Insuring one home can be difficult enough. Add a countryside manor, European villa or far-flung holiday home to the roster, plus the invaluable contents that may move between them, and things can become seriously complex. The answer? Instruct a specialist broker, like Acrisure Private Office, to streamline even the most intricate insurance arrangements.
What is multi-property insurance?
First things first, it’s important to understand what multi-property insurance actually covers. Simply put, multi-property insurance is one policy that covers multiple homes owned by the same person or family. Rather than dealing with separate insurers, renewal dates and policy terms for each property, all homes can be brought together under one umbrella policy.
As Scott Feltham, private client director at Acrisure, likes to explain it to his clients: “Think of it as a portfolio policy for your homes. Rather than having different insurers and renewal dates for each property, all your homes are covered under one umbrella policy, making it easier to manage and ensuring consistent protection across your property portfolio.” The result is a much more joined-up and cohesive approach to managing insurance for your properties.
What should you consider when insuring multiple homes?
Multi-home insurance naturally requires a more detailed process than single-property insurance. One of the most important factors is occupancy. A property that is regularly lived in or visited frequently will present a different risk profile to one that is left unoccupied for periods of several weeks or even months at a time. Insurers will typically become increasingly concerned when a property is unoccupied for a prolonged period, often 30, 60 or 90 consecutive days depending on the insurer and policy wording.
Scott explains that this matters because, when nobody is present in a property, a relatively minor risk can quickly become a significant one. For example, a leaking pipe may go unnoticed for weeks, a break-in could go undiscovered and roofs or windows damaged during storms may not be fixed for a prolonged period of time, leading to further deterioration. In addition, a property left noticeably unoccupied — tell tale signs may be as simple as an overgrown garden — become instantly more attractive to criminals, creating a greater risk profile.
This is where a specialist broker like Acrisure can step in to offer far more than simply arranging a policy. Acrisure works with a number of trusted advisors and service providers, including property management companies, house managers, estate managers, and concierge providers, who can undertake regular inspections and reporting when required. “This ensures good compliance, addresses maintenance issues early and reduces the likelihood of claims being made. Additionally, alarms, CCTV, access controls, and internal and external security systems can also be checked,” explains Scott. “We find many HNW clients find preventing claims is more valuable to them than making a claim.”
Location is another important consideration. For individuals with homes both in the UK and abroad, organising insurance can become more complicated due to different laws and regulations. Generally speaking, though, overseas properties will be included within a global insurance policy. Scott explains, “Many insurers can incorporate UK and overseas homes under a single policy. Depending on local jurisdiction, a local policy might be required, which Acrisure can still help with given our presence globally.”
Reviewing your insurance policy regularly is perhaps the most essential consideration for anyone with multiple homes. As property portfolios change, whether buying, selling or renovating, insurance needs naturally evolve too. Scott highlights the extreme importance of this: “One of the biggest risks for HNW clients is not reviewing the insurance after a property transaction, renovation, or change in use. Your insurance should evolve alongside your property portfolio. Every time you buy, sell, renovate or change how a property is used, you should be reviewing the policy with your insurance broker to make sure you still have the right protection.”
What happens if you have to make a claim?
Having multiple homes under one joint policy does not automatically mean that a claim at one property will affect the cover on others, but insurers will often look at what lessons can be learned across the entire portfolio. For example, a leak at one property could prompt a review of plumbing and maintenance arrangements across the other homes.
Of course, preventing such incidents before a claim is necessary is always preferable. Acrisure takes a proactive approach through its network of trusted partners to help clients identify and address potential risks before they become claims, whether that’s through property inspections, leak detection technology, security reviews or estate management support. Scott describes it as treating the portfolio like a family: “If one property experiences a problem, the others remain insured, but it’s sensible to check whether the same issue could arise elsewhere. That’s where we help clients take a proactive approach to managing risk across all their homes.”
How do you ensure the right protection for contents that may move between homes?
For many individuals, it’s not just the properties that need looking after; it’s the contents that move between them. For ultra-high-net-worth families, high-value assets, including artwork, jewellery, wine collections and antiques, tend to travel between residences, which creates another layer of complexity.
“The key is to make sure valuable items are covered wherever they are, not just where they happen to be on the day the policy was arranged,” says Scott. “We work with our clients and trusted advisors to make sure the insurers have a clear understanding of what the items are, their value, where they are usually kept and where it moves regularly.
“Particularly for fine art, jewellery, watches or other collections, up-to-date valuations are a matter of high importance. Regular valuations help ensure adequate cover, faster claims payments and will reduce any issue or dispute arising. We can help our clients access art advisers and valuers to undertake regular valuations, maintain collection records, as well as monitor market values. They will also catalogue collections, track location, and manage provenance records.”
Multi-home insurance is complex. Working with a specialist broker like Acrisure Private Office can provide a more coordinated approach, seamlessly bringing together the different elements of a client’s requirements.
“Our role is to help simplify what can often be a complex collection of properties, assets and insurance policies into a coordinated programme that is easier to manage and easier to understand,” explains Scott.
This personal approach is what sets Acrisure Private Office apart. Offering a completely tailored experience, the experts at Acrisure not only consider a clients’ properties, but also their lifestyle, assets, travel and wider circumstances. The aim is to build a greater picture of what matters to the individual, how it should be protected and provide best-in-class personalised advice.
“Most brokers insure properties. We help clients protect the lifestyle, assets and legacy those properties represent,” says Scott. “Our role isn’t simply to insure multiple homes. It’s to help coordinate the protection of everything that sits behind them, from the properties themselves and their contents to the people, advisers and services needed to manage them effectively.”
Find out more at acrisure.co.uk
