Changes to our digital Property Owners product
To make sure we continue to offer your clients a level of cover that's relevant, provides fair value for money and is easy to understand we’re continually reviewing our product offering.
Having recently completed a full review of our digital Property Owners proposition we’ll be making a number of changes to our product in the coming weeks.
What’s changing?
- For a more consistent trading experience, and to provide increased flexibility, we’re harmonising our digital policy wording with our Mid-Market offering making the transition between our products smoother.
- We’ll be providing more protection by introducing nine new cover extensions including Energy Efficiency, Temporary Repair Costs, Loss Minimisation Costs & Prevention Expenditure and Preservation of Undamaged Property.
- We’ve also made the decision to remove the automatic uplift to the buildings and contents sum insured, but we are retaining our average free approach to these sections. We’ll also be retaining the automatic 33% uplift to the optional Business Interruption - Loss of Rent section.
- The Loss of Rent or Alternative Accommodation cover has been updated to provide more clarity for you and your clients. We’ve done this by updating our policy wording to make clear our cover intention and we've broadened the scope of cover to include the option of alternative accommodation for tenants if required. More detailed information on this change will be issued separately in September.
Below you can see full details on the additional covers:
Property Damage
| Clause | Limits and segmets |
|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency | 10% of the claim amount or £10,000 any one claim £10,000 per period of insurance |
| Japanese Knotweed | £2,500 per period of insurance |
| Temporary Repair Costs | £20,000 any one claim |
| Local Authority Rates | £10,000 any one claim £25,000 per period of insurance |
| Loss Minimisation Costs & Prevention Expenditure | £5,000 per period of insurance |
| Unoccupied Building awaiting Demolition & Re-development | Up to the selected Buildings sum insured |
| Buildings awaiting Refurbishment, Redevelopment or Renovation | Up to the selected Buildings sum insured |
| Preservation of Undamaged Property | £25,000 any one claim and per period of insurance |
| Contract Works | Need to notify any contract prices in excess of £100,000 |
Why are you reducing some limits and uplifts?
A review of our claims data has shown that some of the clause limits we’re currently providing aren’t necessary for most businesses in our target market.
Also, in the current economic climate, we believe the automatic uplifts could mask the increased threat of underinsurance. Though average and indexation apply, if limits are incorrect in the first instance then subsequent uplifts may still not be enough to cover a loss at the point of a claim. So, it’s really important that your clients assess their needs properly, allowing you to put the right level of cover in pace from the outset rather than relying on general uplifts.
The changes we’re making are designed to protect your clients throughout the lifecycle of their policy, offering wider cover to suit the needs of individual businesses.
When can I expect this to happen?
Our aim is for these changes to take effect for new business with effect from Monday 16 September, with renewals following from Monday 28 October.