D I R E C T O R ' S   B U L L E T I N

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Dear ,

We hope that you have had an enjoyable year so far.

In this bulletin: 

1. Provide feedback and get a chance to win a £200 voucher of your choosing;
2. Going digital and saving money: Why we're asking Leaseholders to opt in to electronic communications
3. Protecting your Leaseholders' with new insurance processes
4. Thank you for your widespread adoption of our recently renewed communications policy.

You're invited: Be part of J&B's first Feedback Survey for Directors and you could win £200!

We're asking directors to spend two minutes providing us with feedback on their experience with Jennings & Barrett. In return, you'll have a chance to win £200 from an online retailer of your choice. 
 
We're looking to create a benchmark that we can use to measure the effectiveness of our services and identify where we can better meet our clients' needs.

If you're happy to contribute, you can find more information about the survey here. Press the button below to complete the survey. 

Going Digital & Saving Money: Why We're Asking Leaseholders to Opt-In to Electronic Communication

Leaseholders will be asked to opt for electronic communication to become their preferred method of contact going forward. 

Many positives drive the digital revolution: Faster access to critical information, less filing required, and fewer resources being used to communicate effectively. As an industry, property services has been particularly slow to adopt digital communication, and this can often be harder as an older brand.

In addition, traditional communication methods are now also relatively expensive and resource-intensive compared to digital strategies, now costing around £2.50 per leaseholder, per communication required. This can add up quickly for larger developments with frequent service charge invoice requirements.

Rather than pass these costs on to your leaseholders, we will campaign for them to set digital communication as their preferred communication method via a simple form. This straightforward change enables management companies to be legally compliant, decreases admin costs within service charge budgets and reduces carbon footprints. 

As an example, if 100% of leaseholders living in J&B-managed property were to opt in, they would help to save the following (not including secondary savings from postal services no longer being required):

• 14 trees worth of paper;
• 36 litres of printer ink.

Please join us in encouraging your leaseholders to opt in for digital communication. We will be providing Leaseholders with information on the proposed switch, which will include: 

• A short form for them to complete, confirming their preference and details;
• The financial, environmental, and efficiency benefits from switching to digital communication;
• How the switch will be legally compliant;
• How to use the Blocks Online portal, and what they can find there;
• Processes for keeping their email addresses up to date to ensure they continue to receive communication appropriately.

Protecting your potential future insurance claims with new processes

To protect leaseholders from the effects of water damage, insurance claim refusals and underinsurance, we are introducing two small changes to the way your insurance policies are managed.

Any costs associated with implementing these new processes are strictly third-party costs only. Jennings & Barrett are not charging a fee or making commissions from these services. Our only focus is to improve the level of maintenance and cover for our clients.

1. Annual flat roof inspections via drone surveys will now be a standard process*

More and more insurance companies are refusing water-damaged roof insurance claims due to a lack of maintenance and inspection records, making it harder to claim for flat roof damage on block insurance.

Research from late 2024 shows that insurers denied 16% of property claims in 2024. With water damage being the most common reason behind an insurance payout, 20% of those refused were due to two important reasons: 

• A failure to understand specific requirements within their policy;
• A failure to "take reasonable care" - a broad scope which covers the act of performing regular maintenance and inspections.

Whilst some policies specify a requirement to have roofs inspected annually, other policies have "implied" terms, in which the requirement is not explicitly stated but do use the lack of inspections and maintenance to deny claims.

Some flat roofs can be difficult to reach without safe and expensive access equipment such as scaffolding. Drone technology now ensures that the inspection requirements under the insurance policy can be fulfilled at a reasonable cost.

As a result, Jennings & Barrett are taking the necessary steps to protect leaseholders and mitigate the effects of potential water damage by adopting a new process. Moving forward, annual flat roof surveys will be undertaken via drone to all developments with flat roofs.

By taking a proactive approach to maintenance and record keeping, we hope to further protect clients against unfair insurance claim refusals while ensuring that your properties remain safe and well maintained. 

*Relevant to those properties with flat roofs only. 

2. Preventing underinsurance: RICS desktop re-evaluations to be carried out across eligible properties

Due to rising inflation, there is now an increased risk that your building is underinsured. Underinsurance occurs when the level of protection provided by the insurance policy is not sufficient to cover the rebuild value in case of a total loss.

Across London & the South East of England: 

• Between 72-76% of buildings are underinsured;
• Underinsured buildings are covered for just 64% of the amount that they should be.

If your building is underinsured, you risk failing to recover the cost of repairs and rebuild – but you and your fellow leaseholders can also be victim to even smaller payouts by an insurer's use of "The Average Clause", which enables insurance companies to reduce further claim payments as a result of the underinsurance existing. Find out more about The Average Clause here. 

We are instructing an RICS desktop re-evaluation for eligible buildings across our portfolio to ensure your property is adequately insured. We estimate that this will cost under £200.

More complex developments may not be suitable for an RICS desktop reevaluation and will require specific advice from your broker on ensuring the cover level is appropriate. 

Thank you for helping our new communications policy become a remarked success

In a recent communication, we informed directors that we would no longer accept instructions and communication via instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp. 

The reason behind this clarification was three-fold: 

• Having multiple channels to manage meant that communications and instructions risked falling through the cracks, delaying progress.
• Issues were occurring with the work-life balance of our staff.
• Staff contact information was being accidentally shared with some Leaseholders, creating additional workstreams.

We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your understanding and support. We have been using the time in recent weeks to examine our communication processes and understand where we can benefit from providing clarity, streamlining operations, and becoming more efficient. We are in the development process for new systems and services, and look forward to introducing these to our clients when we've completed internal testing and training. 

If you have any feedback you would like to provide regarding communications, requiring clarity, improving efficiency or relating to your experience of our services, please complete our 2025 Director's Feedback Survey – you might even win £200! 

And thank you for taking the time to read this Directors' Bulletin. 

If you have any questions about the contents of this bulletin, raise them with your property manager & their team through email to block@jenningsandbarrett.co.uk.

We wish you a happy springtime, 

Jennings & Barrett