Block of Flats Insurance
Comprehensive cover designed for freeholders, managing agents and right-to-manage companies responsible for residential blocks — from purpose-built towers to converted period buildings.
What Does Block of Flats Insurance Cover?
Every residential block is different. We tailor cover to your building's specific requirements, ensuring freeholders and managing agents meet their obligations under the lease and at law.
Buildings Insurance
Full rebuilding cost cover for the structure, roof, foundations, external walls and all fixtures forming part of the building. We arrange RICS-qualified reinstatement cost assessments to ensure your sum insured accurately reflects the cost of rebuilding — including any heritage or specialist construction considerations.
Communal Area Contents
Protection for furnishings, carpets, fixtures and equipment within shared hallways, stairwells, entrance lobbies, residents' lounges, car parks and garden areas. Covers damage by fire, flood, theft, vandalism and other insured perils.
Property Owners' Liability
Covers your legal liability for injury to third parties or damage to their property arising from your ownership or management of the block. Essential protection for freeholders, managing agents and management company directors.
Directors & Officers Liability
Personal protection for directors of RTM companies and residents' management companies against claims alleging wrongful acts, mismanagement, negligence or breach of fiduciary duty in their role — including decisions on maintenance, expenditure and service charges.
Engineering & Lift Inspection
Specialist cover for lifts, boilers, communal heating systems and other mechanical or electrical plant. Includes breakdown cover, statutory examination and inspection costs required under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER).
Terrorism & Loss of Rent
Terrorism is excluded from standard property policies — we arrange cover through Pool Re or specialist markets. Loss of rent protection replaces the service charge or rental income lost while the building is uninhabitable following an insured event.
Specialist Risks & Challenges
Certain types of residential block present additional underwriting challenges. Our market access and experience allow us to secure competitive terms even for the most complex risks.
Mixed-Use Blocks
Buildings with commercial units on the ground floor and residential flats above require careful consideration. The commercial element — whether retail, restaurant or office — affects the risk profile, and the policy must address both residential and commercial exposures under a single programme.
Listed & Heritage Buildings
Grade I, Grade II and locally listed buildings demand specialist cover that reflects the higher cost of reinstatement using period-appropriate materials and techniques. We work with valuers experienced in heritage properties to ensure accurate sums insured and appropriate policy terms.
High-Rise & Large Blocks
Blocks above six storeys, or those with complex communal systems such as sprinklers, dry risers and multiple lifts, require insurers with specialist appetite. Post-Grenfell cladding concerns and EWS1 form requirements add further complexity that we navigate on your behalf.
Section 20 Compliance & Our Approach
Section 20 Consultation Support
Where the insurance premium triggers the Section 20 consultation threshold, we support freeholders and managing agents through the statutory process — providing the quotation summaries, insurer information and documentation needed to comply with the Landlord and Tenant Act. Proper compliance protects your ability to recover costs through the service charge.
Why Choose Ellis David?
We have established relationships with the leading block-of-flats insurers and understand the regulatory and leasehold landscape. From reinstatement cost assessments and Section 20 consultation to claims management and mid-term adjustments, we provide a complete service that makes managing your block's insurance straightforward.
Frequently asked questions
Who is responsible for arranging insurance — the freeholder or the management company?
The freeholder is ultimately responsible for insuring the building under the terms of the lease. In practice, this duty is often delegated to a managing agent or a residents' management company (RMC). Where a right-to-manage (RTM) company has been established, the RTM company typically takes over responsibility for placing the insurance. Regardless of who arranges it, the policy must satisfy the insurance covenants set out in the lease.
What are the Section 20 consultation requirements for block insurance?
Under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, if the insurance premium exceeds a set threshold per leaseholder (currently £100 per dwelling, or the amount prescribed in regulations), the freeholder or managing agent must formally consult leaseholders before placing the policy. This involves issuing a notice of intention, inviting nominations of alternative insurers, and providing a summary of the quotations received. Failure to follow the Section 20 process can limit the amount recoverable through the service charge to the statutory cap.
How does listed building status affect premiums?
Listed buildings typically attract higher premiums because the cost of reinstatement must reflect the use of original or sympathetic materials and traditional construction methods — such as lime mortar, handmade bricks, ornamental plasterwork or period joinery. Rebuilding costs can be significantly higher than for a modern equivalent, and a specialist reinstatement cost assessment by a surveyor experienced in heritage buildings is essential to ensure the sum insured is adequate.
What does communal contents cover include?
Communal contents cover protects items within the shared areas of the block that do not form part of the building structure. This typically includes carpets and floor coverings in hallways and stairwells, furniture in entrance lobbies or residents' lounges, communal laundry appliances, fire extinguishers, and decorative fixtures. It does not extend to individual leaseholders' personal contents within their own flats.
Get the right cover
Speak to one of our expert brokers for a free, no-obligation quote.