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Duff home insurance - no garage cover :(

2K views 24 replies 15 participants last post by  Jonny M 
#1 ·
I suspect a lot of us have car 'stuff' in our garage.

The year I figured I would check the small print on my house policy

Apparently contents of £50k is limited to just the 'house'

Even though my garage is connected to the house, it is classed as an outbuilding, so has only £1.5k cover

Swinton referred me through their specialist division, who have no admitted defeat and offered me a refund.

So if the likes of Swinton can't insure my car parts, who the hell can?!

Anyone found a decent house insurance policy to cover garages???

Jon
 
#3 ·
No house insurance will cover more than about £2000 for outbuildings contents.
You will need to get commercial cover for garage contents - but it's not usually very cheap.

Wayne (Nobody on here) got a good price on his house/garage cover so might be worth PM'ing him for who he insured with.

Best just make sure your garage is very secure and nothing is likely to catch fire in it (heaters/fridges etc) Turn off all power as you leave each night.
 
#8 ·
I got a better policy through the Swinton specialist team; £5k cover which would have been enough for the spate RV8, gearbox, etc...

Then read the small print, and it specifically excludes "motoring accessories" hence they've offered a refund and have said they cannot cover my needs.

I'll try NFU
 
#16 ·
I'd advise checking your small print... When asked specifically about car / motoring hobbies - ALL have said no !

I've defaulted to a cheap go compare policy, and now looking at kit build instead that I may be able to word so it provides cover for all ancillary bits
 
#12 ·
I was insured with MoreThan till recently, there was no specific limit to garage contents etc. They replaced a load of (expensive) stolen hand tools when my workshop was burgled a couple of years ago.

My renewal cost went up massively after the burglary though, which I was really p*ssed of about as I had been insured with them for 12 years or so without making a claim. So I took house/contents insurance via Marks & Spencer.

With the policy I have now, there's no limit on garage contents cover -but when I was searching for a new insurer I had to go through the policy wording on every potential insurer as claim limits for outbuildings etc. never seemed to appear in the "key facts" blurb, some of the cheaper policies I looked at had silly low limits for stuff outside the house which wouldn't have provide sufficient cover to replace a decent lawnmower had it been stolen from your garage/shed.

All of these excluded spare parts and the like though IIRC. I don't think any of the household contents insurance policies provide cover for car bits.
 
#13 ·
Just to add a couple more points to note, ... as having invalid insurance is the same as not having any ..

1. If you have a "pit" you will need to check with your insurance company, Normally commercial cover is required.
2. Remember the whole pressurized gas bottle thing is a no no, these, including the inert ones, must be stored/secured outside of a garage.

Apologies if this is different with your insurance company, but mine ..... no pits ... no gas cylinders ....
 
#21 ·
I insure my cars.trucks etc and house with RHS, they give you classic car cover for parts in the garage with their 'classic car house policy'.
Can't remember the amount but 5K in value for not fixed parts?
Ring them and check
Always found them the best, including happy outcomes for three (non fault) claims. But they did pay out for one of the claims, to my repairers (a lot!!)
 
#25 ·
Yes the fire bragade WILL do that - my BBQ valve blew off and vented flames that burnt the side of my house and the fence; they just damped down the rest while it burnt itself out :(

Problem solved - cheapo house insurance, and build cover for £31 via RH - thank you for that idea, miles cheaper, and better cover too :)
 
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