Are your clients paying for insurance they may not need?
Some properties, particularly newer developments within rural or a green belt areas, require a pumping station to pump sewage and waste waters into the public sewer network.
In 2011, DEFRA estimated that there were around 33,000 private pumping stations operating around the UK.
From the beginning of this month (October 2016), eligible private pumping stations are being transferred
into the ownership of local sewage companies, who have become responsible for their maintenance and running costs.
If your clients are, in whole or in part, responsible for a private pumping station, and if they haven’t already done so, you may like to suggest that they pass details about it to their local water company. Details can be found on the Water and Sewerage Companies (WaSCs) website.
WaSCs will want to survey the station and, providing it meets the eligibility criteria, they will arrange to take on responsibility for its upkeep. At the same time, it would be worth asking your clients whether or not they have any insurance for the station. They may no longer need it once responsibility for the the station is transferred to WaSCs.
A word of caution though.
If damage is caused to the station as the result of an external force, such as a tree falling in a storm or someone driving into it, you may still need insurance to cover the costs of the damage and removal of any debris.
As always, check the lease and check with WaSCs the extent of their liability in the event of anything unforeseen.
If you need standalone Estate Management insurance, developed to provide cover for communal grounds and facilities, then it’s worth checking out Deacon’s Estate Management
insurance cover.
If you want to check which water companies are acquiring responsibility for the maintenance and running costs of pumping stations, check out the WaSCs website.
FP753-2016
The sole purpose of this article is to provide guidance on the issues covered. This article is not intended to give legal advice, and, accordingly, it should not be relied upon. It should not be regarded as a comprehensive statement of the law and/or market practice in this area. We make no claims as to the completeness or accuracy of the information contained herein or in the links which were live at the date of publication. You should not act upon (or should refrain from acting upon) information in this publication without first seeking specific legal and/or specialist advice. Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited trading as Deacon accepts no liability for any inaccuracy, omission or mistake in this publication, nor will we be responsible for any loss which may be suffered as a result of any person relying on the information contained herein.