Workshop and tool insurance?

[C_Claycomb]

Looking for advice and thoughts on insurance for tools, equipment and kit stored in workshops, garages and outbuildings.

The commonly quoted response is that standard home insurance covers two or three thousand worth in things like garden sheds and garages. When I looked at my particular policy, there is small print about what constitutes an outbuilding, and it gives a size in square metres, which happens to be smaller than the shed in my garden. I have been using A-Plan as a broker and they suggested that I should itemise all the stuff in the shed in order to come up with a value. That might be the sensible thing if the shed were to burn down, but seems overkill for theft or losing its roof in a storm.

Do people here worry about insurance against theft or fire? Who do they go with, how much for (ball park), does that cover everything down to the boxes of screws, or just the big items? Do other people have small print that describes what is classed as a shed, or have caveats for locks and security?

Cheers

Chris

 

[Robson Valley]

Thanks. Every reason to check my home-owner's insurance policy.
I do know from sad experience that they slap everything with depreciation/year unless I pay extra for replacement insurance on specific items.
I have done that for a few big things. Not even my table saw made the grade.

The real sleeper is a box of small hand tools. Take a look at replacing all those! Big money.

 

[lou1661]

I have accessories and tools for my car insured via Adrian Flux separate to my car insurance and no matter where the stuff is stored. may be worth speaking to a decent broker as they can tailor the cover to what is required.

Louis

 

[Dave Budd]

Granted I can't cover my workshop under house and home insurance (15 miles away is a bit of a stretch!), but I asked the insurance company that I get public liability with about this. They said that this is universal in terms of insuring contents. Add up the NEW value of everything in the building and the insurance premiums is something like £50 per £1000 worth of property (I could be wrong with the 50, but the number was enough to put me off the idea of insurance). I pointed out that most of my expensive gear is old and nobody would ever buy it new due to the price, so the total price of my workshop goodies would be so many tens of thousands of pounds! The premium was going to be four figures every year

Basically insurance is gambling. You could pay £1000 per year for 10 years and if you don't claim then you've wasted £10k, but if you need to make a claim then it could ave you bacon.

Oh and the decider that that they came back with regarding the old verses new prices. If you don't insure for the FULL NEW value and they come to assess a claim, then you would get nothing because you weren't honest with the value of the property and you wouldn't get a penny! The insurance man told me that they will do anything they can to avoid paying out and that is the easiest way

 

[Fraxinus]

Always look at the small print, the policy I was going to get through the guild of mastercraftsmen (as I thought they might actually be on our side) and it read like one would have to be mugged for the tools before they paid out!
My advice is to ignore insurance and invest in tool vaults that you can bolt down, either in your van or workshop and put your most expensive or treasured tools in them.
Sign written vans advertise to thieves what they may contain and even if they are left empty each night the thieves will damage the van to enter it, as a friend of mine found out recently.

Rob.