Advantage Home Construction Insurance looks at how the Consumer Code protects buyers of new build homes, and why it’s worth shopping around to find a CTSI-approved insurance provider with access to leading insurers
Advantage Home Construction Insurance is one of the UK’s leading providers of structural warranties. The company’s directors have decades of experience in the construction industry, having started out as property developers before founding Advantage over eight years ago after seeing a gap in the market for a construction insurance specialist offering the level of professionalism and service they wanted themselves when seeking cover for their projects.
Over the years, they’ve seen first-hand how important it can be for people to shop around to secure insurance cover from an experienced provider.
Back in 2018, David Sumner spoke out about the “catastrophic” impact of the collapse of
unrated insurer Alpha on many homeowners and developers who discovered that their policies were void after the Danish insurance company collapsed. At the time, Advantage’s phone lines were incredibly busy as clients contacted them to seek alternative cover from their insurers.
Providing the highest standard of building warranties against structural faults and defects
David said: “As experienced property developers ourselves, we know it is critical to provide the highest standard of building warranties to give customers the peace of mind that any structural faults or defects are covered.”
“Unfortunately, the quality of cover provided differs widely in the industry and often
homeowners have no idea who their policies are placed with or the ratings of the carrier.
“I would urge any self-builder or property developer to do their research and ensure they go with a supplier who uses specific sector-experienced carriers as an absolute minimum.”
The Trading Standards’ Consumer Codes Approval Scheme
As well as working with leading rated insurance carriers with experience within the construction sector, directors David Sumner and Keith Gannon also ensured that Advantage was a member of Trading Standards’ Consumer Codes Approval Scheme to give their clients added peace of mind.
According to Trading Standards: “Consumers can look out for the CTSI-approved code logo when searching for a business. They can be confident that any approved business they choose has a proven commitment to honest business and higher customer standards.”
Advantage’s Consumer Code coordinator, Vicky Ng, said: “Advantage believes that homebuyers should be treated fairly, and that they should be aware of what service levels to expect from their developers/homebuilders, and of how to access fast, low-cost dispute resolution arrangements (should they be dissatisfied), and that they should receive reliable information on which to make their decisions.
“As proud code sponsors of CCAS, Advantage wants to ensure that the developers who obtain structural defect warranty policies from us uphold the highest of standards when it comes to customer service levels and to ensure that their homebuyers can make a fully informed decision prior to the purchase of their property.
“Developers who meet the Consumer Code requirements must become Advantage Home Construction Insurance Code members and therefore are obligated to meet the standards as set within the Consumer Code.”
David Sumner said: “We are very proud to have worked closely with the Consumer Codes Approval scheme team for a number of years to ensure that we are going above and beyond with the level of service that we deliver for our clients.
“We’d urge people to do their research and to look for the CTSI logo when deciding which businesses to work with.”
Consumer Code safeguards for buyers of new build homes
Here are five ways in which the Consumer Code protects buyers of new build homes:
- Your reservation fee is protected. Builders must return your reservation fee if you change your mind, minus any reasonable costs, which must be outlined in advance.
- The buyer must be made aware of any deposit protection which may be covered as part of the Terms and Conditions within the warranty policy. If covered, in the unlikely event that the builder goes out of business, a refund can be returned or the warranty company may step in to complete the build of home.
- High-pressure sales tactics are not allowed. Developers are likely to be found in breach of the code if they put consumers under undue pressure to make a sale.
- You can change your mind. If a developer significantly changes the specification of your home, to which you did not agree, or if there is an unreasonable delay in finishing the construction, you may be able to pull out of the sale, even after the exchange of contracts, and receive a full refund.
- You’re still protected after completion. The code requires developers to provide an aftersales service to support homebuyers for two years after completion, including an accessible complaints service.
Consumers can take their complaint to the Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme (IDRS) free of charge if they believe their homebuilder has breached the code. In 2021 alone, the IDRS dealt with over 300 complaints and paid out more than £140,000 to help put things right.
If you require latent defects cover for your project, call: 0845 900 3969, email: sales@ahci.co.uk or pay a visit to our homepage: https://ahci.co.uk/
