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Buildings Insurance - Zurich

ISLINGTON & SHOREDITCH HOUSING ASSOCIATION LIMITED

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

04 Sep 2026 at 10:19

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

07 Aug 2026 at 13:46

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Islington & Shoreditch Housing Association Limited procured insurance services for its residential and commercial buildings and associated risks. The scope covers buildings insurance, casualty, public liability, employers’ liability, professional negligence, motor, engineering and fidelity insurance. The requirement supports the association’s housing stock and related commercial assets across England. Building insurance makes up the large majority of the annual premium. The procurement is above threshold and is categorised as services, with insurance services classified under CPV 66510000. The buyer is a London-based housing association. The requirement includes a portfolio with 10 higher-risk buildings and a further 36 buildings above 11 metres, creating a particular need for an insurer able to assess and manage building-safety exposure.

The procurement has been completed and awarded through a direct award to Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, under the single-supplier technical-reasons justification in Schedule 5, paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023. The award date was 4 September 2026. The one-year contract runs from 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2027, with signature scheduled by 1 November 2026. The awarded value is £750,000 excluding VAT and £900,000 including VAT. The award is pending and the standstill period ends on 15 September 2026. ISHA justified the route by citing imperfect housing-stock and building-safety data, current market conditions, Zurich’s knowledge as the existing provider, and the absence of genuine competition for the renewal. There was one completed lot, suitable for SMEs.

This award indicates recurring demand from a housing association for a broad, integrated insurance programme rather than a single policy. A credible future competitor would need demonstrable capability across property, casualty, public and employers’ liability, professional negligence, motor, engineering and fidelity risks. Experience of social housing portfolios would be important, particularly where stock data is incomplete and building-safety exposure is significant. Suppliers would also need the underwriting capacity and technical expertise to assess higher-risk and taller residential buildings, understand housing-stock risks and produce a commercially viable renewal proposal. The direct-award rationale shows that incumbent knowledge of the buyer’s portfolio and requirements was a decisive advantage, so a new entrant would need strong preparation, detailed risk-data capability and a clear route to building equivalent client knowledge.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Buildings Insurance - Zurich

Notice Description

Buildings Insurance: residential & Commercial, Casualty; Public Liability, Employers Liability, Professional Negligence, Motor, Engineering & Fidelity

Procurement Information

The new 1 year Contract is being awarded to Zurich pursuant to the "single supplier - technical reasons" direct award justification in paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023, for the reasons set out below. Zurich is ISHA's current provider of the insurances to be provided under the new 1 year Contract. Such insurances include building insurance, which accounts for the large majority of the overall annual premium payable. The data that ISHA holds in relation to its housing stock is currently imperfect and incomplete in a number of respects, particularly in relation to building safety matters. This issue is compounded by the fact that ISHA has a disproportionate exposure to building safety issues within its stock, given its portfolio contains 10 Higher Risk Buildings and a further 36 buildings above 11m in height. ISHA believes that these factors, coupled with current market conditions, would make it extremely difficult for a new insurance provider to submit a commercially attractive or viable offer for ISHA's insurance requirements at this point in time, while gaps in ISHA's data remain. ISHA is working to improve the data it holds, but in the meantime wishes to continue with its existing provider, Zurich, for a further year from 1 November 2026, due to the knowledge it has of ISHA's stock, issues and requirements and the commercial proposal it has been able to put forward for the renewal. For the reasons set out above, ISHA is of the view that if it were to put the new 1 year Contract out to competitive tender in accordance with PA 2023 genuine competition for it would be absent, because it would be very difficult for another insurance provider to compete with Zurich's offer for the Contract, and thereby provide a reasonable alternative. Accordingly, ISHA believes that a direct award to Zurich is justified under the "single supplier - technical reasons" ground in this case.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06df27
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083777-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

66 - Financial and insurance services

CPV Codes

66510000 - Insurance services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£750,000 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
4 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
4 Sep 20261 months ago
Contract Period
1 Nov 2026 - 31 Oct 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ISLINGTON & SHOREDITCH HOUSING ASSOCIATION LIMITED
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
N4 2DR
Postcode Area
North London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI43 Haringey and Islington
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Islington
Electoral Ward
Finsbury Park
Westminster Constituency
Islington North

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Zurich Municipal

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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