Leasehold buildings insurance

How to make a claim, insuring your contents, public liability insurance.

All leasehold building insurance and claims for incidents occurred from 1 April 2022 are now dealt with by Zurich Municipal.

The internal decorations, including internal walls, ceilings and fixture and fittings, are covered against damage caused by an insured peril.

The insurance policy covers the leaseholders’ share of the exterior structure and communal areas of the building against perils such as fire, storm damage, vandalism, flooding (including burst pipes).

Please note the following extensions and conditions to the general insurance policy conditions:

  • Unoccupancy clause: The policy provides 30 days coverage for unoccupied properties and then no cover for malicious damage, theft and escape of water
  • Loss of rent and alternative accommodation: 20% of building sum insured
  • Accidental damage: Accidental Damage Cover extends to properties that are approved sublet, subject to £50 per claim Policy Excess
  • Claims excess: £1,000 excess for each and every property and up to £2,500 maximum in respect of any one block for subsidence landslip and heave claims. Nil excess for all other claims
  • Landlords Insurance: Please note that if you are sub-letting your property, arranging Landlords Insurance remains your responsibility and it is not part of your Leasehold Building Insurance. We would highly recommend you have Landlords Insurance cover in place to deal with any issues or disputes in relation to your tenancy

In order to make a claim for vandalism you will need to request a crime reference number from the police.

Building insurance claims

From 1 April 2022

All building insurance claims and incidents that occur as of 1 April 2022, will be dealt by Zurich Municipal.

Their contact details are:

Before 1 April 2022

All building insurance claims and incidents that occurred before 1 April 2022 must be reported to Claims Consortium, claims handlers for Ocaso Ltd.

Their contact details are as follows:

Home contents insurance

Under the terms of your lease, your personal belongings ie furniture, television or refrigerator are not insured against theft or damage. This means that if your possessions are destroyed during an incident, you will not be covered for your loss unless you have household contents insurance.

It is the leaseholder’s responsibility to ensure that Home Contents Insurance is in place for your personal belongings.

However, if you live on a large estate it can be hard to get contents insurance. We have introduced a home contents insurance scheme for all our tenants and leaseholders (not just those living on estates). The insurers who administer the Homes Contents insurance are RSA Insurance Group.

For more information visit the RSA Insurance Group website.

Download a copy of the RSA Insurance booklet and application form: 

Public Liability Insurance: making a claim against the council

If you believe that Haringey Council has caused damage to you or to your personal belongings, you can make an insurance claim against them.

For example: if a Haringey Council worker comes to your house to mend a pipe and ruins your carpet in the process, we might be responsible for replacing that carpet. For a claim to be successful, negligence must be proved against Haringey Council.

If you would like to make a claim against Haringey Council, please send a letter to Haringey Council’s Risk and Insurance team using the contact details below.

You will need to provide:

  • your full name and address
  • the place where the loss occurred
  • the date of the incident
  • description of the incident and damage caused
  • photographic evidence of the damage
  • Haringey’s housing repair job reference number – please see information regarding repairs

Contact the risk and insurance team