Listed building insurance
Discussion
I know theres a few others on here with listed buildings so I'm reaching out to see if others have had their insurance increase significantly this year?
I paid just over £700 last year, £700k rebuild value, the renewal for the same has come through at £3.5k, I've done quite a bit of shopping around and the best I've managed is £1500, this is pushing the rebuild value up to £800k as well though to try and make sure it's sufficient.
I've tried the normal folks like NFU/LBOC/ a few brokers etc.
Is there any companies you'd recomend?
Thanks
I paid just over £700 last year, £700k rebuild value, the renewal for the same has come through at £3.5k, I've done quite a bit of shopping around and the best I've managed is £1500, this is pushing the rebuild value up to £800k as well though to try and make sure it's sufficient.
I've tried the normal folks like NFU/LBOC/ a few brokers etc.
Is there any companies you'd recomend?
Thanks
Have you tried the online comparators? They choke on rebuild costs over £1M but as you’re below that they should offer deals and the Listed status by itself isn’t a barrier to most underwriters - the increased risk/exposure is reflected in the rebuild cost.
If all else fails then try separate cover for buildings & contents individually, sometimes that throws up deals. Finally you could try someone like Lumleys but they usually cover higher risk.
I don’t recall mine going up significantly this year.
If all else fails then try separate cover for buildings & contents individually, sometimes that throws up deals. Finally you could try someone like Lumleys but they usually cover higher risk.
I don’t recall mine going up significantly this year.
Our insurance went up by about 30% due to "rebuilding costs". Now, excuse me for being cynical, but what are the odds of that element of cover ever being called upon. I would love to know how many claims are settled every year. I suspect not very many. OK, we've had the gas explosions and the risk of fire is always present but really..........
I acknowledge that every aspect of building work has got more expensive but does the minute risk of a claim justify the premium increases?
I acknowledge that every aspect of building work has got more expensive but does the minute risk of a claim justify the premium increases?
rlw said:
Our insurance went up by about 30% due to "rebuilding costs". Now, excuse me for being cynical, but what are the odds of that element of cover ever being called upon. I would love to know how many claims are settled every year. I suspect not very many. OK, we've had the gas explosions and the risk of fire is always present but really..........
I acknowledge that every aspect of building work has got more expensive but does the minute risk of a claim justify the premium increases?
The issue is under insurance - a total loss is rare but if you have a claim against the buildings insurance, say an escape of water which is relatively common, and your rebuild cost is found to be 30% under they will (potentially) reduce the payout on your claim by a similar amount - 'averaging'I acknowledge that every aspect of building work has got more expensive but does the minute risk of a claim justify the premium increases?
...amongst other things I carry out rebuilding costs assessments and rebuild costs have certainly increased by around 30% in the last 4 or so years.
Lotobear said:
...amongst other things I carry out rebuilding costs assessments and rebuild costs have certainly increased by around 30% in the last 4 or so years.
I can confirm this. We bought our house in 2021…had a full survey which included a rebuild cost. 2023 inflation tipped us over a threshold which meant insurance company wanted to come and value…we’re insured for about 30% more than the 2021 valuation now. Previous owners had the house insured for about 50% of what we initially insured it for in 2021….I think it is very common for people to be under insured when they’ve owned a house for a while.EddyP said:
I know theres a few others on here with listed buildings so I'm reaching out to see if others have had their insurance increase significantly this year?
I paid just over £700 last year, £700k rebuild value, the renewal for the same has come through at £3.5k, I've done quite a bit of shopping around and the best I've managed is £1500, this is pushing the rebuild value up to £800k as well though to try and make sure it's sufficient.
I've tried the normal folks like NFU/LBOC/ a few brokers etc.
Is there any companies you'd recomend?
Thanks
A renewal quote at a 500% premium increase is clearly your existing Insurers way of saying they don’t want to Insure you or have pulled out of the market. I paid just over £700 last year, £700k rebuild value, the renewal for the same has come through at £3.5k, I've done quite a bit of shopping around and the best I've managed is £1500, this is pushing the rebuild value up to £800k as well though to try and make sure it's sufficient.
I've tried the normal folks like NFU/LBOC/ a few brokers etc.
Is there any companies you'd recomend?
Thanks
Even if you had suffered a total loss or the flood mapping had been redrawn I very much doubt the increase would have been anywhere near that.
Your revised quote is still a “rate “ of around .19% which still sounds expensive.
Fwiw I pay circa .14% on a combined Buildings and Contents listed building policy with a specialist Syndicate.
I would give Howdens a call ( they used to be Aston Lark ) but they also have a specialist division called Abode.
My motor broker has quoted me previously for Homeowners - Nowell and Richards.
I’ve seen on here Halifax mentioned as being very competitive with so called unlimited sum insureds.
Failing all of those NFU.
However my first step would be to call your existing Insurer - that premium is a farce.
