
If your property was insured by Alpha Insurance, you’ve almost certainly already read this week’s statement from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, explaining that: “FSCS will compensate Alpha Insurance latent defect premium insurance policyholders.”
Their announcement follows the collapse of the deal arranged by BCR Legal Group Ltd to provide replacement cover for Alpha’s 10-year latent defect/structural damage insurance policies due to a number of last-minute issues.
To those not affected, this may sound like good news. However, for many of the thousands of home owners who discovered that their 10 year structural defects cover had become worthless when Alpha Insurance went bust last year, the problem of replacing their cover and restoring their peace of mind remains.
Sales Director and co-founder of Advantage Home Construction Insurance, David Sumner, said:
“At Advantage all of our insurers are property sector experienced carriers to ensure we offer the best protection for our customers.
“As experienced property developers ourselves we know it is critical to provide the highest standard of building warranties to give customers the peace of mind that any structural faults or defects are covered.
“Unfortunately, the quality of cover provided differs widely in the industry and often homeowners have no idea who their policies are placed with or the ratings of the carrier.
“I would urge any self-builder or property developer to do their research and ensure they go with a broker who uses specific sector-experienced carriers as an absolute minimum.”
This week, the Advantage phone lines have been particularly busy as concerned home-owners seek advice and quotations for alternative cover.
FSCS has committed to pay premium refund compensation to around 14,000 policyholders directly and cheques will be posted in the coming weeks. FSCS is also writing to the remaining 6,500 policyholders with instructions on what steps the policyholders must take to submit their claim. They say that there is no need for any Alpha customers to contact FSCS, as FSCS will seek to contact them within the next two weeks.
They state:
“We recognise that a refund of premium may not be the outcome Alpha customers would have chosen and we deeply regret that it wasn’t possible to find replacement cover. Please be assured that FSCS and other parties exhausted every possible avenue to try to replace the cover, which is why this process has taken so long.
“Once the premium insurance refund has been paid, FSCS recommends that policyholders seek professional advice on obtaining replacement cover as soon as possible by contacting a suitable insurance broker who specialises in latent defect/structural damage policies.
“Policyholders may be in breach of their mortgage terms and conditions if they do not have a valid latent defect policy for their property.”
Was your property insured with Alpha? Contact one of our relationship managers today to discuss your requirements on 0845 900 3969, or email: sales@ahci.co.uk
Want to learn more? Contact one of our structural defects warranty experts today to discuss your requirements on 0845 900 3969