NON-STANDARD HOME INSURANCE
Quick to buy online
- Wooden, timber-framed, concrete, pre-fabricated and eco-homes covered.
- We cover more than brick, slate and tile.
- Underwritten by AXA Insurance.
- Average quote time is only 10 minutes.
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).
Get a home insurance quote online
Get a quote online in less than 10 minutes*
Recommended by our customers
72% Saved money when they switched to Homeprotect*
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.
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
Your Questions Answered
It all depends on the individual property. For instance, empty house insurance and steel frame insurance are two very different situations to cover, and so the ease with which you can find insurance for non-standard constructions will vary.
Many standard insurers do not provide cover for non-standard constructions because of their added risks, but at Homeprotect we can offer cover for a huge number of non-standard situations online.
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.
Yes, self-build insurance is a must-have to safeguard your building project from risks like flood and fire. You should also research whether you need employer’s liability insurance or public liability insurance if you are responsible for builders on-site. In some cases you may not be able to find cover until the build is complete, so it’s best to approach insurers before work starts.
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.
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?
Your latest policy documents are available to view and download.
Prefer to SPEAK WITH us?
Our insurance experts are on hand if you have any questions.