A new range of insurance services designed to help the overseas property market “restore confidence by making it safer for people to buy abroad” was launched this week by The Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP).

Professor Mark Sharp, CEO of the Association of Property Professionals, said that “the difficulties of the last few years and the unscrupulous activity of a minority of rogue companies have stopped many people from buying overseas unnecessarily.”

“Our new range of insurance services helps overcome many of their concerns by teaming up with Kinnell Corporate Limited to offer insurance packages that address specific issues such as land title and build quality.”

The insurance services will be suitable for overseas property companies as well as their clients.

The new services are:

1. Title Insurance: designed to protect developers in case of other parties claiming that they are the rightful owners of the property or land, says AIPP. It covers property buyers against disputes over ownership and access rights. “Title insurance is common in most parts of the world where land registration is not as accurate as it is in the UK.”

2. Latent Defects: designed to offer latent defect cover similar to that offered by the UK’s NHBC (National House Building Council) guarantee on UK new build property, says AIPP. “Developers can now protect themselves against claims for serious defects limiting their time exposure.”

3. Professional Indemnity Insurance: designed to protect businesses against claims for loss or damage made by a client or third party if companies make mistakes or are found to have been negligent in the services provided, says AIPP. “Companies with professional indemnity insurance are protected from bearing the full cost of defending against a negligence claim.”

4. Property Insurance: designed to help mitigate the effects of factors such as location of the property and weather when developing a project overseas, says AIPP. “If the property is situated in an area where natural catastrophes such as earthquakes or seasonal hurricanes are common, protecting the property against such disasters is crucial.”