prendre 30 secondes.

Ici, j’ai la DS lite.

3) avec la R4i DS Lite dans votre MicroSD Acekard 2i début.

Et appuyez sur le bouton «A»pour continuer les étapes

[Tuto] dernières mises à jour pour R4i Supercard DSTWO 1,44

Supercard DSTWO 1,44 :

Nouvelles Bonnne pour les propriétaires de DSTWO gauche super. Il a été membre

R4i de la famille, l’éditeur de liens, qui fonctionne bien sur la DSi ave 1,44

mise à jour.

Pour mettre à jour votre Supercard DSTWO, utiliser un faudrat console compatible etcapable d’exécuter l’éditeur de liens.

Vous ne pouvez pas mettre à jour, l’éditeur de liens par une DSi ou DSi version de 1.44:

1.Formatez votre micro SD ou micro R4i SDHC

(FAT ou FAT32).

Deuxième Installer et préparer votre linker pour copier le dernier firmware sur votre gauche.

Troisième Téléchargez le fichier mise à jour et l’ouvrir. Tous sont à la racine de la carte mémoire placée.

4e Copiez le contenu du fichier téléchargé dans le répertoire racine de votre

R4i carte mémoire pour remplacer les fichiers et dossiers existants comme suit:

5e Une fois les fichiers sont remplacés, insérez la carte mémoire dans votre

gauche, puis la mettre dans votre console games

6e Allumez la console, lancez votre linker. Vous recevrez un message vous demandant de choisir entre A et B, le solin autour de l’éditeur de liens, et la compatibilité

avec votre Nintendo DSi / DS Version 1.44 ou pas, si vous ne publiez pas votre linker devient déjà compatible.

7.Appuyez A, et suivez les instructions à l’écran (en anglais), clignote à gauche et attendez que le patch a atteint 100%, avant d’éteindre la console.

8e Allumez la console est maintenant corrigé et votre linker compatible avec la Nintendo DSi / DS Lite 1.44!

9e Les bons jeux jamais

www.hcexport.com

Skip Bin Hire New Trend

admin — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:16:20 +0000

It is not a type of trend like the teenage boy singer with good haircut, however it is a trend all alike. Over the last few months, apparently there exists this trend where people choose to call for a rubbish removal to wash the trash they make instead of awaiting the garbage truck to pick out it up twice per week. It’s usually simply because that today’s household has more trash that it’s a few years ago. The twice day a week trash track is not going to cover up the smell that is accumulating several days before it appears.

This can be one of the reason there are other people now that demand the skip bin companies. Though it does be more expensive money over a trash truck, at least your home will free from unhealthy smell. One of many firms that give that kind of service is Bookabin. To utilize the service, we are able to just go to the website in Bookabin.co.nz.

The price for a skip bin hire is varied. It will likely be depending on the form of skip bin the customers plan to have and some other requirements. It will also save the shoppers hugely in hiding the amount of trash they’ve.

An Overview on Redundancy Insurance Quotes

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 03:52:10 +0000

People never like thinking about not putting in much effort to their job, but the preparation needed is possibly the best way of defense in terms of financial topics. This is more so the case if you are having periodic mortgage repayments, or simply having to make loan repayments or some other kind of credit card debts. The Redundancy Insurance Quotes can offer you a lifeline if are more so an unemployed one. You can find the cheapest online life insurance quotes by surfing the websites dedicated Redundancy life Insurance.
Employments are never safe presently and sadly enough you could turn into a statistic. However, by means of managing a rule to fall back on you can receive an income free of tax which permits you to go on financing the debt repayments. The payment protection is also possible to be out in the mortgage form of payment protection, in the form of loan payment protection or even in the form income protection. You also require considering cautiously which sort of policy majority of your suits need. Once you are done with reading the terms and regulations and are quite determined for the majority of the convenient policies that you can easily compare the quotes for the economic most premiums. The Redundancy Insurance Quotes can be an option.
Whenever approaching at the cover you require being conscious that all of the policies are having exclusions which can prevent you from turning into eligible. The Redundancy Insurance Quotes are surely one of the best things to avail. The exclusions are possible to a little bit of different from one provider to the other but there are few present in all of the policies. Men who are involved with the part time employments, are usually more of a self-employed type, or are predominantly suffering from the pre-prevailing medical situation or who might be retired would perhaps not get benefitted by means of holding a fair policy.

Benefits of payday organization that gives instant loans

admin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:56:07 +0000

Payday organization that approves instant & online loan has become very famous indeed. The process of getting loan here is very easy & takes a very short time. So when you need instant money you will find them very handy. The thing you need to make sure is that they are BBB registered or not. If not then you need not to worry since there are many such organizations that are “better business bureau” registered.
One of the benefits is that your loan will be approved avoiding credit check. Only their terms & conditions will be written in the contract & you must follow those. For example people under age eighteen are not eligible for the loan. They should have a minimum monthly income & so on.
The amount of money could be up to $1500 maximum which is probably more than enough during the circumstances on which people generally apply for payday loan. Some organizations give loan of amount more than that. Cash advance loan is the other name of payday loan. The fees of this loan are very minimal & reasonable.
For the people having bad credit history they suffer to get a loan from the typical loan giving companies. For them there is a special type of offer there. They will also get loan immediately but their fees will be a little higher. This kind of payday loan is obviously of great help to them.
Today the world is suffering a tough economic time. People have to pay their bills, grocery bills, some unexpected automobile bills. Sometime they need to pay medical bills suddenly. People do not have money with them all the time. At these crucial moments these loans given by the payday organization is of great help. You are also safe with your financial information since the organization will keep them secret.

3 most pricey states for home insurance

admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:42:10 +0000

As if bad credit home loans were not enough, now home insurance is also an important part of your home building and maintenance plans that is vital yet not all too attention grabbing. This is because more often than not, most home owners forget to get insurance for their homes and are seen to regret not having done so in case of any mishap later on. However, before approaching your insurance provider for the same, here is some information to acquaint you with the states that have the highest home insurance rates on offer:

Louisiana- This is one state where the standard home insurance quotes are about 101.6 percent above the nation wide average. Most home owners have been seen to pay an annual premium of close to 1500 dollars.
Oklahoma- This serene state is famous for being on the heavier side of the home insurance rates as much it is for its pristine beauty. The average annual premium goes up to above 1000 dollars for Oklahoma home owners and the quotes are higher than the USA average by about 46 percent.
Florida – Given the share of lovely climes and beaches, Florida ranks high in the list of tourist destinations. However, in terms of the home insurance quotes too, the Floridian home owners pay at least 42 percent more than the standard USA insurance quotes. The annual premium averagely paid by a Florida home owner too is close to 1000 dollars.

Reasons contributing to higher than standard quotes

The prime reason as to why these states have higher or rather the highest home insurance quotes is their propensity to get ravaged by natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes. Florida, especially, has higher rates owing to the higher home values that each property has attached to them.

Despite understanding all these facts, it is most important that the insurance applicant takes some time to search into the quotes, rates and the like for their home insurance. Talk out with your insurance company and then sign the dotted line on the home insurance papers.

David Capulet is a finance expert since the past two years and also commands an authority on credit report related matters. His latest article on FICO score can be read on the given link.