Accidental Damage (home insurance)
Physical damage caused suddenly by an outside force which is not
expected and not deliberate. This means an unintentional, one-off incident that
damages your property or its contents. So, general wear and tear or damage that
occurs gradually is NOT accidental damage. For example, if you accidentally
drop your laptop, this is accidental damage. But, if your laptop stops working
because of a mechanical fault or due to its age, this is not accidental damage.
Claim
Any claim that you make under your insurance policy, whether
for loss, theft, damage, cancellation, or any other event that is insured under
the terms of your insurance policy.
Excess
The first amount of each claim you have to pay. For example, if
you have buildings insurance, and your home suffers storm damage to your roof
that will cost £1,000 to repair, but your policy has an excess of £100, you’ll
be asked to pay the excess of £100 but be able to claim for £900 (the cost
minus the excess).
Family
Your spouse or partner, any children (including adopted and
foster children). Depending on the
particular policy, this definition may include grandparents, grandchildren or
any other relatives all of whom normally live with you.
Insurance Policy/Policy
This is the agreement between you and the insurer that
provides cover against an insured event happening. It is made up of two parts – the general
standard wording, and then the Schedule of Cover, which is a document that is
specific to you, and lists your details, the period of cover, the level of
cover and the major limits.
Schedule of Cover
The Schedule of Cover is one part of your Insurance Policy,
and lists your details, the period of cover, the level of cover and the major
limits.
UK
England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands
and the Isle of Man
UK Resident
There are various tests of residency, depending on the wording
of each policy, but in general your main residence must be in the UK, you need
to have spent 6 of the last 12 months in the UK, and you may have to be
registered with a medical practitioner in the area in which you live.
There are also several sites that will give additional
explanations of terms that the insurance industry uses. We recommend that you also try the following
helpful websites:
A useful starter from the British Insurance Brokers’
Association - http://www.biba.org.uk/jargonbuster.aspx
An extremely comprehensive list of insurance terms from the
Lloyds’ insurance market - https://www.lloyds.com/common/help/glossary