DeejRC said:
We use Lloyd & Whyte. Now granted we are both listed and thatched, however, we have found them to be very good for us. Much better than NFU for instance and those buggers are literally just a cpl of mins down the road from us!
Also thatched and listed here. Have been with NFU, LPOC/Aston Lark and LLoyd & White over the years.Last year's renewal with L&W went up massively. I found ThatchCover, who were much cheaper - the premium was about what we were paying in 2021.
I had to have a virtual valuation, to check we weren't underinsured, plus a full inspection of the chimney for out multi-fuel burner, which cost about £300 in all, but both are valid for 5-10 years.
They also wanted the usual electrical inspection report, but we'd already had that done in 2023, and the insurer at the time wanted all minor items (even C3) addressed, which we'd taken care of.
Several won't insure us because the top of the chimney is less than 1.8m from the thatch. That seems to be a new requirement, which is really annoying as we had the chimney relined about 5-6 years ago and the stack rebuilt. If we'd known then, we'd have snuck an extra couple of courses of bricks on, to take it up to height.
rscott said:
Also thatched and listed here. Have been with NFU, LPOC/Aston Lark and LLoyd & White over the years.
Several won't insure us because the top of the chimney is less than 1.8m from the thatch. That seems to be a new requirement, which is really annoying as we had the chimney relined about 5-6 years ago and the stack rebuilt. If we'd known then, we'd have snuck an extra couple of courses of bricks on, to take it up to height.
Do you know who you are insured with? We run into this exact problem (as must most thatched houses I see frankly, they must just lie to the insurance co!)Several won't insure us because the top of the chimney is less than 1.8m from the thatch. That seems to be a new requirement, which is really annoying as we had the chimney relined about 5-6 years ago and the stack rebuilt. If we'd known then, we'd have snuck an extra couple of courses of bricks on, to take it up to height.
We've had to stick with NFU the last few years as they have always insured us and don;t seem to care about the chimney height. But it is astronomically expensive. I'm very keen to get away from them. I will try thatchcover but I'd be keen to know who your underwriters are.
DKL said:
rscott said:
Also thatched and listed here. Have been with NFU, LPOC/Aston Lark and LLoyd & White over the years.
Several won't insure us because the top of the chimney is less than 1.8m from the thatch. That seems to be a new requirement, which is really annoying as we had the chimney relined about 5-6 years ago and the stack rebuilt. If we'd known then, we'd have snuck an extra couple of courses of bricks on, to take it up to height.
Do you know who you are insured with? We run into this exact problem (as must most thatched houses I see frankly, they must just lie to the insurance co!)Several won't insure us because the top of the chimney is less than 1.8m from the thatch. That seems to be a new requirement, which is really annoying as we had the chimney relined about 5-6 years ago and the stack rebuilt. If we'd known then, we'd have snuck an extra couple of courses of bricks on, to take it up to height.
We've had to stick with NFU the last few years as they have always insured us and don;t seem to care about the chimney height. But it is astronomically expensive. I'm very keen to get away from them. I will try thatchcover but I'd be keen to know who your underwriters are.
Last page of the policy document.
Thanks all.
It's Lloyd Whyte that I was insured with, they used Ageas, apparently the deal they had with them has come to an end which has meant they've had to look elsewhere.
I've had no claims, ever, been in the property 10 years, I strip out all of the accidental cover etc, push the voluntary excess up to £1k, no flood risk here, no thatched roof.
Currently I'm talking to NFU, it's the rebuild cost that's doing it, I've ever tried stripping the contents out completly and that only saved £300 from the £1900 quote. I do have an outbuilding that I've told them is about £75k to rebuild, the main house is £800k rebuild.
When I had a historical survey done on buying the property back in 2015 they suggested a £420k rebuild value so I've been increasing it a bit every year, I suspect £800k is about the right ball park. There's nothing particuarly special about the house or out buildings, it's just a typical stone wall with exposed beams in the ceilings etc.
I've tried asking them today to see if they can strip out the building insurance for the outbuilding and I'll self insure that, she wasn't sure I could do that as she felt it was under insuring, I disagreed and suggested it's chosing just not to insure a seperate building and if I'm not going to make a claim on it as it won't be insured how is it under insuring?
I've tried the comparison websites etc. I typically only find one or two quotes which are usually £2.5k highest has been £4.5k even though they put on their website tehir price won't ever be beaten!
It's nuts.
It's Lloyd Whyte that I was insured with, they used Ageas, apparently the deal they had with them has come to an end which has meant they've had to look elsewhere.
I've had no claims, ever, been in the property 10 years, I strip out all of the accidental cover etc, push the voluntary excess up to £1k, no flood risk here, no thatched roof.
Currently I'm talking to NFU, it's the rebuild cost that's doing it, I've ever tried stripping the contents out completly and that only saved £300 from the £1900 quote. I do have an outbuilding that I've told them is about £75k to rebuild, the main house is £800k rebuild.
