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Listed Building Insurance

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  • We cover all listing grades and categories and any age of property.
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David Joyson

Written by

David Joyson

Home Insurance Expert & Customer Champion

Sophie Kamkar

Reviewed by

Sophie Kamkar

Content Marketing Manager

Less than 1 minute

Updated: 7 Mar 2024

Listed Building Home Insurance

Protecting homes with architectural or historical significance

“Listed” buildings are properties which have been identified as having historical, architectural, or cultural significance that is legally protected and regulated. The listing identification stage is held through a survey of an area, or a building preservation notice, by a local planning authority.  

Listed Building Grades

Listed buildings are graded from I to III in England and Wales, or from A to C in Scotland, based on their level of historic and architectural importance. Because a number of buildings will sometimes be recorded in a single listing, the exact number of listed properties in the UK is not known. However, it is estimated to be around 500,000.  

Listed Building Home Insurance

Listed properties typically have more significant rebuild costs than standard homes, posing a greater risk to homeowners in the instance of damage or theft. Although the cost of insurance varies for every property, listed building insurance generally has a higher premium. This is because rebuilding an older property often requires specialist tradespeople and materials which are not readily available. Specialist work tends to be more expensive, which is a primary reason for seeking to insure a listed property.  

Homeprotect recognises the importance of protecting your listed home and the unique challenges that can come with it, which is why our team of experts is here to help tailor your home insurance policy to suit your situation and needs when it comes to your listed property.  

Maintaining a listed building

If you own a listed property, you are responsible for its maintenance. Common listed building renovation difficulties include changing doors, window glazing, outbuildings and fitting burglar alarms. Before you undertake any work, you must seek permission from your local authority, such as your local council or in some cases, a body like Historic England, for them to decide whether you can go ahead with renovations or repairs to the listed building. This applies to both internal and external changes to the property. The reason for this is to ensure the aspects of the listed property which are of special interest are not lost.  

You can contact a Quantity Surveyor to arrange a Professional Rebuilding Cost Assessment. To reduce the risk of claiming on your property, you should carry out a regular inspection of your listed property, keeping your eyes peeled for damage to the roof, drainage issues and damp patches. 

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What’s covered by BUILDINGS & contents insurance?

Home insurance provides financial protection if you need to repair your home or replace your belongings after they’ve been stolen, damaged or destroyed.

It comes in two parts: buildings insurance (cover against damage to the property itself) and contents insurance (for damaged or stolen items within the home). These can be combined or bought separately, so the first step is deciding which option is better for you.

What we offer

Quick home emergency response times

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 and any contents repair work we undertake is guaranteed for 12 months.

New for old

Where we replace an item, we will do our best to meet the original specification on a ‘new for old’ basis. If we can’t find an exact replacement, we’ll offer you a suitable alternative, or a full cash settlement.

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 caused by pets.

The cost of repairing or replacing items following a mechanical or electrical fault.

Lost items.

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buildings & Contents Insurance Cover Levels

Our home 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)

Contents cover

Covering the value of all your possessions in the home, on a new for old basis.

from £25,000

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 £85,000

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

Personal possessions

Cover for portable items that you take out of your home, like bags, clothes and sports equipment

Optional

Gadgets, bikes and valuables away from the home

Cover for electronic gadgets (e.g. mobile phones, laptops, tablets etc), bikes (including electrically assisted bikes) and valuables (e.g. watches and jewellery) that you take out of your home.

Optional

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

New Customer?

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

Existing Customer?

Your Questions Answered

Application Forms are available from the Civic Offices. In addition to the completed form you must also submit various additional documents. Please contact the Planning Services Department for advice. There is no fee for applications.

The majority of listed buildings in the UK are grade 2 buildings, and although the cost of insurance varies for every property, listed buildings insurance generally has a high premium. This is because rebuilding an older property often requires specialist tradespeople and materials which are not readily available.

You will need to apply for Listed Building Consent prior to any of the following works being undertaken:

  • Alterations, both internally and externally, which affect the character of a listed building.
  • Extensions.
  • Demolitions.
  • Partial demolitions.

To summarise, all works other than minor ‘like for like’ repairs would require Listed Building Consent.

In all cases you should seek advice from the Planning Services Section.

If your home is a Listed Building or it was built before 1720, you will need to consult a Chartered surveyor or a specialist property valuer to provide you with an accurate rebuild cost.

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.

View more FAQs

Additional Cover Options

Accidental Damage

The Homeprotect policy includes the option of Basic Accidental Damage, which covers electrical home entertainment equipment (such as desktop computers and monitors, DVD and Blu-Ray players, gaming consoles, home cinema systems, sound systems and TVs) up to £1,500 per claim. An upgrade …

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Legal expenses cover

The insurance policy includes Basic Legal Expenses cover which provides up to £25,000 for legal fees you may face for disputes associated with your home; such as ownership of the insured property; and the sale or purchase of the insured property. You can upgrade to Full Legal Expenses cover.

Learn More

Home emergency cover

The insurance policy includes Basic Home Emergency cover which provides cover for common home emergencies including burst pipes; failure of the domestic power supply (gas or electricity); and removal of pests or vermin. You can upgrade to Full Home Emergency to include cover for roof …

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