British Insurance

Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Insurance

This is an insurance Policy that provides a tax-free monthly income if you are unable to work as a result of sickness, accident or Unemployment/redundancy, and pays out for a maximum of 12 months (as shown on your certificate of insurance), in the event of a claim. With Unemployment cover, there is an 'Initial Exclusion Period' at the start of a Policy where you cannot claim, this can vary in length dependant upon the selected insurer, and is shown on your certificate of insurance.

The initial exclusion period on our policies is 120 days.

Accidental Damage

Accidental damage is damage caused by accident to your buildings or contents by you, your friends or family or someone renting your holiday home from you (and a rental agreement is in place). Examples of accidental damage are dropping something on your kitchen floor which breaks a tile, knocking over a glass of wine and staining your carpet or by a ball going through your window.

Application

This is a declaration of information made by a person who is applying for a Policy, product or service. An Application for an insurance Policy provides information and is used to declare the amount and type of cover that you are applying for. It is also used by the insurer to assess the Risk of the applicant.

You should be very careful to ensure that all information is disclosed accurately when applying for insurance as a Policy may not pay out in the event of a claim if a non-disclosure is found.

British Standard 3621

This sets minimum quality standards for locks. You can find out if your lock meets this standard by checking out if it bears the kite mark, which looks a bit like a cone ice cream with an S in it.

Buildings

• The structure of your holiday home including swimming pools, ornamental ponds and fountains, hard courts, terraces, walls, fences, gates, hedges and fixed tanks providing fuel to your home. In respect of static Caravans or mobile homes the “buildings” refers to the structure of the unit excluding the base.
• Fixtures, fittings and decorations including carpets, wallpaper and kitchen units.

Consorcio

You may come across this if you have a second home in Spain. Consorcio is cover for extraordinary events, such as earthquakes or terrorism, included in accordance with the Insurance Compensation Consortium.

Contents

Possessions and contents are the Items in your home, and personal belongings that you may carry with you which you own, are legally responsible for or that belong to domestic employees who live with you. It does not include anything insured by any other insurance policy and securities (stocks and shares) and documents of any kind. Motorised vehicles, aircraft, boats, boards and craft designed to be used on or in water, caravans and trailers, and the parts, spares and accessories of any of these are also not classified as contents.

Make sure that if appropriate, items used for business or professional purposes or any living creature are covered under another insurance as they also do not count as contents.

Contract Worker/Full-time Semi-permanent worker

Employed on a contract for a specific term or undertaking. The minimum length of contract & number of times the contract has been renewed will vary between insurer. Further information regarding Contract Workers and Full-Time Semi-Permanent Workers can be seen in the Policy Wordings.

Employed

This means your employer deducts PAYE tax and national insurance (N.I.) contributions from your gross income and your work is of a permanent nature - or you work under a fixed term contract or sub contracting basis and your sole source of income comes from that contract. You must have been in continuous permanent employment at the policy start date for a minimum of 6 months. Terms for contract workers vary between insurers and you should always check the Policy Wordings for further details.

Employed/Employment/Work

Permanent paid employment, including self-employment, of at least 16 hours per week.

Exclusions

These are conditions that are put on an insurance Policy and show when the Policy will not pay out.

Income Protection

This is a Policy that pays out a monthly income to the insured if he/she is unable to work due to Accident, Sickness or Unemployment (Involuntary Redundancy) for a specified number of days, also known as the 'Waiting' period. Income Protection Cover is available for both Employed and Self-Employed. It can also be available for contract workers, however it is strongly recommended that you carefully read the policy wording for the latter. You can Cover up to a maximum of £1,500 or 50% of your gross monthly income, whichever is the lesser, however the Benefit is paid free of tax.

Initial Exclusion or Qualification Periods

This refers to the period of time you will have to wait before you can start to receive claim Benefits on payment protection policies. 'Initial Exclusion Periods' or 'Qualifying Periods' are frequently used for Income Protection insurance and Mortgage payment protection policies whereby you cannot make a claim until the Policy has been live for a specified time period. 'Initial Exclusion Periods' or 'Qualifying Periods' are almost always set for Unemployment and redundancy policies, as this helps to avoid people taking out a Policy and claiming for an expected redundancy. The 'Initial Exclusion Period' or 'Qualification Period' will be specified on your certificate of insurance.

Money in Lieu of Notice

This is when you receive payment from your employer instead of working your notice period. You will still pay Tax and National Insurance on this money just as you would with your normal wages. You cannot register with the Job Centre Plus until your Lieu of Notice period is complete. Your Lieu of Notice period is usually written into the terms of your contract of employment.

Monthly Benefit/Cover Amount

This is the amount of benefit provided on a payment protection cover policy. This amount is paid out in the event of a valid claim and is shown on your certificate of insurance. It is the maximum Benefit that you will receive for each month you are claiming, up to a maximum of 12 months as shown on your certificate of insurance

Mortgage

This is a loan taken out through a recognised bank or building society on the residential property that you occupy.

Mortgage Protection

This is a Policy that pays out a monthly income to the insured if he/she is unable to work due to Accident, Sickness or Unemployment (Involuntary Redundancy) for a specified number of days, also known as the ‘Waiting’ period. Mortgage Protection Insurance is available for both Employed and Self-Employed. It can also be available for contract workers, however it is strongly recommended that you seek advice for the latter. You can Cover your monthly Mortgage repayments plus up to an extra 25%. The total cover cannot be more than £2,000 or 50% of your gross monthly income, whichever is the lesser.

Mortice deadlock

This is a lock that is fitted inside your door (rather than screwed on top of it). The 5 levers refer to the number of levers inside the lock that need to fit the key. You can count the number of up’s and downs on your key to find this out.