When I had a historical survey done on buying the property back in 2015 they suggested a £420k rebuild value so I've been increasing it a bit every year, I suspect £800k is about the right ball park. There's nothing particuarly special about the house or out buildings, it's just a typical stone wall with exposed beams in the ceilings etc.
I've tried asking them today to see if they can strip out the building insurance for the outbuilding and I'll self insure that, she wasn't sure I could do that as she felt it was under insuring, I disagreed and suggested it's chosing just not to insure a seperate building and if I'm not going to make a claim on it as it won't be insured how is it under insuring?
I've tried the comparison websites etc. I typically only find one or two quotes which are usually £2.5k highest has been £4.5k even though they put on their website tehir price won't ever be beaten!
It's nuts.
It can’t be the rebuild cost in isolation; my rebuild cost is x3 yours, near water, unoccupied for periods yet is £1.7k.
Try using the comparison sites for “unlimited” rebuild cost cover. Bizarrely many insurers don’t cover for specific rebuild costs, but will quite happily quote for an unlimited rebuild cost. The main comparison sites don’t let you enter a rebuild cost of more than £1M, but if enter a value of £999,990 you get a bunch offering unlimited.
Try using the comparison sites for “unlimited” rebuild cost cover. Bizarrely many insurers don’t cover for specific rebuild costs, but will quite happily quote for an unlimited rebuild cost. The main comparison sites don’t let you enter a rebuild cost of more than £1M, but if enter a value of £999,990 you get a bunch offering unlimited.
Similar reason I had to look elsewhere - Axa were the previous underwriter.
We're in a timber frame, thatched grade II property with a rebuild cost of about £650,000.
2023 renewal was £1,900, the quote for 2024 (with Hiscox) was £3,200, but we ended up paying £1,750 with Thatchcover.
A friend works for the local NFU Insurance franchise - she said they've lost a large number of thatched properties because they've massively increased the premiums. They obviously don't want to be in that market any more.
We're in a timber frame, thatched grade II property with a rebuild cost of about £650,000.
2023 renewal was £1,900, the quote for 2024 (with Hiscox) was £3,200, but we ended up paying £1,750 with Thatchcover.
A friend works for the local NFU Insurance franchise - she said they've lost a large number of thatched properties because they've massively increased the premiums. They obviously don't want to be in that market any more.
Another 6 months before I have to go through this ballache again. We were forced to take a fairly hefty increase in the rebuild cost last year. The fact that we've got four separate buildings on the site, three of which would have roughly similar rebuild costs and account for 90% of the total value, and that the only way of losing them all in one single disaster would require a large plane to fall out of the sky ... not factored in at all. Insurance quotes were all based on rebuilding the lot.
I completely understand that insurers can't afford to spend much time looking at the specifics unless they're pursuing a big customer's business, but it is galling nonetheless.
I completely understand that insurers can't afford to spend much time looking at the specifics unless they're pursuing a big customer's business, but it is galling nonetheless.
ATG said:
Another 6 months before I have to go through this ballache again. We were forced to take a fairly hefty increase in the rebuild cost last year. The fact that we've got four separate buildings on the site, three of which would have roughly similar rebuild costs and account for 90% of the total value, and that the only way of losing them all in one single disaster would require a large plane to fall out of the sky ... not factored in at all. Insurance quotes were all based on rebuilding the lot.
I completely understand that insurers can't afford to spend much time looking at the specifics unless they're pursuing a big customer's business, but it is galling nonetheless.
Except you are buying insurance to cover all your buildings which could all sustain a loss - partial or otherwise over the 12 months individually. I completely understand that insurers can't afford to spend much time looking at the specifics unless they're pursuing a big customer's business, but it is galling nonetheless.
Cover won’t be rated on them all suffering a total loss in the same event.
If you have 4 buildings then I would expect the Insurer has spent time looking at the specifics and if they haven’t I would move Insurers or go through a broker and let them do the work.
Good thread. 7 years ago I moved form a Barrattt 3 bed semi, for which I think buildings and contents insurance was about £100 a year, to a G2 listed, significantly larger house part of which is thatched.
House insurance renewal time fills me with dread as to the cost.
In all those 7 years I've been with Lloyd Whyte heritage, underwritten by AXA originally and now for the last 2 years John Albion. Most recent renewal the rebuild amount insured costs hit £1m, pushing premium up to just under £2k.
I agree it's nuts. Being part thatched 'normal' insurers won't touch us so we always have to go with a specialist one.
Will give ThatchCover a go come renewal time in February.
House insurance renewal time fills me with dread as to the cost.
In all those 7 years I've been with Lloyd Whyte heritage, underwritten by AXA originally and now for the last 2 years John Albion. Most recent renewal the rebuild amount insured costs hit £1m, pushing premium up to just under £2k.
I agree it's nuts. Being part thatched 'normal' insurers won't touch us so we always have to go with a specialist one.
Will give ThatchCover a go come renewal time in February.
Edited by Last Visit on Friday 6th June 17:17
Edited by Last Visit on Friday 6th June 17:19
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