This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

07 Aug 2026 at 13:46

Summary of the contracting process

Islington & Shoreditch Housing Association Limited procured a broad insurance services package for its housing stock and associated operations. The scope covers buildings insurance for residential and commercial properties, casualty cover, public liability, employers’ liability, professional negligence, motor, engineering and fidelity insurance. The work applies across England, including London and the surrounding regions. The requirement is relevant to insurers and insurance providers able to underwrite housing association portfolios, assess property and operational risks, and provide several classes of cover under one arrangement. The buyer is a sub-central public authority based in London. The procurement concerns services rather than construction, property management or insurance brokerage alone.

The procurement is complete and was awarded through a direct award to Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. The award was recorded on 7 August 2026. The justification was the single-supplier technical-reasons ground under paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 to the Procurement Act 2023. The buyer stated that Zurich was the existing provider, held knowledge of the housing stock and its building-safety issues, and could offer a commercially viable renewal while the buyer improves incomplete property data. One lot was awarded. The award value is £750,000 excluding VAT and £900,000 including VAT. The contract runs from 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2027, with signature scheduled for 1 November 2026.

This award indicates demand for insurers able to cover housing association portfolios spanning residential and commercial buildings, multiple liability classes, motor, engineering and fidelity risks. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need strong underwriting capability across these lines, experience with social housing and complex property portfolios, and the capacity to assess buildings where safety information is incomplete or still being improved. Knowledge of higher-risk and taller residential buildings would be particularly relevant, as would the ability to understand an individual landlord’s stock, risk profile and operational requirements. Suppliers should be able to assemble a commercially coherent multi-class insurance programme and demonstrate the financial capacity, claims handling and risk-management expertise needed for a large public-sector housing client.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

Insurance Zurich

Notice Description

Buildings Insurance; Residential & Commercial, Casualty; Public Liability, Emp. Liability, Prof 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.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06df27
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075313-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency 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
7 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
7 Aug 20262 weeks 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

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 INSURANCE COMPANY LTD

Further Information

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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