Non Disclosure

This refers to a person not declaring required information on an Application form for an insurance Policy. With many insurance policies, you will complete an Application form in which it is your duty to answer all questions truthfully and disclose any relevant information that is requested. If information is omitted, i.e. not disclosed, it could mean that a Policy would not pay out in the event of a claim. You should also notify the insurer of any changes to your details that occur during the term of your policy. For example if you change your name, occupation/employment details, or, if you have a Mortgage Protection policy and you no longer have a Mortgage.

This is not a complete list and if you are unsure as to whether something is relevant, you should always disclose it.

Occupation

This is the job, career or profession that you do for a living. It is a term used to briefly describe the work, tasks and activities that you do for your job. Many people's Occupations change during the course of their lives and are often guided by their education, personality, past work experience and training.

Any changes in Occupation or other material facts should be disclosed to the insurer as soon as possible.

Policy Wordings

This is usually in the form of a pre-printed booklet and forms part of your policy documents along with your schedule of insurance.

Pre-existing Condition

This is any disease, illness or injury including related medical conditions for which you have received a consultation, medication, monitoring advice or treatment, or, you were made aware of or had experienced symptoms of (whether or not a diagnosis had been made) in the 12 months before the start date or the amendment date as shown in your schedule.

Premium

This is the amount payable for an insurance policy and is paid monthly to keep the contract running. The premium payable differs between insurance policies and can often be determined by age and cover type, (Accident & Sickness only, Unemployment only or Accident, Sickness & Unemployment combined).

Redundancy Pay

This is a lump sum paid to you by your employer when you are made redundant. You can still register with the Job Centre Plus if you have received Redundancy Insurance Pay. Redundancy Pay will normally not affect your ability to claim on payment protection insurance.

Rental agreement

A rental agreement is documentary evidence that you have agreed a rate and a rental period with the persons staying in your home, and can be as simple as an email confirmation to your guests.

Responsabilitée civile propriétaire

You may come across this if you have a second home in France. It translates to civil liability insurance which provides cover if something happens to your home that affects other people, for instance your chimney falling on the neighbours’ roof.

Reviewable Premium

This is a term which specifies that insurance Premiums can be reviewed. With Reviewable Premiums, your payments may increase, stay the same or decrease after the company makes the review. Review of Premiums can be based on the number of future claims and their costs for reinsuring policies. Insurers must give you notice in writing to your last known address before implementing any new premiums. Further information regarding review of Premiums can be seen in the Policy Wordings.

Rim automatic deadlatch

A rim lock fits on the inside face of the door. You know if it has a deadlatch, if when you pull it, it shuts in a locked position without having to use a key.

Risk

This is a term used by insurance companies, whereby the chance of the person insured claiming on an insurance Policy is evaluated. If a person is deemed to be a high Risk, it can mean that the insurance Policy is offered with an exclusion (specified situations will not be covered) or is declined.

Schedule of Insurance

This is the part of the Policy Documents where the Policy is made personal & specific to you and together with the Policy Wordings they form the Policy Documents.

Self-Employed

This means you are classed as schedule D for income tax purposes and you are required to make Class 2 National Insurance contributions. You are also classed as Self-Employed if you are a proprietor, a controlling director or you are a relative of a proprietor or controlling director of the business you work for. You are also classed as Self-Employed if you are a proprietor, a controlling director or you are a relative of a proprietor or controlling director of the business you work for. A Proprietor means you own (alone or with others - except as a shareholder), the business you work for. A controlling director means you own more than a specified minimum percentage of the issued shares of the business you work for. Further information regarding the Self-Employed can be seen in the Policy Wordings.

Terms/Terms & Conditions

These are the conditions on which the Policy is offered by the insurers. The Terms & Conditions of the Policy are also known as Policy Wordings.

Underwriting

This is the process that insurance companies use to assess Applications. The information provided in an Application allows insurers to determine if the applicant will be accepted for their desired Policy and if so whether they are accepted on special Terms, i.e. with any Exclusions.

Unemployed

This means you are entirely without work due to one of the following reasons: If you were employed, your employer has totally and permanently terminated your job due to circumstances entirely beyond your control; If you were self employed, your business has totally and permanently stopped trading due to circumstances entirely beyond your control, or the control of any co-director or partner in the business and you have declared this to your local tax office; If you have ceased to work to become a full-time carer for a member of your immediate family and are in receipt of Carer's Allowance.

Unemployment

This means you are Unemployed and you are not receiving any form of payment or reward from your previous employment or self-employment.

Unoccupied

For the holiday home product we provide it means either insufficiently furnished for normal occupation, or furnished for normal occupancy but has not been lived in for more than 60 consecutive days (or 7 consecutive days between 1st November & 31st March inclusive). Please note that this term varies between different home insurance policies, so make sure you check out the policy wording.

Valuables

Stamp, coin or medal collections, pictures, other works of art, items of gold, silver or any other precious metal, jewellery or fur.

Waiting Period/Excess Period

For most insurances, this is the amount you would need to pay yourself if you made a claim.

For payment protection policies, this is the time period that you have to wait before a claim is paid. Sometimes the policies will pay back to day one of the claim, so long as you have been off for the full Waiting Period. Other times it will only pay back to the end of the Waiting period.

The different options for the Waiting Periods/Excess Periods are:

30 days waiting, paying back to day one
30 days excess, first payment on day 61 pays back to day 31
60 days excess, first payment on day 91 pays back to day 61
90 days excess, first payment on day 121 pays back to day 91
180 days excess, first payment on day 211 pays back to day 181

If you choose a longer Waiting period your premiums are usually cheaper as a result