3 Dimensional Insurance

A client recently purchased a large, mixed-use commercial property comprising:

- Ground-floor retail units
- Upper-floor residential flats
- A vacant warehouse section undergoing refurbishment

On paper, it was one building. In reality, it presented multiple risk factors:

- Mixed occupancy and varying fire loads
- Partial unoccupancy
- Ongoing works
- Non-standard construction in the warehouse section
- Different tenancy agreements across the site

This combination meant the risk fell outside standard insurer appetite.

Instead of forcing the risk into an off-the-shelf policy, a bespoke approach was taken:

- Full risk presentation with clear occupancy and works schedules
- Specialist markets engaged with experience in mixed-use and unoccupied property
- Tailored cover including property damage, loss of rent, public liability and material damage during works
- Risk management recommendations provided to improve insurer confidence and pricing

The result?
Comprehensive protection aligned to the actual risk, not assumptions.

Complex risks aren’t about being “high risk” , they’re about being, different.

And different requires expertise, strong insurer relationships, and a willingness to look beyond standard wordings.

If you’re acquiring, redeveloping or refinancing commercial property, it’s worth asking:

Does my insurance truly reflect the complexity of my asset?

Did you know that 3Di also offer the following policies?

▪️ Rights of Light
Certainty is the friend of any developer, using insurance to remove the risk of incurring additional costs is seldom considered. A development could impinge upon a neighbour’s Rights of Light, but just because a survey has revealed that a neighbour may have a case against the developer, doesn’t mean that insurance isn’t available. Taking out a policy will fix the cost of this risk within the development budget rather than leaving an open-ended risk of mounting costs in defending a legal action.

▪️ Restrictive Covenants
Many properties that are purchased have Restricted Covenants already in place that may prevent the purchaser from using the land for the purposes intended. An insurance policy is usually an easier and more cost efficient way of dealing with the problem.

▪️ Surety Bonds
All types of Performance Bonds including Construction Guarantee Bonds, Retention Bonds and Highway Act/Road Bonds where the need for a deposit can be replaced with a guarantee. This is a small sample of the type of bonds that we are able to supply.

▪️ Latent Defects
Cover is available for a building defect that causes physical damage. A fault that could not of been detected through inspection before completion. There is no need to prove negligence, only that there is a defect.

▪️ Defective Title
Properties can have a defect in title, this can open up the purchaser to future claims from a third party. It also makes it difficult for the property to be sold on without the comfort of a Defective Title policy.

If you need to discuss any of the policies that we offer at 3Di, please drop us a message or call the team on 0203 327 0292

https://www.3diltd.co.uk