GENERAL INSURANCE ADVICE

Stay protected in those unpredictable occasions through general insurance policies

Because so much in life is completely unpredictable, part of our job at Octagon Financial Services is to help you think about events that may or may not affect you in your home through general insurance policies, including personal accidents, fire, theft, storm damage and floods.

General Insurance Financial Advisers to protect you in those unpredictable occassions

It doesn’t matter whether you live in a one-bedroom flat or a five-bedroom detached house, your home is no doubt your castle. So it’s important to make sure that you have the right protection in place in case something should go wrong. What if there was a fire or the roof was damaged in a storm? Would you be able to pay for the repairs? And where would you live if your house was uninhabitable? Your home also contains some of your most valuable possessions. Could you afford to replace your flat screen TV or your jewelery collection if you were the target of burglars?

We can protect you & your home

We appreciate that home insurance can seem like a mine-field, with so many options available. At Octagon Financial Services we have access to a specialist panel of insurers; once we understand your particular situation we can give you the best general insurance advice with options to suit your needs.

Everyone’s general insurance requirements will be different, but as a very rough guide here are some summaries of the matters we regularly advise on:

Buildings Insurance

Covers the structure of your home such as permanent fixtures and fittings including baths, toilets and fitted kitchens. Your general insurance will usually cover you for the cost of any emergency temporary accommodation should your home be uninhabitable.

Accuracy of Sums Insured

It is absolutely crucial that the sums insured for buildings and contents are accurate as these sums are the maximum your insurer will pay out if you claim. Buildings should be insured for the rebuilding cost (not what you paid for the property or the current market value).

Contents should be insured for the cost of replacing them as new, not their current value. Getting this right is critical.

Contents Insurance

Covers your possessions – typically everything you would take with you when you move. There will usually be a limit on individual items above a particular value, so this is worth checking. For items above this value, you may need to pay an extra premium for them to be covered.

How Your Claim Will Be Paid

If your home is damaged and needs repair, your building insurer will arrange the repairs and settle the claim direct with the repairer. If your home is uninhabitable during repairs (such as drying-out after a flood) your insurer will arrange and pay for emergency temporary accommodation. For damage to contents, your insurer will either pay for repair where that’s possible, or pay for the full cost of replacement (minus any excess).

Recent research shows that 1 in 5 home insurance claims are unsuccessful, mostly because people don’t know exactly what they’re covered for. That’s why getting the right advice is so important – it can save you a fortune in the long run.

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Octagon Financial Services Ltd acts as a credit broker not a lender.