Insurance when completing on new home

[neonplanet40]

Hi folks,

Basically, we are meant to be getting the keys to our home on Wednesday. We only completed the missives a few days ago. We have tried to get home insurance but the first one we got - the solicitor wouldn't accept. No reason given.

We have now taken out a policy with MoreThan insurance. However, they take 10 days to send out the documents.

The only thing they can do on Monday is send us out an insurance policy cover letter proving the property is insured etc. They said this should be enough for the solicitor and lender.

Does anyone know if this is correct or not?

I never thought insurance would end up causing so much hassle. It's hard to find any which send out policy schedules etc instantly. The only one we did find was Axa which is 4 times more expensive than everyone else.

Can anyone recommend any insurance providers which instantly send out digital versions of all policy details?

Thanks for your help

[neonplanet40]

Also, what if I take out a new insurance which sends me the documents, but then cancel it after we move in and order the cheaper one again. Will this cause a problem or is it perfectly legal?

Thank you

[Saracen]

I can only give a few thoughts, not advice, because a) my mortgage days are behind me, and b) a lot has changed since then anyway.

My first thought is about the "solicitor" that "refused to accept". Whose solicitor? If yours, require an explanation from him. He does, after all, work for YOU.

Second, and remembering things have changed, this sort of thing is why I was advised (by a lawyer friend ( ) to NOT use a solicitor provided by or suggested by anotger actor in the deal, like a convenient lawyer the estate agent suggested. Ditto, mortgage broker.

I FIRMLY recommend going your own way, both for solicitor and mortgage. That way, there is no doubt in their mind about who they work for, and no potential conflict.

Third, the solicitor may well have had good reason for rejecting the first policy, but if he doesn't tell you what it was, you can't know what to avoid.

Finally, given that a loan was secured from a lender onvthe property, that lender clearly has a valid reason for requiring adequate insurance. It USED to be that they, the bank or building society, effecting told you who the policy was with an arranged it, and you just got the bill. As I remember it, the law changed (oh, 15 or so years ago) banning that and opening it up so that the insurance HAD to adequately protectcthe property, BUT that you could arrange your own. When I first did that, my premium effectively halved from the rip-off the building society had been charging their captive market. Thieves.

As far as I'm aware, YOUR solicitor can do no more than advise what polucy would be acceptable or not, but it's the mortgage lender's decision and IF they reject a policy for inadequate coverage, they ought to be able to tell you in what way it was inadequate.


That said, again, my experience in this is well and truly out of date, so these comments come with an expired sell-by date.

[Saracen]

Also, what if I take out a new insurance which sends me the documents, but then cancel it after we move in and order the cheaper one again. Will this cause a problem or is it perfectly legal?

Thank you

Potentially, a problem. The insurance (as I understand it) MUST be sufficient to protect the lender's investment, and if amy subsequent policy doesn't, you'd likely be looking at breach of contract, at a minimum.

It's not necessarily changing policy that's the issue, but whether a cheaoer policy has the required coverage.

Generally (and with exceptions) if one company or policy is a lot cheaper than another, there's a reason. It MIGHT be an actuarial reason with differing perceptions of risk, but it also might be more exclusions, less coverage or inadequate money levels. That could vary, policy to policy, and generic answers are impossible.

[neonplanet40]

It was the way the first company issued the documents that the solicitor didn't like.

We have ordered More Than insurance but the documents take 10 days till arrive. So I have ordered buildings insurance with TSB (Our mortgage provider) to get through the key exchange etc. Then I'll cancel it. If anything, Morethan provide better cover for a bit less than TSB do so the insurance will definitely meet the requirements of the lender. its just the time it would take to get all the documents which is what the solicitor need.

Thanks for your reply though. Our solicitor is useless. BUT, 3 days before key exchange, its too late to change. We now just need to see it through. Live and learn etc . . . .

I just wanted to make sure that having 2 insurances overlap for a day wasn't illegal as we intend to cancel the |TSB insurance as soon as we complete and just keep the MoreThan insurance.

