Looking for more information about your policy? Check out these frequently asked questions below. If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, contact our friendly advisors, who will be happy to help you.
Quite simply, yes. The limits are set much higher than a standard travel insurance policy. For example, if you have to cancel a holiday due to illness, a high value home insurance policy can cover you up to £15,000 per trip per person. A standard policy is likely to only cover you up to £5,000 per person.
Ever use email frequently or carry out online banking? Thought so. This additional cover is now becoming more and more popular as emails are hacked and identities are being stolen online. Social engineering occurs when you are tricked into transferring money into a fraudulent account. Banks see this as you wilfully transferring the money and are unlikely to reimburse the funds. Personal cyber insurance will protect you in this scenario.
Definitely not. By putting everything in the same pot so to speak, you benefit from scales of economy. By having more and varied assets to insure, an insurer can offer a cheaper rate for your assets and liabilities. Furthermore, the breadth of insurance cover is often wider under a high value home insurance contract than on a standalone insurance product. There will be no inconsistencies or gaps in cover if all your assets are insured with the same insurer under one policy.
An insurance excess is the defined amount the insured agrees to pay towards any claim made. The amount is usually deducted from the final settlement of the claim. Sometimes however it is required to be paid up front. There are two types of endorsements, compulsory and voluntary. A compulsory excess is determined by your insurance company and is the minimum amount they require. A voluntary excess is optional and is in addition to the compulsory level. The main reason to add a voluntary excess is to lower the overall insurance premium.
Example of how an excess works. You lose a £10,000 Rolex Datejust watch. Your policy carries a £500 voluntary and a £500 compulsory excess. You make a claim and the insurer agrees to settle. In light of the excesses on the policy schedule the insurer settles for £9,000 because the insurer deducts the total excess due.
An endorsement is a term used to describe a bespoke amendment to the general terms written within a standard policy wording. Its purpose is to record any change to the original terms of the insurance. An endorsement is also known as: Addendum, Warranty, Subjectivity, Condition or Clauses. Endorsements are written into a policy schedule to protect the insurer from an increased likelihood of loss or to increase the level of cover for the clients benefit.
The endorsement will usually: extend cover, restrict cover, exclude cover or clarify intentions within a policy wording.
Each policy has a limit to which they will pay out for sudden and unforeseen losses. As a customer, it is important to read the IPID or policy wording to understand the inner limits of each product before purchasing. For example, one insurer may only cover up to £5,000 for trace and access whilst another £50,000. One insurer may cover up to 2 years for alternative accommodation and another 5 years.
The truth is Insurance products work like any other products. As a general rule, the more you spend on a household insurance product the greater the quality of the product. On a High Value Home Insurance product you will benefit from higher inner limits because the quality of the product is greater. The old adage is true, you pay for what you get.
