Insurance Warning from Arriva over Squatters
Arriva has warned property investors this week that they must ensure their properties are adequately protected from squatters and that they have liaised with insurance companies to make sure that the appropriate level of insurance has been obtained.
Squatters ? people who illegally occupy an empty property ? can be very difficult to remove under UK law, and the process is both costly and time consuming if you don?t have the right insurance available to you. The number of properties illegally occupied by squatters has been increasing in the last few years and with many property developers owning vacant lots, it can be difficult to make sure each property is safe.
Underwriting Manager at Arriva, Mike Colmans said that obtaining interim possession orders which will eventually lead to the removal of the squatters can be ?costly?.
He also mentioned that it?s not simply about getting the right sort of insurance. Property investors have been warned that they need to be aware of exactly what their policy requires of them and take steps ot ensure that they have taken the right measures to ensure the property is not entered by squatters.
?It is imperative that adequate measures are put in place to prevent squatters from entering and taking ownership, as it can be notoriously difficult to remove squatters.?
Proper owners should already be speaking with their insurance companies when they know a property is going to be vacant for any period of time as the premiums associated with such properties are typically higher than usual.
However, proper insurance, safety measures and restriction into the property is still much less costly in terms of both time and effort than ignoring the problem and having to sort the situation out through the courts by yourself if squatters do decide to target one your properties.