Specialist Home Insurance: Information for Homeowners
Every homeowner understands the importance protecting their property.
Sometimes, though, the process isn't as easy as you might think.
Not every home can be considered as a "standard" property that qualifies for equally standard cover.
Many attributes of the home might qualify it to be regarded as a "specialist" property.
Once so listed, the property is eligible to be insured under a more comprehensive specialist home insurance policy.
How do you know whether this applies to you? Read on to find out more about this type of non-standard cover.
Risk of Flood or Subsidence To qualify as a flood risk, your home must be located in an officially designated flood risk area, or in an area where the probability or chance of a flood exists over the next year.
In this case, a standard insurer is likely to consider you at risk for flood damage, and refuse to provide cover.
Another issue is subsidence, or the possibility of subsidence.
This is another factor that influences whether standard insurers will cover your home, or whether standard cover is the appropriate choice.
Thatched Roof Homes and Listed Buildings Of course, a home with a thatched roof has a highly elevated risk of significant damage due to fire.
For this reason, adequate cover is difficult to obtain from standard insurance providers.
Listed buildings are another category of edifice that standard insurers sometimes refuse to cover.
This is because these buildings enjoy special protection under the law.
In case of loss or damage to a listed building, the owner often is obliged to rebuild or restore it to as close to the original state as possible.
To do this often requires specialist materials and workmen that are not covered under standard homeowner's policies.
For adequate cover, many thatched roof homeowners turn to specialist home insurance.
Unoccupied and Farm Buildings If your property is unoccupied for more than 30 days, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to find adequate cover from standard insurers.
This leaves you at significant risk for loss of or damage to both the building and its contents.
A specialist provider will be more than willing to give you customised cover that's fully tailored for your particular needs.
Farms are another type of property that has unique needs, because a farm is both a business and a residence.
Neither business nor homeowner's cover is adequate to cover a farm, so a specialist policy becomes a virtual necessity.
Non Standard Construction Cover Many properties do not conform to the definitions specified in standard home policies, especially if they aren't constructed of traditional materials such as brick and tile.
For example, if your home has steel or timber frame construction, or is made using methods like wattle and daub, finding adequate cover can be quite problematic.
Only specialist insurers have experts on staff who can devise adequate cover for all of these types of buildings.
Specialist home insurance is an absolute necessity for owners of homes with non standard construction.
Sometimes, though, the process isn't as easy as you might think.
Not every home can be considered as a "standard" property that qualifies for equally standard cover.
Many attributes of the home might qualify it to be regarded as a "specialist" property.
Once so listed, the property is eligible to be insured under a more comprehensive specialist home insurance policy.
How do you know whether this applies to you? Read on to find out more about this type of non-standard cover.
Risk of Flood or Subsidence To qualify as a flood risk, your home must be located in an officially designated flood risk area, or in an area where the probability or chance of a flood exists over the next year.
In this case, a standard insurer is likely to consider you at risk for flood damage, and refuse to provide cover.
Another issue is subsidence, or the possibility of subsidence.
This is another factor that influences whether standard insurers will cover your home, or whether standard cover is the appropriate choice.
Thatched Roof Homes and Listed Buildings Of course, a home with a thatched roof has a highly elevated risk of significant damage due to fire.
For this reason, adequate cover is difficult to obtain from standard insurance providers.
Listed buildings are another category of edifice that standard insurers sometimes refuse to cover.
This is because these buildings enjoy special protection under the law.
In case of loss or damage to a listed building, the owner often is obliged to rebuild or restore it to as close to the original state as possible.
To do this often requires specialist materials and workmen that are not covered under standard homeowner's policies.
For adequate cover, many thatched roof homeowners turn to specialist home insurance.
Unoccupied and Farm Buildings If your property is unoccupied for more than 30 days, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to find adequate cover from standard insurers.
This leaves you at significant risk for loss of or damage to both the building and its contents.
A specialist provider will be more than willing to give you customised cover that's fully tailored for your particular needs.
Farms are another type of property that has unique needs, because a farm is both a business and a residence.
Neither business nor homeowner's cover is adequate to cover a farm, so a specialist policy becomes a virtual necessity.
Non Standard Construction Cover Many properties do not conform to the definitions specified in standard home policies, especially if they aren't constructed of traditional materials such as brick and tile.
For example, if your home has steel or timber frame construction, or is made using methods like wattle and daub, finding adequate cover can be quite problematic.
Only specialist insurers have experts on staff who can devise adequate cover for all of these types of buildings.
Specialist home insurance is an absolute necessity for owners of homes with non standard construction.