Home INSURANCE For non standard construction

  • We cover more than brick, slate and tile.
  • Concrete, pre-fabricated and eco-homes covered.
  • Underwritten by AXA Insurance.
  • Average quote time is only 10 minutes.

Reliable Home insurance

For non standard houses

If you live in a property built from non-standard materials, you’ll know that it can be tricky to find insurance that will cover you.

We’re here to help! Here at Homeprotect we specialise in providing insurance for homes with unusual construction methods or materials including concrete, timber frame, steel frame, glass, flint and asbestos.

Solar panels are also covered if if they are attached to your property and you own or are legally responsible for them. 

specialist Home Insurance Reviews

woman on laptop next to window

Get a home insurance quote online

Get a quote online in less than 10 minutes*

What’s covered by BUILDINGS & contents insurance?

Our home insurance covers insured events like: 

  • Fire and smoke 
  • Flood and storm 
  • Theft and attempted theft 
  • Escape of water or oil 
  • Malicious damage 
  • Subsidence, landslip, and heave 
  • Falling trees or branches 
  • Vehicle collisions or damage caused by emergency services 

This includes the structure of your main home, outbuildings (such as summer houses and sheds), and permanent outdoor features like patios, driveways, paths and boundary walls. Your contents are also protected, including furniture, electronics, clothing and kitchenware — even those stored in garages, sheds or other outbuildings. 

What we offer

Emergency help when you need it most 

If you have a home emergency — such as a power outage, uncontrollable leak or a broken lock — our 24/7 Home Emergency cover is included as standard. 

  • We aim to get an engineer to you within four hours 
  • For serious water leaks, we’ll try to have a plumber with you in two hours

Response times may vary during extreme weather. Policy terms and claim limits apply.

5 star rated cover

Our insurance has received the highest rating from independent financial researchers, Moneyfacts. 

Repair guarantee

We guarantee any buildings work we arrange after a claim for two years. Contents repairs are guaranteed for one year. 

New for old

Where we replace a damaged or stolen item, we’ll do our best to match the original — on a ‘new for old’ basis. If that’s not possible, we’ll offer a suitable alternative or a full cash settlement. 

Family Legal Protection is included as standard. You’ll have access to expert telephone legal advice on personal matters under the laws of the UK and most of Europe. 

What isn’t covered?

There are some things we can’t cover, including: 

Gradual damage, wear and tear, or issues you knew about but didn’t fix 

Faulty design, construction, or workmanship.

Damage caused by poor maintenance or neglect

Items you don’t own or aren’t legally responsible for 

Items stolen from unoccupied vehicles  

Damage caused by pets.

Mechanical or electrical breakdown

Keeping your home and belongings in good condition is essential. If damage happens because of neglect or poor maintenance, your claim may be declined, and your policy could be cancelled. 

72% Saved money when they switched to Homeprotect*

*Survey data of 1,089 buying customers from 30th October – 12th November 2024

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

Protects the main structure of your home, including attached garages and conservatories, and permanent outdoor features such as patios, driveways and boundary walls.

up to £1 million

(more cover available if you need it) 

Contents cover

Protects your household contents — including furniture, clothing, appliances, gadgets and valuables — against events like fire, flood and theft. Cover is provided on a new for old basis.

from £25,000

Alternative accommodation

We’ll help cover the cost of temporary accommodation for you and your pets if your home becomes uninhabitable due to an insured event. If you stay with friends or family instead, we’ll cover your extra living costs.

up to £75,000 (Buildings)

up to £10,000 (Contents)

Home emergency

Covers sudden, unexpected emergencies — like an uncontrollable leak — that require immediate action to prevent damage or make your home secure. Two levels of cover are available, for different types of insured loss. 

up to £500

Covers legal costs for certain insured events. There must be a reasonable chance of success, and the incident must happen during your policy term. Two levels of cover are available, for different types of insured loss. 

up to £25,000

Trace and access

We’ll pay to detect the source of a water or oil leak, and cover the cost of reinstating floors, walls or paths that were disturbed in the process.

up to £10,000

Outbuildings cover

Covers detached garages, greenhouses, sheds, summerhouses and other outbuildings within your boundary or any communal area you’re legally responsible for.

from £20,000

Liability cover

Covers your legal liability for accidental death, injury or illness to someone else, or damage to their property.

up to £5 million

Personal possessions

Covers items you wear, carry or use outside the home (e.g. clothing, bags and sports equipment).

Optional

Gadgets, bikes and valuables away from the home

Optional cover for mobile phones, laptops, tablets, watches, jewellery, hearing aids and other high-risk items you take out of your home. 

Optional

Accidental damage

Optional cover for unexpected mishaps around the home — such as breakages, spillages or damage caused by you, your guests or wild animals. 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

An excess is the portion of a claim that you’re responsible for paying. It’s either deducted from your settlement or collected from you if we arrange a repair or replacement. You can find out what excesses you’ll need to pay by logging in to make a claim and selecting your policy in the “Check my cover” section. Your excesses are also listed in your policy documents. 

There are three types of excess: 

  • Compulsory excess – A fixed amount that applies to most claims, based on the type of damage. If your claim includes both Buildings and Contents, a compulsory excess will apply to each. 
  • Special excess – A higher excess that applies to specific events like flood, escape of water, subsidence, landslip, or heave. If both Buildings and Contents are affected, only one special excess applies. 
  • Voluntary excess – An extra amount you choose when buying your policy to lower your premium. If your claim includes both Buildings and Contents, the voluntary excess applies to each.
    • Exception: voluntary excesses do not apply to Flood Re claims. 

You can find your excess amounts in your Policy Schedule or by logging in and selecting your policy in the “Check my cover” section. 

Examples: 

Example 1 – Claim for one type of damage 
Romesh claims for accidental damage to his buildings. 

  • Compulsory excess: £249 
  • Voluntary excess: £150 
    Total excess: £399 

Example 2 – Claim affecting both Buildings and Contents 
Sam’s theft claim involves damage to both buildings and contents. 

  • Buildings excess: £249 compulsory + £150 voluntary 
  • Contents excess: £149 compulsory + £50 voluntary 
    Total excess: £598 

Example 3 – Escape of water affecting both Buildings and Contents 
Frankie’s claim is for escape of water. 

Voluntary excesses: £100 for Buildings + £100 for Contents 
Total excess: £700 

Special excess: £500 (applies once) 

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.

View more FAQs