Fines

Our declaration question asks - 'Have you or any member of your family ever received a conviction for any offence?'You only need to let us k...

Previous claims

We need you to tell us the details of any claims made by you or your family in the last five years for the cover required.Our group of insur...

Definition of storm

A period of violent weather defined as;• Wind speeds with gusts of at least 48 knots (55mph), equivalent to storm force 10 of the Beaufort S...

Listed buildings

Listed buildings are covered as standard, however, when insuring a listed building, you need to make sure that your client has enough cover ...

Pet damage

Our policies exclude loss or damage caused by pets as a result of fouling, scratching, tearing or chewing.

Dangerous dogs

Paymentshield won't cover injury, death, disease or illness caused by any dog owned by anyone in your household or for which they're legally...

Short term insurance

Paymentshield don't offer 'short term' policies for insurance on a temporary basis.For example, if you are a homeowner or landlord planning ...

Mixed wall or roof construction

When telling us what the clients roof is made up of, refer to the below to help you decide what construction material to select.If the wall ...

Public sewers

If a public sewer bursts on the grounds of your property and you are legally responsible to fix it, you'd be covered for accidental breakage...

Contents in the open grounds

Items like built-in hot tubs and ponds that are permanent structures fixed to the grounds of the property would be considered part of the bu...

Quarter houses

A home described as a quarter house would be treated as a flat.Please check the definition of home in the policy booklet to make sure your c...

Converted into flats

If a house has been converted into flats with separate addresses and entrances, separate policies are required as the flats would be individ...

Detached, semi detached & terraced

The definitions of different types of property are below:DETACHEDWhere the structure of the property isn't attached to any neighbouring prop...

Security restrictions

You should keep in mind there are security restrictions that apply to some parts of your cover, such as malicious damage or vandalism and th...

Bedroom - definition

A bedroom is any room built or converted for sleeping in, even if it's used for other purposes. Paymentshield policies are known as "be...

How claims are paid

When you make a claim, the insurer on your chosen cover will let you know if you have to pay an excess first before they'll pay out on the c...

Outbuildings

There are some important things to keep in mind regarding the terms of cover for outbuildings (a building that's separate to your main home)...

Fixed units, laminate, vinyl and carpet

 Kitchen/bathroom units and laminate flooring are generally fixed to the buildings and are therefore covered under buildings insurance....

Coach houses

A coach house should be insured as a house for rating purposes i.e. detached house, semi-detached house or terrace.We can provide cover for ...

Annexe or granny flats

An annexe or granny flat, occupied by a family member of your client and which forms part of the main building can be covered under the same...

Correspondence addresses outside the UK

New policiesFollowing Brexit we are no longer able to write business if the policyholder is not a UK resident (UK is classed as England, Nor...

Insurance premium tax (IPT)

What is Insurance Premium Tax (IPT)?Insurance Premium Tax is a Government led tax on general insurance premiums.Exemptions from this tax inc...

Burglar alarms

When setting up a policy, your client may be asked if they have a burglar alarm at the property. If they have, they'll be asked to confirm w...

Boiler cover

As a boiler is classed as a 'Fixture and Fitting' it’s covered under our Buildings Insurance, boilers are covered for the standard risks, i....

No claims discount - first time buyers

For First Time Buyers we can offer an introductory no claims discount of 2 years if the policyholder is a first-time buyer of a property on ...

Musical instruments

Musical instruments are covered by your contents insurance for the following: When in the home, cover limits vary between policies so p...

Is Paymentshield an insurer or an insurance intermediary?

We act as the administrator for the insurance policies on behalf of separate underwriters, this is commonly referred to as 'white-labelling'...

Minimum standard security requirements

Depending on which policy your client holds, there are different limititions and exclusions relating to certain contents claims, such as mal...

Build year

When telling us the build year of your client's home, you must provide the date that the original building was constructed as the original b...

Rebuild costs

  You must always insure your home cover is based upon the rebuild value of the property and not the purchase value.The purchase v...

Definition of flood

The following are examples of an incident that would be considered a flood.• River flood - an ingress of water from a river or other waterco...

Mobile phones - home insurance

For a mobile phone to be covered, your client will need to provide evidence (a receipt) that they've suffered a loss. If, under the ter...

Stables

Providing the stables are for personal use, buildings cover can be provided under the policy. In order to be covered, the stables must be wi...

Accessing your documents online

If your client is a Home Insurance, Tenants Contents or Tenants Liability policyholder, we offer an online service which lets them view thei...

Issues accessing or receiving documents

Online DocumentationIf your client is experiencing issues accessing any of their documents online, please follow the suggestions below:If th...

Making a claim

If your client's looking to make a new claim on their policy or discuss an existing one, they can speak to their insurer/underwriter directl...

Arrears & default letters

There's a number of reasons why we may send your client an Arrears or Default letter for their policy, but please reassure them not to worry...

Cancellations

If your client wishes to cancel their Paymentshield policy 14 days after the policy start date, they'll need to contact us directly. They ca...

COVID-19

As the situation around the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, we’re reviewing the situation regularly, following official advice a...

Dependants

A dependant is classed as 'a child, up until they cease full-time education'.