[Lucio]

Risky, very risky. You need to check your mortgage contract with a fine toothed comb if you want to try and cancel the insurance policy with the mortgage provider. If nothing else, you might find you get hit with an administration charge plus the full cost of the year's insurance as most insurance policies are sold on the basis of you buy the product, and then take out a seperate loan agreement to make the payments (as people often don't have a spare £500 odd quid lying around and like the idea of monthly payments)

[neonplanet40]

I have checked it. The insurance was bought online, not through the local branch etc or linked to the mortgage in anyway. We always pay annually. If you cancel it within 14 days there is no charge or administration fee.

[Spud1]

I just wanted to make sure that having 2 insurances overlap for a day wasn't illegal as we intend to cancel the |TSB insurance as soon as we complete and just keep the MoreThan insurance.

It's not illegal but if you had to claim during that period you'd have a fight as to who pays out. You can normally set specific cancellation dates and start dates (even times with some companies) to avoid that problem when switching though so it should be fine.

I would have thought that all you would have had to provide the solicitor/lender would be the insurance policy number and insurer name - I wasn't even asked for that when buying my house (7 years ago) they just told me I had to have insurance in place.

[neonplanet40]

I would have thought that all you would have had to provide the solicitor/lender would be the insurance policy number and insurer name - I wasn't even asked for that when buying my house (7 years ago) they just told me I had to have insurance in place.

I thought this too but they required the policy schedule now and many don't provide this (MoreThan post it). We really don't want to take any more chances (hence the TSB insurance which sent an instant policy schedule) and delay the exchange of keys. We have van hire, removals etc in place. Missing the move in even by one day could cost a lot.

Out of everything we have done, insurance caused the most hassle.

Regarding our solicitor. They are poor. They emailed to advise us on Friday that our insurance wasn't accepted. We sent the documents at 9.30am. They replied at 5.55pm to say it wasn't accepted. 5 minutes before they closed! Giving us no time to ring them up and find out why. This then went on to ruin our weekend hence this post. Nightmare.

We aren't happy having 2 insurance policies. But didnt really know what else to do that wouldnt have caused a delay.

[Saracen]

You have a bit of a rock v. hard place situation there. Not nice.

A GOOD solicitor, one that is communicative, is an absolute godsend in this sort of situation, IMHO. On my first house purchase, the estate agent pushed hard to get us to use one he 'recommended'. I refused point blank, mainly because an old family friend was a solicitor doing a lot of conveyancing work, and though he (obviously) charged, I suspect I got a good rate, and I KNOW I got very good service. After hearing the nightmares others have had, and my one subsequent experience with a bad solicitor (long story, but about my parents getting their wills redone) I vowed then and there to concentrate on getting a highly recommended solicitor, and that this was not an area to be looking to save money. My view? Getting the best legal advice you can afford has a habit of working out cheaper in the long run.

As for insurance, the point about each company arguing over who pays what is valid, but hopefully, irrelevant as you need to he unlucky to be claiming in that short cross-over period.

Also, IIRC, changes in the law on insurance changed a few years back making a 'cooling off' period mandatory in most insurance policies. There are exceptions, most notably short-term policies. I think the cut-off was at 30-days, so things like Scansure come in under the limit and, once bought, aren't cancelable. Which is why, personally, I was so delighted to see EU law (and yes, even as a Leaver, they had their uses) require such policies to be explicitly opt-in, and the disgraceful old 'defaulted in unless you opt out' made illegal.

So, cancelling shouldn't be a problem, though I don't remember whether the can or can't charge pro-rata for the dsts you had cover, wuth ir wuthout admjn fee. But do, please, make ABSOLUTELY sure, and confirmed by them, that the new policy is acceptable to the lender. IIRC, they aren't allowed to put artificial obstacles in your way so any decent open-market policy ought to be okay, but from what I remember, they are entitled toccheck you have adequate cover, so if TSB is the lender and you cancel their policy, I'd want to be going to them with details of replacement cover before they come to you about an apparent post-cancellation lack of any cover at all.