Your home insurance policy

Your Home Solutions policy provides cover for the sections and the period of insurance shown in your schedule. This policy is an agreement between you, the person shown in your schedule as the Insured and us, Zurich Insurance Company. It is based on the information provided by you in a proposal form or a statement of facts and your agreement to pay the premium. Remember, you must tell us if this information changes. If you do not, your policy may not be valid. This policy together with your schedule, any specifications or endorsements must be read together as one contract. Please read all of them to make sure that they provide the cover you requested. If they do not please contact your insurance advisor or us as soon as possible. The conditions and exclusions that apply to all sections of your policy are shown on page 10. Please ensure that you read these as well as the cover detailed in each section. When a claim for the same cause occurring at the same time is payable under more than one of the Buildings, Contents or Personal Possessions sections we will only deduct one excess. This will be the highest excess shown in your schedule for the sections concerned.

Definitions

Certain words have specific meanings when they appear in this policy. These meanings are shown below or in the section where they apply. They are printed in bold type.

Family - your spouse/partner, children, relatives or other persons (other than tenants or paying guests) all permanently living in the home.

Money - cash, cheques, postal or money orders, postage stamps, saving stamps certificates or bonds, travel tickets, luncheon vouchers, phone cards, mobile phone vouchers, reward vouchers or gift tokens all held for personal or charitable purposes.

Unoccupied

• not permanently lived in by you or a person authorised by you for more than 30 consecutive days or
• without sufficient furniture for normal living purposes for more than 30 consecutive days.

Valuables - any articles of gold, silver or other precious metal, jewellery, watches, furs, pictures or other works of art, collections of stamps or coins.

Vehicles and craft - any electrically or mechanically powered vehicles, caravans, trailers, watercraft, hovercraft, aircraft, all terrain vehicles or quad bikes but not wheelchairs, domestic gardening equipment, golf trolleys, battery or pedestrian operated models or toys.

Buildings

Buildings are:

• the main structure of your home at the address shown in your schedule, including its permanent or soon-to-be fitted fixtures and fittings if they are your property;
• domestic outbuildings, private garages, including garages on nearby sites that form part of your home;
• ornamental ponds or fountains, swimming pools, tennis courts;
• central heating fuel tanks, cesspits, septic tanks;
• fences, gates, hedges, lampposts, railings, walls;
• drives, paths, patios, terraces.

Events

We cover sudden and unexpected loss or physical damage, for which you are responsible, to the buildings caused by events 1 to 13 (and 14 if Buildings including Accidental damage cover is shown in your schedule).

1. Fire, lightning, explosion or earthquake.
2. Riot.
3. Malicious damage, but not if caused by you or your family, tenants or paying guests.
4. Collision by aircraft, animals or vehicles.
5. Storm or flood, but not to fences, gates, hedges or railings.
6. Theft or attempted theft except if caused by deception.
7. Subsidence or ground heave of the site that your buildings stand on or landslip other than:
   • from coastal or river erosion;
   • when the main structure of your home, private garages or domestic outbuildings are not damaged;
   • to solid floor slabs, unless the foundations of the load-bearing walls are damaged at the same time by the same cause;
   • from settlement, shrinkage or expansion, demolition, faulty workmanship or defective design;
   • the first £1,000 of each claim.
8. Water leaking from any fixed appliance, pipe or tank plus damage to these items caused by freezing or forcible and violent bursting.
9. Falling trees or branches, lampposts or telegraph poles.
10. Oil leaking from any fixed appliance, pipe or tank.
11. Accidental breakage of fixed glass, fixed sanitary ware or ceramic hobs in fixed kitchen furniture.
12. Breakage or collapse of satellite television receiving equipment, or television and radio aerials.
13. Accidental damage by external means to cables and underground pipes serving your home including the cost of breaking into and repairing the pipe between the main sewer and your home following blockage of the pipe.
14. Accidental damage by external means to the buildings but not damage:
    • excluded under events 1 to 13;
    • caused by a person to whom the home is lent, let or sublet;
    • caused by a person employed by you to carry out maintenance or repair work. Your liability to others
15. We cover your legal liability:
• as owner of the buildings and their land but not as occupier;
• resulting from your previous ownership of any private property under the Defective Premises Act 1972 or the Defective Premises (Northern Ireland) Order 1975;

To compensate others if following an accident during the period of insurance someone dies, is injured, falls ill or has their property damaged.

The most we will pay for any claim or claims arising from one cause will be £2,000,000 plus legal costs and expenses agreed by us.

