Buildings insurance and contents insurance
In most blocks of flats, the structure of the whole building is insured under a single buildings policy. The lease usually says who must arrange it (often the freeholder, a resident management company or an RTM company) and how the premium is recovered, usually through the service charge.
Buildings insurance is different from contents insurance. Contents cover for your belongings, and often for improvements you have made to your own flat, is normally your own responsibility. Check what the building policy treats as part of the "building" before assuming something is covered.
What a buildings policy commonly covers
Policies vary, but block buildings policies commonly include cover for damage to the structure caused by:
- fire, smoke, lightning and explosion;
- escape of water, for example from a burst pipe or tank;
- storm and flood;
- theft or attempted theft damage, and malicious damage;
- impact, and sometimes subsidence.
Many policies also include property owners' liability cover and may include loss of rent or alternative accommodation if a flat becomes uninhabitable. None of this is guaranteed: the actual policy wording, exclusions, conditions and excesses decide what is covered. Wear and tear, gradual deterioration and poor maintenance are commonly excluded.
Check the excess
Most claims carry an excess, which can be higher for some events such as escape of water or subsidence. Your lease decides who pays it, for example the leaseholder whose flat caused the damage or all leaseholders through the service charge.
Finding out about the policy
A good starting point is to ask whoever manages your building, usually the managing agent or landlord, for the insurer's name, a summary of the cover and the excess. If you pay towards the insurance through your service charge, you also have specific rights under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the FCA's insurance rules.
Asking the landlord for a written summary
You can require the landlord, by notice in writing, to give you a written summary of the insurance currently in place. The summary must include the amount insured, the name of the insurer and the risks covered. The landlord must comply within 21 days of receiving your notice, or may instead send you a copy of every relevant policy. The notice can be served on the landlord's agent named for that purpose or on the person who receives the rent, and they must pass it on. A recognised tenants' association can make the request for members who consent.
Asking to inspect the policy and evidence of premiums
This is a separate right. By notice in writing, you can require the landlord either to give you reasonable facilities to inspect the policy and "associated documents" and take copies or extracts, or to take copies and send them to you or make them available for collection, as you choose. The landlord must comply within 21 days of receiving the notice.
- The right covers the current policy and the policy for the immediately preceding period of insurance.
- "Associated documents" means accounts, receipts or other documents that provide evidence of payment of the premiums for those two periods.
- Inspection is free, although the landlord may treat its costs as a management cost. The landlord may make a reasonable charge for anything else, such as making and sending copies.
- If a superior landlord arranged the insurance, there are further rules about passing on the request, and the time allowed may be extended.
Failing to comply with these duties without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence.
Information from the insurer or broker under FCA rules
Since 31 December 2023, FCA disclosure rules have applied to insurance contracts that fall within the FCA's definition of a multi-occupancy building insurance contract, for the benefit of people who are leaseholders within the FCA's definition. Not every policy for a building with several occupants, and not every occupant, is necessarily covered. Where the rules in ICOBS 6A.7 apply, the insurer or broker must, after the contract is taken out and at each renewal, give the policyholder information to pass on promptly and in full to leaseholders. It must include:
- a summary of the cover, including the insurer, main risks, exclusions, sums insured, excesses and policy dates;
- the total premium, insurance premium tax and VAT, with a breakdown at building level (and flat level if the policy specifies it), which may be a reasonable estimate;
- the total commission received by the firm and its associates, and any remuneration paid to third parties such as the freeholder or someone acting for them, in cash terms (estimated if necessary);
- for a broker, how many quotes it obtained and why the policy chosen was consistent with the interests of the policyholder and leaseholders, plus conflict-of-interest information.
Passed on, or provided directly. Normally the firm sends this information to the policyholder and tells them to pass it on. Where the firm is in contact with, or has contact details for, a leaseholder, it may instead provide the information directly to that leaseholder. In that situation, if the firm has been made aware that the leaseholder has not received the information from the policyholder, it must provide the information to the leaseholder (ICOBS 6A.7.3R(3)).
You can contact the insurer or broker. When a leaseholder contacts a firm about this information, the firm must respond promptly, provide clear and accessible support appropriate to the query, and should not create unreasonable barriers to responding. If another firm is better placed to answer, it should refer the query and help you get a response. The policy documents usually name the broker and insurer.
Separately from these disclosures, an insurer or broker may need the policyholder's authority before sharing other confidential policy information, discussing a particular claim or accepting instructions about the policy. The same applies to a managing agent that is not the policyholder.
For background on commissions, see our article on insurance commissions in block management.
Reporting possible damage or a claim
Report damage promptly to whoever arranges the building insurance, usually the managing agent or landlord. Claims are normally made by or on behalf of the policyholder, and policies usually require notice within a set time. If there is a risk to safety, contact the emergency services or relevant utility first.
Information that is often useful when reporting possible damage:
- your name, flat number, building address and contact details;
- when the damage happened or was discovered, and what you think caused it;
- dated photos or video of the damage and its source;
- which flats or communal areas are affected;
- any emergency steps taken, with receipts for urgent work;
- any crime reference number, for theft or malicious damage.
Do not arrange non-urgent repairs before the insurer or its representative has had a chance to inspect, unless you are told it is acceptable.
Notifying the insurer directly
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 gives some leaseholders a right to serve a written notice of possible damage on the insurer. It applies only where the statutory conditions are met, including that:
- you pay a service charge that includes an amount for insurance;
- it appears to you that damage has been caused to your flat or another part of the building that could be the subject of a claim under the policy;
- the policy requires the insured to give notice of claims within a specified period; and
- your notice is served on the insurer within that period, states that damage appears to have been caused and briefly describes it.
Where those conditions are met and the policy's period would end sooner than six months from your notice, the policy has effect for any later claim by the policyholder about that damage as if the period were six months. If the conditions are not met, this extension does not apply.
Act promptly, check the policy's notification terms (ask for the policy or summary if you do not have it) and seek advice if you are unsure. The Act allows regulations to prescribe the form and content of these notices; we have not confirmed whether any prescribed form currently applies, so we do not provide a template.
This is a notice of possible damage. It does not make a claim, give instructions about the policy or entitle you to confidential policy information. Any claim is usually still made by or on behalf of the policyholder, and the decision on a claim is taken by the insurer or a claims handler acting with its authority.
Residents of buildings managed by East Valley can also tell us about damage through our repair reporting form.
If you have concerns
To make sense of the insurance cost figures you have, try our Insurance Cost Sense Check. It is not a quote and cannot tell you whether a premium is reasonable, but it suggests useful questions to ask. If you are concerned about the cost of the premium, see our service charge dispute guide, or use the Leaseholder Help Centre for practical next steps. You can also ask us a general question.