This is an important issue for most homeowners, ‘Is Japanese Knotweed removal covered by home insurance?’.
This is an area that can scare most homeowners as it can add financial woes to any existing or potential property owner.
Japanese knotweed is a tenacious and dangerous plant which if left unchecked can cause significant damage to your property, the environment and the biological diversity of an area.
Treating this weed plant is a top priority for anyone facing an infestation of the knotweed, however; such treatment does not come cheap which can affect your home insurance.
This is precisely why most people consider hiring the services of professional companies to do the dirty job or in the alternative take out an insurance cover for the purpose of guaranteeing the treatment of the knotweed infestation whenever it manifests in a designated area.
Based on the foregoing, the subsequent section of this article will dwell on answering whether Japanese knotweed home insurance exists and to what extent as further discussed below:
What is a home insurance policy?
Generally, a home insurance policy protects against damage to your home based on aspects such as a fire breakout, theft, and natural causes i.e. wing, lightning, hail, floods etcetera.
In addition, a home insurance policy protects your assets in the event that you are liable for injuries or damage caused to another person.
Does home insurance cover Japanese knotweed?
As a homeowner, whenever you discover the presence of Japanese knotweed infestation on your property, one of the key concerns is whether your home insurance policy can cover the infestation.
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is negative unless in a few exceptional circumstances where the policy specifically provides for such a cover.
Insurance policy companies are astute when it comes to the drafting of policies. Japanese knotweed is a risk that many insurance companies have not embraced cover.
Based on the foregoing, it is common to find many home insurance policies impose clauses that are meant to restrict or exclude the policyholders from being covered by an infestation of knotweed infestation.
What can you do if your home insurance policy does not cover Japanese knotweed infestation?
Seemingly, taking into account the fact that conventional home insurance policies do not have a knotweed cover, this implies that for anyone intending to take out such a cover, you must enter into a special Japanese knotweed indemnity insurance as may be acceptable by the insurance company.
Special Japanese knotweed indemnity insurance basically is a cover that you will contribute towards as a homeowner for the purposes of the treatment and removal of the knotweed infestation whenever it occurs within one’s property.
Because this is usually a specially negotiated cover, you can ask your insurance company to extend it to cover legal representation so that as the policyholder, you will be protected against any claims brought against you by neighbours or other interested parties as the case may be.
Precautionary measures when choosing Japanese knotweed indemnity insurance
As a homeowner, when taking out a policy for Japanese knotweed removal by home insurance treatment, you must always negotiate with the insurer to ensure that you protect your best interests. To this end, here is what you must look out for:
- Insurance-backed guarantee
The cover must not only work for the short-term period because Japanese knotweed is quite stubborn and may not be eradicated easily, especially with the first treatment.
In order to be safe, even in the future time, it is always advisable that you get a cover that guarantees both the short-term and long-term treatment of the knotweed infestation whenever it results.
Although taking a cover that caters for long-term interests may not be pocket friendly, its benefits outweigh the costs. For instance, it is evident that mortgage lenders will be reluctant to offer you a loan on a property that is infested with the weed plant.
However, if you have an insurance-backed guarantee that is applicable for the long term, the mortgage lender will waive their strict requirement for the property to be free of the knotweed infestation before giving out the loan.
Equally, an insurance-backed guarantee will help you as a homeowner to maintain the value of the property in accordance with the market price of such property. It is no secret that the presence of Japanese knotweed in your property greatly affects your property negatively by causing depreciation.
- Value for money
Always ensure that the knotweed insurance policy gives you value for your money. Do not settle for substandard services when you have been given a good amount of money for the purpose of treating the knotweed.
Always ensure that the insurer makes good on the promise as per the cover. This is to say, if the cover requires periodical checks to be conducted on your property, ensure that this is done.
As a homeowner, you should not take a backseat and assume everything will be done accordingly, always be proactive until it is ascertained that the knotweed infestation is no more.
- Get the best treatment plan
Treating the Japanese knotweed is not child’s play. The weed plant is highly destructive and has a very dominant trait over other plants.
The damage that often results from the presence of this weed plant on your property can be unprecedented hence you must be vigorous in the treatment plan that you choose for the purpose of getting rid of this highly invasive plant.
Choosing the right treatment is important because it will have a quicker effect and results once applied to the weed plant and this can save you from unnecessary costs
Conclusion
Japanese knotweed home insurance is still a rather new concept as insurance companies are reluctant to cover the knotweed infestation.
However, not all insurance companies are closed to the idea of giving a suitable cover when it comes to the treatment and eradication of knotweed.
As a homeowner, you must be on the lookout for the companies that can offer you this option and negotiate on the best terms possible that will suit your needs.
Do not just assume that by the mere existence of a home insurance policy you are covered when it comes to Japanese knotweed infestation treatment.
Alternatively, if you can’t find an insurance company to give you the cover, consider finding specialist companies to cover the knotweed infestation for you.
Want to know more about Japanese Knotweed removal covered by home insurance?
Knotweed Removal aims to provide the most up-to-date information, help and advice for YOU to make informed decisions. If you are unsure or uncertain about how to proceed, please reach out to us and we will gladly come back and advise you as best we can.
Governmental advice can be found here and the UK law covering the removal of Japanese Knotweed as stated under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 can be found here.
The best means to contact us is via our email – hello@knotweedremoval.tips
Do not forget we have a library of blogs covering many areas relevant to Japanese Knotweed, our free downloadable How-to Guides and Product Reviews on the latest methods being employed to eradicate or remove Japanese Knotweed.
Knotweed Removal, UK
- Kills ivy japanese knotweed, saplings, brambles and nettles to the root
- Kills up to 16 tree stumps
- Contains a reusable pipette for specialist treatment of japanese knotweed
- Kills the roots so weeds don't come back
- Degraded in the soil by micro organisms
- WEED KILLER CONCENTRATE: Rootblast's strong weed killer is both super-concentrated and tough on most broad leaf and grass weeds. It's specifically designed to bring you the best results by using systematic herbicide technology. It targets weeds from the inside and kills them at their underlying roots, preventing any future growth
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- DOCK, GRASS & DANDELION KILLER: Alongside this industrial strength weed killer, you'll receive a pair of protective gloves as well as the integral measuring device attached to the bottle. The gloves provide you with protection to ensure your experience is as easy and safe as possible. The integral measuring device is an inbuilt measuring cup, simply remove cap and carefully squeeze the container until the cup is full
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- Unique dual action fomulation, kills weeds to the root and prevents new weeds growing for up to 3 months
- Ideal for paths, drives and patios
- No measuring or mess - just add water
- Creates an invisible barrier that prevents new weeds for up to 3 months
- Children and pets need not be excluded from treated areas (once dry)
