Published: 19/10/10
Building Regulations Impacts on Sums Insured
Greater emphasis on being green and energy conservation has signalled changes to Building Regulations relating to building construction.
Most relevant is Part L (Conservation of fuel and power) which came fully into force Oct 2010; it raises the standard of allowable thermal emissions from buildings and to a lesser extent Part E for sound insulation.
Many of the UK’s existing buildings don’t comply; regulations are not applied retrospectively, but they will be if a building needs to be rebuilt or substantially repaired.
This is crucial for lightweight buildings or those of poor construction typically found in church, community or village halls. If destroyed by fire, rebuilding will need to comply with the new regulations; additional costs could be anything from 5-50% higher.
A home insurance policy is there to replace a building of similar size and comparable facilities, so this must be taken into account when setting the sums insured.
News Archive » |