We will not pay if the liability arises from:

• the death, injury or illness of you or your family or any person employed by you or your family;
• loss or damage to any property that you or your family own or are responsible for;
• a contract that says that you or your family are liable for something which you or they would not otherwise have been liable for.

Additional cover

16. Alternative accommodation - if your home becomes uninhabitable following loss or damage covered by this section we will pay:
    • the reasonable cost of similar alternative accommodation;
    • ground rent which you have to pay;
    • rent which should have been paid to you;

    during the time necessary for your home to be restored to a habitable condition.

    The most we will pay is 20% of the Buildings sum insured.

17. Replacing locks - we will pay up to £500 towards the cost of replacing the locks to your home if your house keys are lost or stolen anywhere in the world.
18. Selling your home - if at the time of a claim you have contracted to sell your home, the contracting buyer will have the benefit of this policy provided that the purchase is completed.
19. Index-linked - your sum insured will be increased monthly in line with the House Rebuilding Cost Index produced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Settling claims

We will decide whether to repair, replace or reinstate the damaged part of the buildings. We will pay the full cost of the work, including any professional, demolition or local authority costs or fees we have agreed, as long as the work is finished without delay. If the work is not carried out, we will pay the reduction in the market value of your property that resulted from the damage but not more than the cost of the repair or reinstatement. We will make a deduction for wear and tear if the buildings are not properly maintained or your sum insured is less than the cost of rebuilding your home. When we pay your claim we will deduct the amount of the excess shown in your schedule. The most we will pay is:

• the sum insured shown in your schedule;
• any additional professional, demolition or local authority costs or fees; or
• the limits shown in the policy.

Garden cover section

Garden is the flower beds, lawns, plants, shrubs or trees, ornaments or statues in the garden within the boundaries of your home.

Events

We cover sudden and unexpected loss or physical damage to your garden caused by events 1 to 7. We do not cover events 3 or 6 when the home is unoccupied.

1. Fire, lightning, explosion or earthquake.
2. Riot.
3. Malicious damage, but not if caused by you or your family, tenants or paying guests.
4. Collision by vehicles or aircraft but not birds, animals or insects.
5. Storm or flood but not: o frost damage; o flood damage to lawns.
6. Theft or attempted theft.
7. Falling trees or branches, lampposts or telegraph poles.

Additional cover

Storm or Flood - We cover loss or damage by storm or flood to fences, gates, hedges or railings, at the home provided the main structure of your home, private garages or domestic outbuildings are damaged at the same time by the same cause.

Settling claims

We will decide whether to repair or replace any item that is lost or damaged or, if it cannot be repaired or replaced, we will pay the cost of an equivalent replacement. The most we will pay is £1,500 plus up to £250 towards the cost of removing fallen trees or branches. When we pay your claim we will deduct a £50 excess from the payment.

Contents section

Contents are:

• household goods and personal property;
• valuables;
• satellite television receiving equipment and television and radio aerials;
• money or the unauthorised use of a charge, credit or debit card up to £500;
• pedal cycles up to £500 for any one pedal cycle including accessories;
• office equipment used for your business, profession or trade;
• loss of oil or metered water up to £1,000 following accidental damage to the water or heating system.

Events

We cover sudden and unexpected loss or physical damage caused by events 1 to 13 (and 14 if Contents including Accidental damage is shown in your schedule) to the contents in your home that are:

• owned by you or your family or for which you or they are responsible;
• owned by visitors to your home or your resident domestic employees.

1. Fire, lightning, explosion or earthquake.
2. Riot.
3. Malicious damage, but not if caused by you or your family, tenants or paying guests.
4. Collision with the buildings by aircraft, animals or vehicles.
5. Storm or flood.
6. Theft or attempted theft but not:
• if caused by deception;
• while the home is lent, let or sublet unless violence and force are used to break into or out of your home.
7. Subsidence or ground heave of the site your buildings stand on or landslip.
8. Water leaking from any fixed appliance, pipe, or tank.
9. Falling trees or branches, lampposts or telegraph poles.
10. Oil leaking from any fixed appliance, pipe or tank.
11. Accidental breakage of glass in furniture, mirrors or ceramic hobs in unfixed kitchen appliances.
12. Breakage or collapse of satellite television receiving equipment or television and radio aerials.
13. Accidental damage by external means to:
• audio television or video equipment;
• computers used for domestic purposes but not to computer software;
• satellite television receiving equipment or television and radio aerials.
14. Accidental damage by external means to the contents but not damage:
• excluded under events 1 to 13;
• caused by a person to whom the home is lent, let or sublet;
• to clothing or contact lenses;
• to contents in the open. Liability to others
15. We cover you or your family for any legal liability as occupiers of the home or as private individuals to compensate others if following an accident during the period of insurance someone dies, is injured, falls ill or has their property damaged.

