Garage insurance is a type of tailored, niche insurance policy designed to specifically include freehold and rented garages underneath a residential garage property. There are some slight but crucial differences between garage insurance and ordinary home insurance.
Standard building and contents insurance policies do not allow rental garages, and therefore would not be paid in the event of a claim.
If you managed to set up the policy online, or by calling a call center referring to the type of property as a flat, for example, it is very likely that if you filed a claim, the insurer would simply refuse, because you do not live. In an apartment. It could be perceived that you have not told the insurer the true type of property, or that when you received your policy documents that refer to the building as a flat, you did not inform them that there was an error. By not paying the correct premiums to reflect the correct risk, you could end up having a denied claim. What is certain, a call manager in a call center can assure you that everything is fine during a phone call, but you should insist that the insurer confirm in writing that you understand that the garages are part of the building and should be covered by the building insurance program. You also need to make sure your property type is correctly described as a carport.
Without that guarantee, you could end up uninsured and unaware until you file a claim. Insurers are not required to pay when the original application details are incorrect.
The best course of action would be to look for a specialized and custom insurer that insures coach houses as part of their business, and not as something unique. You are more likely to speak to consultants who know and understand how things work: they know what a peppercorn lease is, they understand the responsibilities of the owner. Your policy paperwork will be accurate and you will have peace of mind that you are adequately insured for every eventuality!
Your policy must list all garages that are part of the building in the building’s insurance plan so that they are covered in the event of a loss. Therefore, most insurance companies, banks and house credit societies, and online providers do not insure coach properties. The responsibility of insuring garages is too complex for standard online policies and requires increasingly comprehensive underwriting and claims management. The cost of providing garage insurance is too high and specialized for most insurers to get involved. You should speak with a specialist to make sure your responsibilities as an owner are fully covered.
