High energy costs and environmental concerns have meant that more property owners are considering self-funding renewable energy solutions at home. For the owners of historic houses, listed properties, or homes within conservation areas, a complete transition to alternative renewable energy sources, or even a partial conversion is more problematic. Aesthetic considerations, planning issues and insulation all play their part but insurers can also have an impact on the difficulties. Underwriters often view renewable energy technologies, such as biomass boilers, ground, and air source heat pumps ..read more

The Rebuild value of a Listed Building is often higher than Market Value and this matters when you are looking for insurance In complete contrast to modern buildings the re-build cost of a listed building often far outweighs the market value of a property; despite this many owners still base their insurance value on the mortgage value of a property (usually the minimum insurance requirement for a modern building).  Others will turn to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ Building Costs Information Service.  While the BCIS estimates are generally accurate they are calculated to ..read more

The dramatic rise in the cost of building materials, labour shortages and supply issues has led to a rise in rebuild costs for all buildings and increased risk of Underinsurance COVID 19 and Brexit have both had huge impacts on the UK economy but since the end of lockdown, many UK businesses recovered much faster than expected. Construction, which was buoyant pre-pandemic (and one of the few industries allowed to continue operating during lockdown), has been slowed by a string of problems which has had a knock-on effect on all homeowners. Just two years ago RICS reported that the rise in build ..read more

Many people are choosing to renovate or extend their properties rather than move, particularly in urban areas but often people mistakenly rely on their contractor’s insurance to protect their home during structural renovations. Castleacre Insurance Broker Melanie Ambrose explains ‘people do not always realise that if you are starting a building project at your home you need to advise your household insurer first. If you do not, this can invalidate your existing cover. If you undertake major building works which exceed a certain value your household insurer will suspend cover during the works ..read more

In 2022 Autocar reported that Range Rovers were the second most stolen vehicle in the UK with many insurers unnerved by a spate of claims and losses. The British Insurance Brokers Association have recently warned about the difficulty of finding insurers willing to offer stand-alone insurance not just for Range Rovers, but other high-value cars owned by Londoners. Specialist car insurers ERS agree that there has been a significant increase in high-value car thefts in London in particular and Chubb have just announced that they have teamed up with Global Telemetrics to offer their clients the la ..read more

Castleacre have acquired private client insurance brokers Merritt Insurance Services. Former Director of Merritt, Jonathan Merritt, will work alongside the Castleacre team over the next two years as client policies are transferred over. Both companies specialise in looking after clients with complex insurance requirements and the transition to Castleacre offers enhanced benefits for Merritt clients. In addition to property, fine art and specialist car cover, Castleacre provides bespoke Life and Private health insurance, Trustee and Executor insurance cover amongst other specialist protection ..read more

A crucial aspect of any refurbishment or renovation project is helping a client ensure potential risks are covered by insurance. Being clear at the outset, when you start a building project protects not only the client but architectural and design consultants and project mangers, but it isn’t always obvious what the best course of action is – particularly where the project is high value and involves multiple contractors. Most household insurance policies will normally cover minor works to a private residence up to a reasonable limit, allowing homeowners to undertake small building projects wit ..read more

‘Unlike healthcare, social care is rarely free. Most people who need residential care in later life will have to pay some or all of their costs themselves.’ Which 2022 Life expectancy has increased and most of us, as we age, will require social or nursing care. Care may start with just a few hours every week but can often escalate to a live-in carer or residency in a nursing or care home in the long-term. For anyone with assets over £100,000, support from the government is minimal and benefits that are available may not be sufficient to maintain quality of life. Most care is delivered by the p ..read more

Cyber Insurance is now an essential ingredient for Business. We have become increasingly reliant on digital technology and databases to manage sensitive information.  Our dependency on these digital systems was accelerated during the pandemic when many of us managed our work and business activity remotely. At the same time, the number of malicious cyber-attacks on businesses and individuals has also risen and no company is invulnerable to this threat. As more and more financial, personal and business critical information is held within often flawed digital systems, rogue states are viewin ..read more

As they have become more affordable the popularity of drones, quad bikes and motorboats has increased alongside a myriad of other grown-up ‘toys’; but what do you need to think about when insuring? You might assume that as far as insurance goes they would generally fall under the definition of ‘General Contents’ but this isn’t always the case. Land vehicles After leaving the European Union the UK will avoid an estimated £50 per person, per annum increase in motor insurance costs as the government confirmed it will not enact the controversial EU ‘Vnuk’ law. The Vnuk law would have meant that a ..read more