Please take a moment to read the information below regarding the temporary changes we have made to the cover provided under existing policies in respect of premises which continue to be affected by COVID-19 and the government imposed restrictions.
We continue to take a reasonable yet cautious approach to unoccupied risks and will continue to provide cover for premises affected by mandatory government imposed restrictions.
The information below details our approach to unoccupied premises (mandatory or otherwise) and also provides details of our expectations with regard to our policies unoccupancy conditions.
Mandatory Government enforced lockdown
There will not be any restriction in cover for unoccupied premises and businesses which are unable to open due to any Government enforced mandatory lockdown.
It is however very important for all affected policyholders to comply with the unoccupancy conditions as shown in their policy wordings. Please see further information below regarding compliance with unoccupancy conditions.
We will not charge an additional premium for the unoccupied period and you do not need to notify us that the premises are unoccupied.
Premises where lockdown no longer applies
It is important for you to note that we will take a standard approach to any premises which remain closed contrary to Government guidelines. Therefore if a policyholder chooses to remain closed but is permitted to trade according to government guidelines, these policyholders will be treated in accordance with the terms of our policies in respect of unoccupancy definitions and any restrictions in cover.
We will not charge an additional premium for the unoccupied period, however you must notify us that the policyholders’ premises are unoccupied.
Unoccupancy conditions
We expect all policyholders to take all reasonable and necessary steps to protect their premises, including complying with their policy’s unoccupancy condition. Where this isn’t possible for any reason, please inform a Folgate underwriter as soon as possible.
Where we agree that it is not reasonably feasible for a policyholder to comply with all or part of the unoccupancy condition, we will do our best to show flexibility and assist the policyholder with regard to their obligations under the policy.
To help mitigate the likely losses that will occur at unoccupied premises, we will expect policyholders to comply with the following minimum requirements:
- applying appropriate security measures including all available security devices being put into full and effective operation;
- inspecting the business/buildings internally and externally by an authorised person at least once per week to check the security and general condition of the premises; and
- maintain heating of the premises at a minimum of 10 degrees Celsius, or arrange for the water systems to be isolated and drained down.
For full details of our Unoccupancy Conditions, please refer to the policyholders’ policy wording.
Important information regarding disclosure of Unoccupied premises for new quotations
Any unoccupied new business cases must be correctly disclosed as unoccupied to our underwriters where consideration will be given on a case by case basis.
Policyholders who do not correctly disclose their premises as unoccupied may find that their policies are affected in the event of a claim.
For more information
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of our Underwriters, details can be found here.
As always we would like to thank our supporting brokers and policyholders for their support.