How to reduce your non-standard insurance premiums

The conventional building – whether a home or commercial property – is built to a standard construction and design, with walls of brick or stone and a roof clad in tiles or slates.

High-value homes, listed buildings, thatched cottages and historic estates are rarely designed and built to such conventional standards and use non-standard materials and construction techniques – indeed, that may be one of the reasons for their particular interest and value.

An organisation called Historic England is responsible for listing buildings, of which there are currently around half a million in England and Wales. Thatched cottages crop up in many a picturesque English village – thatched buildings were the norm in every rural community for thousands of years after all. And other examples of eye-catching and architecturally interesting property are likely to feature non-standard construction techniques and materials.

Because of the unique nature of those buildings, however, regular forms of property insurance are unlikely to provide the protection you need for such valuable assets and, instead, specialist non-standard construction insurance is called for.

Reducing the cost of your premiums

Whether it is non-standard construction insurance you have in mind, high net worth insurance for your own stately pile or thatched home insurance for your country retreat, you still want to be assured of good value for money when it comes to the premiums you pay.

Just as yours is no ordinary building, so no ordinary insurance provider is likely to find the cover you need – at a competitive price. Instead, you are likely to draw on the expertise and experience of a specialist provider of non-standard construction insurance, capable of matching and tailoring the appropriate insurance product to your unique property, yet at the same time keeping a close eye on the cost of the premiums.

Of course, non-standard construction insurance recognises that repairs or reinstatement following any damage to your property is likely to cost more than work on a more conventional property. Special, difficult to source, materials may need to be found (or even imported), and craftsmen and tradesmen with the relevant skills in long-lost construction techniques invariably command a handsome wage.

Key to arranging any type of non-standard construction insurance, therefore, is a careful valuation not only of the current state of the property but more importantly the estimated cost of building repairs and reinstatement in the event of loss or damage. Indeed, it is necessary to anticipate a worst-case scenario in which your high-value property is completely destroyed, and the total building sum insured needs to be sufficient for a complete rebuild.

In the case of thatched home insurance, of course, rebuilding costs must take into account the expense of finding the materials and qualified thatchers to undertake such specialist works.

High net worth homes invariably contain high-value contents. High net worth home insurance, therefore, needs cover for invaluable contents which might include fine art collections, antique furniture, jewellery, rare books or extensive libraries.

Whether you are a private owner or a company in charge of a historic or listed building or estate, therefore, appropriate and competitively priced non-standard construction insurance for the property and its contents is likely to remain a high priority.