    The most we will pay for any claim or claims arising from one cause will be:

    • £10,000,000 for an accident to your domestic employees;
    • £2,000,000 for an accident to any other person or property.
      
      

    We will also pay legal cost and expenses agreed by us.

    We will not pay if the liability arises from:

• the ownership of your home;
• the ownership or occupation of any other premises;
• the ownership or use of vehicles and craft other than manually operated boats not owned by you;
• death, injury or illness of you or your family;
• loss of or damage to any property owned by you, your family or your domestic employees or that you or they are responsible for;
• you or your family passing on any illness or virus;
• a contract that says you or your family are liable for something which you or they would not otherwise have been liable for;
• any dog described in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 or the Dangerous Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;
• any animal other than horses used for private hacking, guide dogs or pets that are normally domesticated in the United Kingdom.

Additional cover

16. Contents in the open - we will pay up to £1,000 for loss or damage caused by events 1 to 10 to contents in the open within the boundaries of your home including flowers, plants, shrubs or trees in pots or containers.
17. Temporary removal - we will pay up to £5,000 for loss or damage to your contents while temporarily removed from your home to within the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands or the Republic of Ireland caused by:
    • events 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 to 10;
    • theft from:
      • a deposit box in a bank;
      • a building where you or your family work or are temporarily residing;
      • any other building provided violence and force are used to break into or out of the building.

    We will not pay for:

    • loss or damage to contents:
      • removed for sale, exhibition or storage;
      • in the open caused by storm or flood;
    • theft of money from a building where you or your family work.
18. Moving to a new home - we will pay for sudden and unexpected loss or physical damage to your contents while they are being moved to your new permanent home by professional removers including while they are in temporary storage for up to seven days in a furniture depository.

    We will not pay for loss or damage:

    • to money;
    • from scratching or damage to china, glass and similar brittle items, unless they have been packed by professional packers;
    • that is not reported to us within 7 days of delivery to the new home.
19. Gifts - your sum insured is increased by £5,000:
    • during December to cover gifts and related additional purchases;
    • one month before and after the wedding day of you or any member of your family to cover wedding gifts and related additional purchases in your home, at the reception, the couple's marital home or in transit between any of these places.
20. Tenant's cover - if you are the tenant of your home, we will pay up to £10,000 for loss or damage caused by events 1 to 6 and 8 to 13 under the Buildings section to any:
    • fixtures and fittings, greenhouses and sheds installed by you at your home and for which you are responsible;
    • part of the structure, decorations, fixtures and fittings of your home that you are responsible for as a tenant under a tenancy agreement.
21. Jury service - we will pay up to £50 for each day for a maximum of 20 days towards irrecoverable loss of earnings and expenses arising from service as a juror in a court of law.
22. Alternative accommodation - if your home becomes uninhabitable following loss or damage covered by this section, we will pay up to £7,500 for the reasonable cost of similar alternative accommodation or ground rent that you have to pay, during the time necessary for your home to be restored to a habitable condition.
23. Replacing locks - we will pay up to £500 towards the cost of replacing the locks to your home if your house keys are lost or stolen anywhere in the world.
24. Fatal accident cover - we will pay £5,000 if you or your spouse/partner die within 30 days as a direct result of an injury caused by a fire or an assault by thieves in your home.
25. Prams and wheelchairs - we will pay up to £500 if a pram or wheelchair is lost or accidentally damaged anywhere in the world. Accessories are only covered if they are lost or damaged with the pram or wheelchair.
26. Frozen food - we will pay up to £1,000 for loss or damage to food and drink in your fridge or freezer caused by a change in temperature or the refrigerant or refrigerant fumes escaping from the unit. We will not pay for loss or damage if caused by the deliberate act of the supply authority.
27. Title deeds - we will pay up to £1,000 to replace the title deeds of your home following loss or damage insured by this section while they are in your home or in the offices of your mortgage lender, solicitor or bank.

Settling claims

We will decide whether to repair or replace any item that is lost or damaged by using one of our suppliers or, if it cannot repaired or replaced, we will pay the cost of an equivalent replacement.

