It is possible to cover most types of commercial property under the scheme: buildings, their contents, site property, construction projects and plant and machinery, as well as transport, communication and energy infrastructure. However, the scheme does not cover property insured under marine, aviation or motor policies and it does not cover property on licensed nuclear sites, for which separate arrangements are in place.
Because the Pool Re arrangements are concerned only with commercial property insurance, they do not extend to life or personal injury. Nor does the scheme protect private property, although it can cover residential property insured by a firm (such as a block of flats owned by a property company).
To be eligible for the scheme, the property must be located in England, Scotland or Wales; it does not apply to property in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. The property must be insured under a general commercial property policy issued by a Pool Re member covering conventional fire and explosion damage. Members do not provide terrorism cover under the scheme on a ‘stand-alone’ basis, i.e. in a policy separate from the normal commercial property policy.
If a policyholder decides to extend their policy to include terrorism cover, the cover must apply to all the property which they insure. It is not open to insureds to elect to insure only part of their property portfolio for terrorism.