Sheds and insurance, are you covered?

[hayfield]

An interesting piece either on the BBC website or papers states there has been a 15% increase in claims for sheds, summerhouses and garages mainly down to fire and thefts. Eithe using their sheds as office, of gym or even bar space, the rise in Pizza ovens are also seemingly adding to the rise in insurance claims

 

This is thought to be down to folk now working from home and working from sheds, summerhouses and garages, being described as shoffice's, many of whom may not be covered by their domestic insurance policies

 

This has led me to think how many folk are either working from an outdoor building or using it for their hobby without thinking of its affect on their domestic insurance. With the cost of models these days these can easily go beyond the amount covered in basic domestic insurance policies, the same goes for office technology. Or the basic fact you are only covered for domestic activities.  

[tigerburnie]

I added my outbuildings to my house insurance last year, if you shop around you can find a deal, I increased my covers and reduced my costs by using a comparison site. 

[AMJ]

You need to read carefully the policy as many have individual item limitations.  When we ran a mail order business the value of the stock was added.  It will be scary to value my books, music and models.  Many small items soon add up to a big sum.

 

As a comparison I knew there was a clause in my travel insurance about value for single items so I used to have a policy for the camera.

[hayfield]

1 minute ago, AMJ said:

You need to read carefully the policy as many have individual item limitations.  When we ran a mail order business the value of the stock was added.  It will be scary to value my books, music and models.  Many small items soon add up to a big sum.

 

As a comparison I knew there was a clause in my travel insurance about value for single items so I used to have a policy for the camera.

 

With decent insurance companies they will let you increase the value of items for a price of course. However if you have a valuable collection make sure its fully covered and if kept out of the house it is insured where kept.

 

Work is totally different, again it costs nothing to check if you are covered

[Classsix T]

Could a kind soul advise on when one should perhaps be reviewing the insurance policies they're covered by please? 

I'm in a home sharing situation with someone that has traditionally catered to the bills and financial machinations of the household, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that the amount of "gear" I've accrued over the years has either become more valuable to me personally or has been more expensive to buy. 

I'm thinking specifically about my record collection & hi-fi gear, PlayStation games & consoles and naturally the ongoing additions to the model railway, which have become considerably more expensive than the £40 Lima locos of yore.

 

Any advice welcome, C6T. 

[ejstubbs]

You should be able to take out a personal possessions policy of your own specifically for your items.  This is common for people renting, or students in accommodation provided by their college/university (I remember having a policy for that purpose provided through the NUS when I was at uni, and I must have had something similar after that before I bought my own place).

 

That said, it could well be cheaper if you could arrange through your household admin person to get your personal high-value items included in the general household policy - but it could also introduce complications e.g. if you then decide to move out, or they decline to co-operate.

[hayfield]

10 hours ago, Classsix T said:

Could a kind soul advise on when one should perhaps be reviewing the insurance policies they're covered by please? 

I'm in a home sharing situation with someone that has traditionally catered to the bills and financial machinations of the household, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that the amount of "gear" I've accrued over the years has either become more valuable to me personally or has been more expensive to buy. 

I'm thinking specifically about my record collection & hi-fi gear, PlayStation games & consoles and naturally the ongoing additions to the model railway, which have become considerably more expensive than the £40 Lima locos of yore.

 

Any advice welcome, C6T. 

 

Seek advice from the insurer/broker, the problem in a shared property is calculating who is covered for what. Don't expect you are covered, insurance policies vary greatly. Ask to see in writing for the extent you are protected. Then check with the insurer. The other issue is that you are dependant on a third party maintaining the policy.

 

Having your own policy puts you in control. May not be the cheapest in the short term, but if there is a claim it could be invaluable 

[melmerby]

You can get bespoke model railway insurance from Magnet

https://www.modelrailwayinsurance.co.uk/default.aspx

 

I have that as I can't get household cover on my Garden/Railway Room anymore as it was flooded in 2018 and I claimed for contents damage (£2700).

These days one claim and that's it - no more insurance available.

The original insurer would not renew at all and those that quoted would not include the garden/railway room and any contents in it.

 

With Magnet the building isn't covered but all the model railway contents are. (£15000 IIRC)

Edited August 20, 2021 by melmerby

[Chris M]

One thing to watch out for is the small

print on locks. Many insurance companies (and I think Magnet is one) require you to have locks that are to British Standard in order to insure contents in a garage or garden shed. I think very few sheds will have the right locking mechanism. If you don’t have a BS approved locking mechanism then in the event of a break in your insurance will be invalid.

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, Chris M said:

One thing to watch out for is the small

print on locks. Many insurance companies (and I think Magnet is one) require you to have locks that are to British Standard in order to insure contents in a garage or garden shed. I think very few sheds will have the right locking mechanism. If you don’t have a BS approved locking mechanism then in the event of a break in your insurance will be invalid.

All the locks on my house & garden room are to BS.

The Eurolocks are 3 star or better and the garden room has a BS3621 5 lever mortice lock.

[tigerburnie]

For a price you can insure anything, we added our electric bikes, for not too much.