Sky Partnership for home insurance customers

Who can access the offers from Sky?The offers are intended for existing Paymentshield Home Insurance customers. The advertised offer for the...

Different types of locks

When setting up a policy, your client may be asked to confirm the following: “Please select the type of lock fitted to the external doo...

Invasive plants

 The presence of an invasive plant for example, Japanese Knotweed or Bamboo on your property wouldn't prevent you from buying a Home or...

Transferring no claims discount from overseas

Your client can transfer No Claims Discount (NCD) from their overseas property to their Paymentshield policy providing it's on a "like for l...

Roof construction

When obtaining a quote for insurance from Paymentshield, your client will be asked the construction type of the roof of their building. ...

Cover for maisonettes

We can offer Buildings & Contents cover to maisonette properties as standard. When quoting, select the relevant property type from the o...

Home emergency & legal expenses contact details

 There are separate contact numbers shown on your Insurer Schedule for Home Emergency and Legal Expenses if you have chosen these secti...

Flat roofs

We can provide cover to your client for properties with flat roofs. When quoting you must select the main construction material of the roof ...

Key operated window locks

As part of our question set, your client may have been asked to confirm if all windows to their property can be locked by a key (not includi...

No claims discount for first time buyer and non-first time buyer

The discount is only available where both named policy holders are first-time buyers. If there are two parties on the application, with one ...

When should I set up the policy to start?

We would advise against setting up a policy for buildings until the clients holds a legal responsibility for the property they want to insur...

Houses of multiple occupancy (HMO)

We're able to cover Houses of Multiple Occupancy as long as there aren't more than six individual tenants living in the property, the proper...

Can I renew my client's policy?

All of our policies are set to renew automatically, only the policyholder(s) can request cancellation at renewal, in line with the Data Prot...

Properties situated by water sources

If your clients property is situated by other sources of water, e.g. river, lake then you don't need to declare this to us on their policy p...

Buildings sum insured

Buildings sum insured refers to the cost of rebuilding as opposed to the market value of the property.

Timber framed properties

When quoting in Adviser Hub, under Wall Construction you can select "Brick over timber frame" on the drop down list. Each of our insurers wi...

What happens after submitting a quote?

After submitting an application to us, we'll start to process it straight away and will send you an email confirmation to let you know once ...

Submitting new applications for existing policyholders

If you've submitted a new application for a client with an existing Paymentshield policy, we won't send out their new policy documentation u...

Cancellation fees

We don't charge any additional fees for cancelling policies. Your clients will only be charged for the cover they have had.When they cancel ...

Letter of authority & information requests

Letters of Authority and information requests on behalf of clients, along with documents such as death certificates and Power of Attorney in...

Commission clawback

If your client cancels their policy or receives a refund, we'll automatically clawback the commission earned from any period of insurance th...

Subsidence - new business

Unfortunately, we aren't able to offer cover to new customers if their property has suffered from subsidence, landslip or heave.If you're un...

Subsidence - existing customers

If your client is an existing Paymentshield customer and made a claim on their policy for subsidence, we'll let them know at their next rene...

Maximum number of bedrooms

For new business, on both our Home and Landlord Insurance, the maximum number of bedrooms we can cover is 8.For our definition on what we cl...

Evidence of no claims discount

Paymentshield don’t ask for proof of how many years your client has had no claims. However, the insurer may validate your clients no claims ...

Coal mines / mine shafts

Provided your client is able to answer the eligibility questions honestly, to the best of their knowledge and our insurers are able to offer...

Transferring no claims discount

We can't transfer No Claims Discount that has accrued on a Contents policy, over to Buildings cover. No Claims Discount can only be transfer...

Convictions

Unfortunately we're unable to provide insurance if your client or any member of their family living with them, has any any unspent convictio...

Administration charges

Our admin free covers our general administration costs for example, issuing policy documentation and collecting payments. However, we do not...

Dormer bungalows

We can cover Dormer Bungalow properties as normal as long as the correct property details have been provided.When quoting, make sure you sel...

What is Tenants Liability?

 Tenant's Liability cover is included as standard within our Tenants Contents Insurance and can also be bought on its own through our T...

What is an excess?

A policy excess is a fixed amount that your client must pay if they make a claim. The excesses your client has selected can be found on thei...

Freehold properties

As long as our eligibility questions are answered honestly to the best of your client's knowledge and your clients are legally responsible t...

Opt in and opt out of auto-renewal

Each year Paymentshield will automatically search our panel of insurers and offer your client a renewal price from the cheapest insurer avai...

Can I register an online account on behalf of a policyholder?

Only policyholders can register to receive their documents online.

Re-letting to new tenants - Rent Protection

If re-letting your property to new tenants, the policy cover can continue provided the eligibility criteria below is met by you and the new ...

What is a 'licensed credit referencing company'?

For standalone Rent Protection policies, a credit check on the tenant must be carried out from a licensed credit referencing company before ...

Authority for Vulnerable Customers

 Please see our website for some useful services we provide for your customers who may require additional support from us.  You ca...

Properties held in trust

We can provide insurance for the trustee(s) of a property, however, we can’t provide insurance for a beneficiary until they own the property...