Lots of people have been ringing in following the recent out breaks of violence and asking if they would be covered if there was damage caused to their own property.
Generally speaking, damage caused to domestic property comes under a couple of headings of a home policy contract and typical wordings would be as follows:
- Any person taking part in a riot, violent disorder, strike, labour disturbance, civil commotion or acting maliciously.
- Theft or Attempted Theft.
These would equally apply to both buildings & contents. Although the Theft or Attempted Theft peril seems more pertinent to a contents claim, buildings are usually damaged during a theft or attempted theft and this damage would be covered by the building section of a policy.
Claims made will be subject to the normal policy excess unless you have been advised otherwise.
Home owners will need to check their policy wordings most carefully as there are situations where this type of cover will be specifically excluded, especially if the property has been unoccupied for some period of time or was declared unoccupied at the inception of the policy or has had the contents removed. It's best not to leave anything to chance, if you are in any doubt as to the scope of your cover, contact your broker or insurer and ask for clarification."
