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Non-Standard Home Insurance

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  • Wooden, timber-framed, concrete, pre-fabricated and eco-homes covered.
  • We cover more than brick, slate and tile.
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Emma Myrie

Written by

Emma Myrie

Insurance Underwriting Expert

Libby Goodsearles

Reviewed by

Libby Goodsearles

Head of Marketing

Less than 1 minute

Updated: 12 Mar 2024

Houses built from non-standard materials can be harder to insure because of their increased risks

Non-standard materials can cause your premium to increase because the risks that affect the property can be greater. It is typically more difficult and costly to maintain a building of non-standard construction. This is often the case with listed buildings, where traditional methods must be carried out by a specialist tradesman to preserve the historical importance of the property.

For this reason, you will likely need to source non-standard building insurance from a specialist provider like Homeprotect. The more details that you can provide, the more likely you are to find the right nonstandard house insurance at the right price for your unique property.

Specify all of the building materials used

When asking for a non-standard construction home insurance quote, bear in mind that some concrete and prefab or prefabricated reinforced concrete (PRC) homes (such as Hawksley PRC houses)  have a brick façade. You need to list all of the building materials used to be properly covered in the event of a claim. If in doubt, a qualified surveyor can help.

What materials are considered non-standard?

  • Timber frames.
  • Steel frames.
  • Concrete.
  • Corrugated iron.
  • Plastic.
  • Glass.
  • Fibreglass.
  • Asbestos.
  • Flint.
  • Asphalt.
  • Shingle.
  • Eco-friendly materials including green roofs.
  • Cob, and wattle and daub.
  • Prefab/HUF Haus.
  • Passive houses and zero energy buildings (ZEBs).

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What’s covered by buildings insurance?

Having buildings insurance means you won’t be out of pocket if you need to repair or rebuild your home if it’s been damaged or destroyed.

What we offer

Quick fix for uncontrollable leaks

Have a home emergency, such as electricity failure, faulty locks or vermin infestation? With the 24/7 Home Emergency cover, which we provide as standard, you can typically get an engineer at your home within four hours. And if you’re worried about an uncontrollable leak in your home, we aim to have an emergency plumber to you within two hours.

Extreme weather conditions may extend response time. Policy terms and claim limits apply.

5 star rated buildings cover

Our building insurance has been given the highest rating by independent financial research companies, Defaqto and Moneyfacts.

Repair guarantee

Any buildings work we undertake is guaranteed for 24 months following a claim.

Legal advice

We provide Legal Protection cover as standard, giving you access to telephone legal advice on any personal legal issue, under the laws of the UK, any European Union country, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Switzerland and Norway.

What isn’t included?

Damage cause gradually, or by wear and tear, or by failure to fix a known issue.

Faulty design or poor workmanship.

Damage or liability arising out of the activities of contractors.

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BUILDINGS Insurance Cover Levels

Our buildings insurance is designed to protect your home against insured events such as fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, malicious damage, subsidence, landslip or heave.

Buildings cover

Covers the main structure of your home if you need to rebuild or repair it.

up to £1 million

(eligibility criteria applies)

Alternative accommodation

For you and your pets, in case you can’t live at your home while it’s being repaired after an insured event.

up to £75,000

Home emergency

Covers emergencies that occur in your home like uncontrollable water leaks, electricity failure, faulty locks and vermin infestation. Two levels of cover are available.

up to £500

Family legal protection

Provides a 24/7 legal advice helpline and up to £25,000 cover for claims involving contract disputes and property damage. For a claim to be successful, there must be reasonable prospects (more than a 50% chance) of winning the legal case. Two levels of cover are available.

up to £25,000

Trace and access

Covers the cost of detecting the source of a water or oil leak and repairing any damage caused in the process.

up to £10,000

Outbuildings cover

Covers rebuild or repair of your outbuildings (such as detached garages, greenhouses, sheds and summerhouses).

from £20,000

Liability cover

Liability cover involving accidental death, bodily injury or illness or property damage that you are legally liable to pay.

up to £5 million

Accidental damage

Covers situations when unexpected accidents happen, such as spillages on the carpet, breakages around the house or drilling through hidden pipes. Two levels of cover are available.

Optional

POLICY DOCUMENTS

If you’re deciding on whether to buy home insurance with us, you can use our latest policy booklets as a guide.

Existing Customer?

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Your Questions Answered

Compulsory and voluntary excesses are the amount you pay towards a successful claim.

Compulsory excesses vary depending on the section of cover you’re claiming under and the type of claim you’re making. If you make a claim under both buildings cover and contents cover, both sections will apply.

If you chose to include voluntary excesses when buying your policy, they are paid together with any compulsory excesses for the section of cover you’re claiming under.

You can find your excess amounts in your policy documents.

Not always. Your premium will partly depend on the rebuild costs of the particular design of your home

Buildings insurance covers the structure of the home together with its fixtures and fittings: it covers the cost of repair or rebuilding after fire or weather damage for instance. Contents insurance covers the contents of your home, the possessions you would take with you if you moved house.

There are a huge number of non-standard materials being used in modern constructions, such as asphalt, concrete, timber, glass and steel. Older properties are also made with non-standard materials like wattle and daub or flint. When in doubt, check with a builder, surveyor or your home insurance provider.

If you purchased the property in the last 5 years your homebuyers survey may include the rebuild cost. However if you purchased the property more than 5 years ago you will need to get an up to date assessment.

If your home is of standard construction (normally brick walls and tile roof), not a listed building and not built before 1720 you can use the free online BCIS Rebuild calculator.

If your home is built with non-standard construction materials, or it’s a Listed Building or it was built before 1720, you will need to consult a Chartered surveyor to provide you with an accurate rebuild cost.

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