Typical House Construction - House Insurance

firetaz

It has come time to scour around for a Home and Contents quote and again I am left with the same niggling question at the back of my mind . . . . I live in a typical new build house (built 2011) so it will be constructed of timber frame with brick skin on the outside.  I am finding I am very limited with the number of insurers who provide quotes and even more so with the ones that provide competitive ones.  Does everyone else detail their homes as timber frame with brick when they enter house construction or do they just go for traditional construction (if your house is the same type as mine)?  Would this not invalidate the cover should I need to claim on the Buildings policy?  Just feeling frustrated as this is now arguably standard construction for most new houses.  Thanks in advance.

Zorillo

I would describe it as standard construction.
 However, you should check with the relevant insurer because they will use their own definition.

David_Watts2

I assume you're using a comparison site in which case you may be falling foul of complexity in the mapping between comparison sites and some insurers, e.g. you effectively have to say the home is non-standard so you can then accurately describe it as timber frame and brick. Many insurers will simply then decline you as "non-standard" when they would accept your construction as standard if you went direct. My advice, answer as standard (i.e. just brick walls) and see what you get back. Then, when you click through to the insurers who you are interested in, make sure you have given the most accurate answer to their specific construction question and change it if necessary. I think you'll get more quotes back and that most of the insurers will still be willing to quote for you even if you have to amend the default value that the construction has mapped through to.
Main point is, make sure you've given the most appropriate answer to the insurer you eventually choose to go with.