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Insurance

James Gibb arranges insurance cover for developments across our portfolio. Due to the size and scale of our portfolio, we can negotiate competitive rates from some of the leading insurance companies and we work with our brokers to source an appropriate policy in terms of both cover and cost, for our homeowners.

Most of our developments entrust us to arrange their communal block insurance policy. In addition, we will arrange engineering insurances where necessary to cover passenger lifts (including statutory inspections) and any other plant and machinery. Regular insurance revaluations (normally every 5 years) are carried out to ensure the building sums insured are up to date. Through the intervening years, we will normally apply an index linked increase in declared value to ensure on-going re-build cost compliance.

We work to ensure claims can be dealt with in a timely and efficient manner and conduct regular management information reviews to track and progress insurance claims.

Buildings Insurance

Buildings insurance provides cover for the costs of repair damage caused by insured events such as storm damage, fire, vandalism and flooding. Many of these events can be unforeseen and out of your control.

The Buildings Insurance Policy covers the fabric of the building along with any communal areas. It does not cover contents within an individual property.

The majority of insurance claims handled within blocks of flats are due to damage caused by the escape of water.

Such events can lead to considerable stress, disruption and possible conflict between neighbours. Many of these events can be easily avoided by on-going routine maintenance by the homeowner.

At James Gibb, we promote proactive property maintenance. In partnership with our insurers, we communicate information regularly to homeowners, to help them prevent insurance claims.

Block Insurance explained

At James Gibb, we appreciate that block insurance cover can be quite complex and the circumstances that lead to an insurance claim can be stressful at times. For this reason, we have created our customer Insurance Guide which contains information about Communal Insurance Cover and the Claims Process, to ensure customers know what is covered and how the claim’s process works. Generally, our customers find this guide to be helpful and that it answers any questions they may have.

Property Owners Liability (POL) Insurance

POL Insurance is included in our buildings insurance premiums for flatted developments. For those in houses with communal areas within the development, POL is the only form of insurance we normally require to have in place.

POL Insurance covers legal liability for injury to third parties within the communal areas.

Simple examples of potential claims could be a tile falling off a roof and hitting a passer-by, or a visitor tripping on an uneven surface. As these areas are common or mutual areas under ownership of the collective Duty Holders (Homeowners), this insurance will protect homeowners against any liability claim following injury or other.

Commission explained

It is normal for factoring businesses and their brokers to take a commission on insurance products. Significant time is required and dedicated within James Gibb, to ensure that on-going support is provided, that we engage with our brokers and insurers on claims analysis, statistical evaluations and risk analysis. By doing so, we aim to continually mitigate insurance losses, thereby reducing policy losses and allowing us the opportunity to negotiate more favourable terms at renewal.