Chancel Insurance. A neccesity or just a convenient money-spinner?

[OrmRenewed]

We had a chancel search that revealed we were in the tithe area of a parish - but surely most houses are? We are moving to a semi in an urban location. Is it worth paying the insurance? It's not a fortune I admit but it's just more dosh on top of the other stuff we seem to be required to haemorrhage in order to move house I know there have been terrible cases when people move into house near a church but a semi, in a built-up residential area? Surely not.

Dont even risk it. Just buy the insurance.

It is relativley cheap and one couple I saw in the news lost their home due to chancel repairs plus legal bills exceeding the value of their property.

On a ligter note my Dad used to pay the value of a sheep every year to York Minster as tythe. They did enforce the bill as they do in chancel repair cases.

It is a legal obligation.

But I can't help feeling it's a rip-off. It's something that is so rarely a problem - yes it's not much but I get annoyed at being manipulated into paying money for something that almost certainly won't be an issue. The nearest church was built in the 1960s. Can't help feeling they are making money because of a few cases reported on You and Yours!

We probably will pay it but I want to grouse a bit first.

Certainly not a rip off. Buy it. Churches cost a lot to run maintain and although they may never call on their right to charge a tithe if they do they are talking thousands of pounds. My dad is a churchwarden of a large medieval church and they are currently looking at essential renovations of hundreds of thousands of pounds and when I said to him would you charge a tithe he said, and I quote "if we need to we will".

It might not be for the 1960's church either, it might be a church a few miles away.

How much is the insurance compared to the sort of costs that would be incurred? Could you instead pay that into a deposit account each month so you have the funds if called on?

The chancel insurance is a one-off I believe, when you buy a house. You very rarely need it, but as has been reported in the press, there've been a couple of cases where its been called upon. Buy it, I would say.

Well i don't know housemum. To insure us up to 100k for 25 yrs it's £48. But I have no idea of the sort of money it might involve. None at all. what if it costs twice that? It's a piece of string concept - so the insurers are on to a winner in that they can scare people into paying for a huge amount just in case.