We will make a deduction for wear and tear:

• on clothing and household linen that cannot be repaired;
• if your sum insured is less than the full cost of replacing all your contents as new.

When we pay your claim we will deduct the amount of the excess shown in your schedule but not under Liability to others and Additional covers 21 to 27.

The most we will pay for valuables are the limits shown in your schedule.

The most we will pay is the sum insured or the limits shown in your schedule or in the policy.

Personal Possessions Section

Events

We cover sudden and unexpected loss or physical damage anywhere in the world to the specified and unspecified items shown in the Personal Possessions specification that are owned by you or your family or for which you or they are responsible.

Settling claims

We will decide whether to repair or replace any item that is lost or damaged by using one of our suppliers or, if it cannot be repaired or replaced, we will pay the cost of an equivalent replacement.

Unspecified Personal Possessions

The most we will pay is:

• up to £1,500 for any item of clothing, jewellery, portable audio video hi-fi computer photographic or telecommunication equipment, sports equipment or any other item normally worn, used or carried about the person including passports, driving licences and proof of age cards;
• up to £500 for any one unspecified pedal cycle including accessories;
• up to £500 for loss of money or the unauthorised use of a charge, credit or debit card. You and your family must keep to your card issuer's conditions;

but not more than the sum insured shown in the specification.

When we pay a claim for Unspecified Personal Possessions we will deduct a £50 excess.

Specified items

The most we will pay is the sum insured for that item shown in the specification.

Legal Expenses section

In this section of your policy, the word 'you' includes you, your spouse/partner, any children under the age of 21 who normally live with you and, if you die, your legal personal representatives.

Events

We will pay your reasonable unrecovered professional costs and expenses up to £50,000 for each event listed below that happens during the period of insurance if we have agreed, in advance, the purpose and amount of these expenses. We will treat events related by cause or time as one. The event and any legal action must happen in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

1. Pursuing a claim arising from:
   • your death or injury from an accident, but not while you are driving a motor vehicle;
   • you buying or hiring goods or services for your private use. At least £100 must be in dispute and the agreement to buy or hire must have been made within the period of insurance;
   • you buying your permanent place of residence. At least £100 must be in dispute and the agreement to buy must have been made within the period of insurance;
   • a breach of your legal rights relating to the ownership or occupation of your permanent place of residence. This must happen at least 180 days after this insurance first started;
   • a breach of your contract of employment at least 90 days after this insurance first started;
   • a breach of Section 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998, for financial loss only.
2. Defending a claim arising from:
   • a motoring prosecution brought against you. We may consider a plea in mitigation at our discretion;
   • your sale of privately owned goods. At least £100 must be in dispute and the agreement to sell must have been made within the period of insurance;
   • you selling your permanent place of residence. At least £100 must be in dispute and the agreement to sell must have been made within the period of insurance.
3. A detailed enquiry into your personal tax affairs by the Inland Revenue under its current system of investigation.

We will not pay for any professional costs and expenses if:

• you act against our advice or the advice of the professional representative appointed;
• you unreasonably withdraw from the legal proceedings;
• the professional representative refuses to act for you;
• you report a claim to us more than 60 days after the event;
• the other side is unlikely to be able to pay your claim;
• your claim does not have a reasonable chance of success;
• your claim is settled or discontinued without our agreement beforehand;
• you enter into a conditional fee agreement with the professional representative;
• they relate to a time before the effective date of termination of your employment in claims for unfair, wrongful, or constructive dismissal.

We will not pay for:

• the first £50 of each claim;
• claims more specifically insured under another insurance policy;
• claims made against us or Capita Assistance;
• any claims arising under the Equal Pay Act 1970 and amending legislation;
• applications for Judicial Review;
• claims relating to:
  • medical negligence;
  • planning, including town or country planning;
  • the construction or structural alteration of buildings or parts of them;
  • subsidence, mining or quarrying;
  • any works by, or under the order of, any government or public or local authority;
  • a lease or licence to occupy land or property;
  • a dispute relating to Council Tax;
  • a regular activity for profit or a business;
  • divorce and family law;
  • existing disputes or claims that you could have reasonably known about at the time you arranged this policy.

Professional representative means a solicitor or accountant depending on your claim.

Before proceedings are issued, we will appoint a professional representative to act for you. If proceedings need to be issued, you may choose your own professional representative if we approve them. If we cannot agree on a professional representative, we will ask the Law Society or the Institute of Chartered Accountants to choose one that we must both accept. We are entitled to obtain information from the professional representative.

