WORD GAMES

Trevor Smith raises the issue of landlords' insurance policies (see [2002] Gazette, 31 January, 18).

Most practitioners will consider this to be a considerable bugbear.Rather than deeds of variation being scattered all over the place, would it not be more sensible for the Law Society to co-ordinate an agreement with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the insurers to produce a standard form of wording on an insurance certificate such as: 'This policy complies with the requirements of the Council of Mortgage Lender's Handbook 6.13'?The other point, which many seem to overlook, is that insurance policies are renewable annually and while at the time of purchase a policy may be in order there is nothing on renewal to prevent its subsequent lapse or variation with something lesser without the knowledge of the tenant or the tenant's mortgagee, unless in each case (which is not at all commercially practicable) the insurer notifies all interested parties as to lapse or variation.Raymond Hayes, Bartons solicitors, Salcombe, Devon