Refused Insurance
- We cover customers that other companies won’t.
- Buildings, contents and combined policies available.
- Underwritten by AXA Insurance.
- Average quote time is only 10 minutes.
More information
Finding cover after a refusal to renew or a cancellation notice
When you start a quote, home insurance providers may ask whether you have ever had a policy cancelled or refused. You have a duty to answer the questions asked honestly and to the best of your knowledge. By answering ‘Yes’ truthfully, you will likely be asked several follow-up questions. This is so that your potential insurer can assess the risk to underwrite your policy and provide adequate cover.
Why would you be refused home insurance?
There can be several reasons for a refusal. for instance, if a high value claim has been paid or your circumstances have changed since the original policy was taken out. In some cases, an insurance provider may not be able to offer cover because you didn’t meet an underwriter’s criteria. It all depends on your personal and property circumstances.
Reasons you could be refused home insurance:
- Your house is left empty for more than 30 days at a time.
- Your house is of non-standard construction.
- You have made several claims in previous years.
- You live in a house share with others who are not related by blood or marriage.
- You or someone you live with has a criminal conviction.
- You live in a high flood risk area.
- You let rooms to lodgers.
- You run a business from home.
What to do when your home insurance is cancelled
It can be difficult to find cover from another provider after a refusal to renew or a cancellation notice but it is worth taking the following steps:
- Speak with your insurer to find out why your policy has been cancelled.
- Resolve the issue if possible and ask for your cover to be reinstated.
- Make a complaint to your insurer in writing.
- Contact the Financial Ombudsman if you think your insurer is not treating you fairly.
- If your current insurer does not reinstate the policy, contact a specialist insurance provider.
Your house insurance provider has the right to cancel your policy in certain circumstances, such as failed payments, fraud or failure to disclose a change in circumstances or a change to the property.
At Homeprotect we understand your situation and do not believe that you are uninsurable. We can provide a home insurance quote online in 97% of cases, even if you have been refused insurance in the past.
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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.
Legal support when you need it
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.
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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
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
Family legal protection
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?
Find answers to some of your questions here. Your latest policy documents are also available to view and download.
Your Questions Answered
Yes — business equipment is covered under our Contents insurance, up to a standard limit of £10,000 per claim. This includes items like computers, monitors, printers, routers, and office furniture used to run your business.
If you need a higher limit, we may be able to increase this following a referral to our underwriting team.
Please note: Business Equipment is separate from Business Tools, Business Stock and Business Money — which are not covered unless specifically agreed by our underwriters.
There are no regulations around how long a homeowner can leave their property unoccupied. However, when it comes to purchasing vacant property insurance with Homeprotect, your home must have been unoccupied for more than 30 days.
We are able to provide an online quote in the majority of cases, even for customers with convictions. However, if you are more comfortable speaking with one of our trained agents then they can discuss conviction types and the impact this might have on your home insurance.
There are a few things that we need to know in order to move your quote along:
- The name of the criminal offence.
- The year of conviction.
- The year of offence (most recent offence related to the conviction).
- Sentence type.
- If a prison sentence: how many months?
- If a fine: how much?
- If community service: how many hours?
- If conditional/unconditional discharge: how many months?
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.
When you are refused insurance it means that the provider has decided not to provide cover for your property or belongings. This may be because you do not meet the terms of their underwriters, or it may be because of a change in your circumstances which means you are perceived to be a greater risk to insure.
When applying for insurance, if you do not, when asked, tell your insurer something that is relevant such as having a criminal conviction, then you could be refused house insurance.
If you have been declined insurance in the past then it is best to seek a home insurance quote from a specialist provider. Specialist home insurance providers are likely to better understand your needs and be able to cover your home and contents for a reasonable cost.
You must inform your insurance provider of changes to your home such as letting a room to lodgers, making structural renovations, installing a burglar alarm or door locks, leaving the house empty for more than 30 consecutive days.
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 …
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.
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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