You must help us at all times and, at your cost, give us any information we need to consider your claim. You must keep the cost of your claim as low as possible and try to recover your professional costs and fees from the other side. We may take proceedings in your name to do this. We may also decide to settle your claim.

If there is a disagreement between you and us, both sides may agree to an arbitrator. If we cannot agree, the Law Society will appoint an arbitrator and their decision will be final.

This part of your policy is managed on our behalf by Capita Assistance.

Caravan section

caravan is the trailer caravan shown in your schedule together with its awnings, fixtures and fittings used solely for touring holiday purposes by you, your family or friends.

Events

We cover sudden and unexpected loss or physical damage by external means anywhere in Great Britain or the continent of Europe to the caravan and its furniture, furnishings, utensils and household linen.

Additional cover

If following loss or damage the caravan is uninhabitable we will pay £15 a day up to a maximum of £300 to cover the cost of alternative accommodation provided that the caravan was being used for touring holiday purposes at the time.

Your liability to others

We cover you or your family or any other person using the caravan with your permission for any legal liability as owner or occupier of the caravan to compensate others if following an accident during the period of insurance someone dies, is injured, falls ill or has their property damaged. The most we will pay for any claim or claims arising from one cause will be £2,000,000 plus legal costs and expenses agreed by us.

We will not pay if the liability arises from:

• death, injury or illness of you or your family;
• loss of or damage to any property owned by you, your family or your domestic employees or that you or they are responsible for;
• a contract that says you or your family are liable for something which you or they would not otherwise have been liable for;
• use of the caravan as a permanent home or being let for hire or reward;
• the caravan being attached to a towing vehicle.

Settling claims

We will decide whether to repair or replace the caravan or, if it cannot be repaired or replaced, we will pay its market value at the time of the loss or damage but not more than the sum insured.

We will replace the caravan with a new caravan of the same make and model if it is less than one year old at the time of the claim and it costs more than 60% of the manufacturer's list price including VAT to repair it.

We will not pay more than the manufacturer's last list price for any spare part.

We will decide whether to repair or replace any item of furniture, furnishings, utensils or household linen that is lost or damaged or, if it cannot be repaired or replaced, we will pay the cost of an equivalent replacement.

We will pay the reasonable cost of taking your caravan to the nearest competent repairer and returning it to you when the repairs are complete.

The most we will pay is the sum insured shown in your schedule or the limit shown in your policy.

Conditions and exclusions which apply to the whole of your policy

Conditions

1. You and your family must do all you reasonably can to prevent and reduce any loss, damage or injury.
2. You must tell us about any loss, damage or liability as soon as possible and give us all the information and help we may need. We will decide how to settle or defend a claim and may carry out proceedings in the name of any person covered by your policy, including proceedings for recovering any claim.
3. You must report any loss, theft, attempted theft or malicious damage to the police immediately.
4. If a claim is fraudulent or false in any way, we will not make any payment and all cover will end.
5. You may cancel your policy at any time by giving us written instructions. We may cancel your policy by giving you seven days' notice in writing to your last known address. You will be entitled to a pro rata return of any unexpired premium.
6. English law will apply to the Legal Expenses cover. The laws of the United Kingdom will apply to the rest of the contract. If there is any dispute as to which law applies, it will be English law.
7. If any claim is covered by any other insurance, we will not pay for more than our proportional share of that claim.
8. You must tell us if any of the information upon which this insurance is based alters. If in doubt about any change, please tell us. You will not be insured until we have agreed in writing to accept any alteration.

What to do if you have a complaint

At Zurich Insurance, we pride ourselves on the service we provide to our customers. However, if you feel you have cause for complaint regarding your policy, you should, in the first instance contact either the intermediary who arranged the policy for you or our Service Centre Manager at the address shown on your policy schedule. Please provide details of your policy number to help us deal with your complaint.

If you are not satisfied with the way in which your complaint has been dealt with you can contact the Chief Executive's Office:
Telephone: 01242 221311
email: chiefexecutive@uk.zurich.com
or write to: Chief Executive, The Grange, Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, GL52 8XX

A member of the Chief Executive's office will respond to your complaint and offer resolution where possible.

In the unlikely event that we are unable to resolve any dispute between us, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to review your case.

Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London E14 9SR
Telephone 0845 080 1800
email: enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

The use of the complaints procedure will not affect your right to take legal proceedings.

Making a claim

Details of how to make a claim are shown in your Zuricare Assistance booklet or you may ring us on the following numbers: