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Original poster

Insurance for unusual properties

26 replies

BurningTheToast · 24/09/2020 14:09

I wonder if anyone has any bright ideas...

We're in the process of buying a property. It's amazing, our forever home, but at present we have ties that mean we can't live there full-time. Another couple of years and we should be able to. We love the house though, it's in an area we really like and it would be hard to find another like it.

However, it is a bu**er to insure. It is on the waterfront - right on it, the tide comes up to the rock it's positioned on. However, it's quite high and hasn't flooded in at least thirty years. One of the boundaries is a 14 foot high 16th century wall and although it's in decent nick and we'll obviously keep an eye on it I think we should probably have public liability insurance just in case a bit falls off onto the path below. That wall is attached to what the estate calls a folly and the survey calls a 'ruinous outbuilding' but is in fact the remains of a castle - only a small one.

The quotes we have had for insurance are well into four figures and I wondered whether anyone else had a odd or unique property and could recommend a broker?

Many thanks

OP posts:
BlueChampagne · 24/09/2020 14:12

Who did the previous owner insure with?

Original poster
BurningTheToast · 24/09/2020 14:15

The previous owner was a large rural estate so it was just included as a job lot with dozens of their other properties from what I can tell. And I don't think they bothered re flood insurance.

OP posts:
Graffitiqueen · 24/09/2020 14:17

NFU insure unusual buildings.

Original poster
BurningTheToast · 24/09/2020 14:19

Thanks - I'll try the NFU. That makes sense, I suppose, given that they insure a lot of rural buildings.

OP posts:
CMOTDibbler · 24/09/2020 14:25

NFU and Hiscox are your best bet. If its listed, then there is a Listed Buildings Owners club who have their own insurance

Lemoncurd · 24/09/2020 14:39

I think insurers have got stricter, we have been with the same insurer for years as everyone else refuses to quote. We are a couple of hundred metres from a river and the house hasn't flooded as far as we are aware. Have to pay about £1800 a year with Churchill, moved to temporary accommodation less than a mile away for a bit and it was only £220 a year there!
Our neighbour (closer to the river) recently said they were able to get insurance from Direct Line, but also very expensive.

movingonup20 · 24/09/2020 14:55

4 figures doesn't sound that high for what you described because the risk is higher - someone mentioned nfu but also worth speaking to a broker. The fact it's not your primary residence will increase the cost to start with. House insurance here is normally £500 anyway

Original poster
BurningTheToast · 24/09/2020 15:05

It's a 'no' from NFU...

Maybe it's not that outrageous a premium for what it is...?

OP posts:
LakeDistrictLover · 24/09/2020 15:28

Have you tried home protect? We had difficulties insuring the house we recently bought...flooded 40 years ago and had underpinning at the same time. Still in a flood risk area and we are currently renovating it. They were our best option, after a lot of insurers refusing to cover.

mumsy27 · 24/09/2020 23:34

check flood RE, it's government scheme for property with high risk, cheaper option.

KoalasandRabbit · 25/09/2020 01:53

We have a thatched cottage from 1550 and that was tricky to insure - we used www.lloydwhyte.com/ in the end. NFU turned us down. We live there though.

Our empty house we use Home Protect but so many get out clauses I don't think its insured for much but it was cheap and its completely empty and low risk.

Roystonv · 25/09/2020 08:48

Apart from all the building quirks the flood risk and empty period will scare the pants off the majority of them. All we have is a flying free hold and what they call a mixed hereditary. It does mean we have stuck with the same people since purchase as we are worried about changing and missing some requirement so premium wise they have us over a barrel. You will not get cheap insurance on this one (and to be honest you will not find many who would take the risk whatever the premium) and this is just one of the downsides of owning what sounds like a fantastic place. Do go through everything with a fine tooth comb, do not hide anything, be over truthful/informative. Every year when I get my renewal I make sure I have a paper trail to ensure that anything not actually in writing on the policy is recorded with them something like 'please confirm you are aware that ......'. Insurance companies do not want difficult business and they are cutting costs so much at the standard end of the business that they will charge what they can for more specialised. We go via Adrian Flux. Good luck.

TheTeenageYears · 25/09/2020 09:15

The biggest issue you will have is not living in it. There is provision in place for flood risk properties to be insured at reasonable rates but you have to live in them yourself to access those policies. The combination of unusual/flood risk and not owner occupied could put you in an insurance black hole - I have discovered many of those over the years, in our case because we aren't UK resident. I was recommended NFU at one point but they couldn't insure in our circumstances. Good luck, it's so frustrating feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place!

Graffitiqueen · 25/09/2020 10:13

Oh that's a shame. Our insurance with the NFU was about £1400 a year for our unusual building. It was extra on top of that for when it was unoccupied at one point. Can't remember how much extra.

I think you're just goi f to have to accept that it's going to be expensive to insure.

SabrinaThwaite · 25/09/2020 10:59

I’d also check on the listing status for the boundary wall - if it counts as a Grade I or even as a Scheduled Monument (it may do if it’s not part of your habitable building) then it can involve a lot of paperwork for any repairs.

Persipan · 25/09/2020 12:04

If you can commit to staying there frequently (difficult at the moment due to the possibility of another lockdown, I know) then you may be able to get round the 'empty' part, at least. Most ordinary policies expect you not to let the property be empty for more than 30 days so if you can manage that it may not technically be considered 'empty'.

But yeah, I'd expect what you're describing to be very, very expensive to insure. To be honest, the fact that anyone's willing to offer flood insurance at all is a bonus.

It sounds gorgeous, though. I hope it's a wonderful home for you!

TheDogsMother · 25/09/2020 12:45

We currently use Towergate as our home is older than most insurers will deal with. We have the added complication of having a holiday let annexe in the garden which many insurers wont accept. We've also used Intelligent Insurance for this house but their criteria changed and could no longer cover us on renewal.

Original poster
BurningTheToast · 25/09/2020 13:18

Thanks everyone - I've made a note of all those insurers. We'd love to live there full time and plan to as soon as possible. The boundary wall is B-listed (Grade 2 if we were in England) and I'm hoping that an annual check over by a stone mason should be sufficient.

One broker has now come back with £2235 if we insure our main residence with them too. And that includes flood cover! I think we'll take that and look around a lot for next year. Can't believe I am pleased with a premium that high! I'll ask what it is if we live there full-time - maybe DH can commute to the city...

Thanks so much for your advice! x

OP posts:
NWnature · 25/09/2020 13:33

Could also try Aston Lark brokers, we have used them for unusual circs in the past and they can usually come up with something.

I think the £2235 quote sounds reasonable though!

Saz12 · 25/09/2020 13:42

£2235 sounds OK for what your insuring, particularly as is empty. Make sure you have liability insurance etc sewn up- including the castle: I know of a very ruined old keep which partly collapsed onto a parked car with a absolutely no warning.

passthemustard · 25/09/2020 14:40

I have a flat in a seaside town. 800m at least (if not 1km) from the seafront. I was looking for contents insurance only, as it's leasehold the management company deals with the buildings cover, and I was declined at least twice for being too close to the water. It's craziness.

rslsys · 25/09/2020 15:24

Have you tried Hiscox? They really are good with the 'unusual'!
No connection other than a satisfied customer.

nomdeguerrrr · 25/09/2020 16:18

Highworth Insurance are brokers who deal with unusual properties. Found them helpful in the past.

Original poster
BurningTheToast · 25/09/2020 17:02

Thanks so much. A friend who works for a home-finding company has put me in touch with a company who've previously found good cover for her clients so hopefully he'll come back with something....!

The castle in the back garden seems to the main issue (apart from the proximity to the sea). The estate agents referred to it as a folly, the surveyor described it as a 'ruinous outbuilding' and insurers treat it very much as a castle. It's 12 foot square, two stories, no windows or doors and barely a roof so it's hardly Windsor but there you go. Mind you, after that heaven knows what Her Maj pays in premiums!

OP posts:
Lurkingforawhile · 25/09/2020 17:09

Worth noting for properties at high flood risk Flood Re provides cover at a rate based on council tax band so pretty cheap. Look on their website to see which insurers are part of the scheme. I do know it's a problem for properties such as park homes and thatched buildings who usually need a specialist insurer.

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