Insurance Management
We do not earn a commission on your buildings insurance, and we are not authorised to advise you on it. Both of those statements are worth reading twice.
What We Do, and What We Are Not Permitted to Do
Insurance broking is an activity regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and we are not registered to advise on it. That is stated in our published Insurance Disclaimer and it is a limit on what we can do, not a disclaimer of responsibility for the work we can.
What we do is administer the building's insurance arrangements: work with brokers to obtain competitive cover and service, keep the policy documentation current and available, handle renewals so that cover does not lapse, and assist with claims by providing records, documentation and access for loss adjusters.
Commission, and Why We Do Not Take Any
Insurance commission is one of the two great conflicts of interest in block management, alongside contractor commission. Where an agent earns a percentage of the premium, the agent is financially better off when the premium is higher, which is the opposite of the incentive a leaseholder is paying for.
We do not accept commissions or third-party incentives. It is the same principle that applies to contractor work, and it is the reason our advice on whether cover is appropriate is worth anything.
Claims
Where a claim relates to the building policy we assist: providing the records and documentation, arranging access for loss adjusters, and coordinating the works. Where a claim relates to a leaseholder's own contents or to a flat's own policy, that is the leaseholder's to pursue with their own insurer.
Claims assistance is charged separately from the management fee because it is work that is not incurred by every building in every year.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Insurance claim assistance | £300.00 per claim |
| Insurance claims history | £180.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT.
Leasehold Reform and Building Safety
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains two provisions aimed directly at buildings insurance. Section 59 will limit the insurance costs a landlord can recover through the service charge to 'permitted insurance payments' defined in regulations, which is the mechanism intended to end opaque commission, and section 60 will require landlords to give leaseholders prescribed information about the cover they pay for. Neither section is in force yet: legislation.gov.uk lists both as prospective, and the government has said they depend on secondary legislation, on which it consulted between December 2024 and February 2025. Separately, since 28 June 2022 the Building Safety Act 2022 has protected qualifying leaseholders in buildings of at least 11 metres or five storeys, with two or more dwellings, from service charges for cladding remediation, and has capped what they can be charged for other historical safety defects. Those protections do not apply where the freehold is owned by the leaseholders themselves, which is the position of many resident management companies, so the answer for a particular block depends on its height and on who owns the freehold.
Where We Do This
From our Plymouth office, across Devon, Cornwall and the wider South West. Each area page sets out the authority, the fire and rescue service and the local building stock.
And what changes locally, area by area:
Common Questions
Why Can't PBM Handle My Insurance Claim for Me?
We are not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to handle insurance claims on your individual property. Where a claim relates to the building policy we assist by providing records, documentation and access for loss adjusters, but the claim itself has to be pursued by the policyholder.
Do You Take Commission on the Buildings Insurance?
No. We do not accept commissions or third-party incentives on insurance or on contractor work. Our fee is the management fee, which is a fixed annual amount agreed in advance.
Who Arranges the Buildings Insurance for a Block?
The lease decides. In most blocks the landlord, the resident management company or the RTM company insures the whole building and recovers the premium through the service charge; leaseholders insure their own contents. Insuring a flat separately for buildings cover is usually both unnecessary and a breach of the lease.
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