FridgeFreezer Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 Our home insurance is up for renewal and as the shed and garage have gained some toys in the last year I thought I'd check they were covered - turns out almost all home insurance policies stop at about 5k for contents of shed & garage which I'm guessing for many of us would be woefully under the cost of replacing our various tools & equipment. I'm sure someone out there must offer separate cover, so I thought I'd ask here in addition to doing my own searching - anyone know anything or have any experience? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 Have you had a conversation over the phone to your current provider about it? Different purpose but I suppose similar in principle; I live not too far from a river, it doesn't flood but it obviously has the potential under certain circumstances. Standard home insurance would only go so far if I left it as is. After I spoke with the provider over the phone to enquire what they could do they increased the level cover for not that much extra to cover my entire home and contents (plus having to move out) if we ever got flooded. I was surprised to learn that no one else near me who I have spoken to bothered to ask their provider and have stuck with standard cover which as you say is limited. The only thing is I luckily haven't had to use it to find out how good it really is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted April 21, 2021 Author Share Posted April 21, 2021 Yes I spoke to them, they said they can't go over 5k total - and googling suggests that's common industry standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 I found the same as you 5k is pretty standard. I am with Admiral and they do £10k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 My workshop is away from home so it's even more difficult. I spoke to a couple of different places a while back about getting some cover... no one could understand that I didn't want or need a commercial policy with public liability or driving customer vehicles.... or understand that I didn't have any customers!! I then spent a long while chatting with my local NFU agent about cover... eventually their underwriter came back and said they were stopping doing policies like that. However during the course of that conversation stream I went through the workshop and worked out the total replacement cost with a spreadsheet. Shocked would be an understatement when I hit the sum button and saw the total! Now a lot of things I've bought when on offer or deals, or mates rates from suppliers, or bought second hand, but NFU wanted a new-like-for-like price. I've not got anything from the likes of Snap-On etc but the total replacement cost of a total loss is several times the £5K max you've got above and I'm sure there will be stuff I've missed. Best thing I did here was to go round and take a million pictures so I could go through it logically and stick stuff off. After the above bummer with the NFU I got chatting with CRS Consultants who are based in Northwich. Quote looks to be around the ~£500 a year mark which is a bit steep but not found anything better yet. This policy also stipulates an alarm with yearly maintenance contract. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 I guess you have to consider the cost of insurance vs the risk. I am sure I am not alone in saying that not every trailer/digger/forklift etc is insured that I own as the cost would just be too much and I consider for the most part if I insured everything for £x per year, assume something is stolen once every 10 years then you have saved 10 times that amount to go towards it. That may well be acceptable for lower value big items such as ropey old trailers and dumpers etc but then will be worth the insurance if there is one stand out high value item In the workshop I did similar to Ross but in my head and also came up with a scary number. I think a similar thing applies here to be honest and I also considered the risk of what would/could actually be stolen. Am I worried about a ramp or cast iron pillar drill being nicked? No. Am I concerned about cordless tools being nicked? Yes. In addition all this is my hobby not my lively hood so if I needed to replace I could take time doing so with second hand items like I did when purchasing in the first place. The risk is obviously an event like a flood/fire that could be catastrophic to all equipment and there is someone on this forum that suffered that sad fate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 9 minutes ago, L19MUD said: In addition all this is my hobby not my lively hood so if I needed to replace I could take time doing so with second hand items like I did when purchasing in the first place. That’s the trouble though, it’s how long it would take to get back to having what you need. I’m lucky that in the last year I’ve been able to buy some bigger lumps but most of it is 15+ years of buying bits here and there and I’m now at the stage where I’ve got pretty much everything I could want other than a lift or machine tools. It’s amazing the number of times I’ve struggled with jobs at work because I’ve got a worse selection of tools than at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 Ours is M&S premier and if I remember correctly the garage cover is unlimited. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 1 minute ago, miketomcat said: Ours is M&S premier and if I remember correctly the garage cover is unlimited. Mike I'm not sure who they were with but my parents policy was similar.... it just had a £1K limit on a single item without it being listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 1 minute ago, landroversforever said: I'm not sure who they were with but my parents policy was similar.... it just had a £1K limit on a single item without it being listed. Yeah that sounds similar. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted April 21, 2021 Author Share Posted April 21, 2021 50 minutes ago, miketomcat said: Ours is M&S premier and if I remember correctly the garage cover is unlimited. That's handy as I appear to have unlimited amounts of carp in my garage 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turnips Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 We insure everything with the NFU. Every year the chap comes out and we re-evaluate, especially if for example I have bought a new welder. Insuring with the NFU costs more. However, if a group of lads in a van turns up in the night and kicks the workshop door down, taking every single tool and piece of equipment I own, I know that the NFU will pay out and I will not be spending eighteen months wrangling with my insurer about what was and wasn't covered. Likewise in the event of a fire or tsunami or plague of zombie locusts. You pays yer money and takes yer choice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 3 minutes ago, Turnips said: We insure everything with the NFU. Every year the chap comes out and we re-evaluate, especially if for example I have bought a new welder. Insuring with the NFU costs more. However, if a group of lads in a van turns up in the night and kicks the workshop door down, taking every single tool and piece of equipment I own, I know that the NFU will pay out and I will not be spending eighteen months wrangling with my insurer about what was and wasn't covered. Likewise in the event of a fire or tsunami or plague of zombie locusts. You pays yer money and takes yer choice! Is yours a private policy for just the workshop? The NFU guy said they're stopping with policies like I was after unless its as part of some kind of whole farm/business cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turnips Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 (edited) @landroversforever the workshop cover is part of the policy for the farm. Out of curiosity were you wanting to insure a workshop as an individual premises or as a part of your home policy? Apologies - I just re-read your post and saw the answer there myself. Would they not insure you as one policy with two addresses, your home & workshop? Edited April 21, 2021 by Turnips Asking a question already answered.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 4 minutes ago, Turnips said: @landroversforever the workshop cover is part of the policy for the farm. Out of curiosity were you wanting to insure a workshop as an individual premises or as a part of your home policy? Apologies - I just re-read your post and saw the answer there myself. Would they not insure you as one policy with two addresses, your home & workshop? Haha we've all done that! Individual policy. I'm still/back with my parents so haven't the option of having it under one policy with the house. But from the way they worded it, It would only be as part of a whole farm type policy rather than anything domestic sadly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turnips Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 @landroversforeverThat's a real shame, as they are very good to deal with. I hope you get it sorted, because as you say, the cost of having to replace all your tools in one fell swoop would be eye watering. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 (edited) Long time ago now but I was doing some work for a friend at his bus garage, it was broken into and my welder was stolen, much to my joy the house insurance covered it all they wanted was the police incident no, worked out good for me as I got a better welder that I still have nearly 30 yrs on regards Stephen Edited April 21, 2021 by Stellaghost 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoSS Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 I asked for 20k cover on mine without problem, but then i'm in France so that doesnt help you much. But a point raised above - I thought what happen if i do get it all nicked - So i made a list of all the major items and took photos. a) to prove to insurance what i had and b) so that i could replace if i did need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy996 Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Time to talk to a proper broker or one of the more specialist providers. I've always had good experiences with NFU, but they seem to be getting a little more fussy about the risks they will accept. Try Hiscox or look for Brokers in the phone book, (or Google). Anything tailored will be more expensive per £1000, but that's life I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 I know you have dealt with them before for cars, how about : https://www.academyinsurance.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 As an aside, is the car insurance of any help in case of theft or fire, if it is parked in the garage? Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Daan said: As an aside, is the car insurance of any help in case of theft or fire, if it is parked in the garage? Daan That would surely only cover the car itself? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 I've been down this road too. I have my car and home insurance with NFU. I asked about contents cover extending to my garage, and it seems things are much easier if your garage is attached to the house, as opposed to down the garden. Trying to explain that the value of your garage contents far exceeds what's in the house is hard to get across to them. Like Ross I started to go through my tools and equipment to get an idea of replacement value - it becomes pages and pages long and is quite scary. It's a handy exercise though as I had no idea that I have around 50 pairs of pliers and cutters of various types. I cannot say that I definitely got across to them what I wanted, or that I have the cover I'd like. I do my best to work safely, as we are not just talking about loss through break-ins, but fire is a very high risk in our hobby. I have plenty of gear that would be very hard to remove, but could easily be destroyed in a fire. When you have worked in well regulated industrial environment you are more aware about the need for 'hot work' procedures. For example I never weld or grind something in the garage and depart immediately. I prefer to do both outside, safely away from the garage clutter and flammable items when possible. At my old job no hot work was allowed inside an hour of the premises closing for the day. Fires can take a while to become sufficiently obvious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Just to add to that and just common sense I always do a fire check 30- 60 minutes after any hot work as mickyw said you could lose all in a fire regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 In addition to what I said above I also never leave my garage door open if I'm nipping into the house, I always work ( even in winter ) with the garage door open so I can keep an eye on who's mooching about. My garage door is remote operated and the side access door is blocked off with my tool cabinets very difficult to get in ( ask me how I know ), windows are barred within the glazing. Having your kit insured is good practice but I for one am very vigilant as even with good insurance paying out, I'm still not guaranteed to be able to find everything I have accumulated over the last 40 years and I find that most scary regards Stephen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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