Home insurer won't cover building work, is cancelling policy - any recommendations?

Tirian

Just had a disappointing call with Halifax re: building work at my home. Apparently as the cost is over £75k they won't offer cover and will only cancel the policy leaving me to find cover elsewhere.

They gave a number for "Everywhen" - which looks to be a broker. I'm not hugely encouraged by the recommendation given that their website seems to struggles to load …

So just wondering if anyone has recommendation for a home insurer that might be good for standard cover for a Victorian townhouse property, to include cover during the building works for a kitchen/diner extension. Any good / bad experiences for this kind of thing?

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6660081/home-insurer-won-039-t-cover-building-work-is-cancelling-policy-any-recommendations

Try Adrian Flux. We used them a few years back and they were excellent.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6660081/home-insurer-won-039-t-cover-building-work-is-cancelling-policy-any-recommendations

An insurer is never going to recommend a competitor even if its for something they dont directly sell and so most recommend a broker, normally they go for the big firms like Howdens but various firms have done deals with more specialist outfits.

SaverRate

Home Protect (Underwritten by AXA)

maman

It's quite normal for a 'High Street' insurer to refuse cover when major, expensive building work is going on. Actually, I'm surprised that the threshold for Halifax is relatively high.

When we had building work done about 18 months ago the same thing happened to me. My then current insurer refunded me the balance on my premium.

I used a broker called Finch which is local to the south of England. I was able to take out 6 months cover with the option to extend if there was a delay.

After 6 months, the building was sufficiently advanced that I could go back to my normal insurer as only cosmetic work and kitchen fitting was left to do. What seemed to matter most was security before permanent walls and doors were in place.

Albermarle

Is this something relatively new?

25 years ago I had an extension + other work needing steels etc which cost £30K then .

The 20 years had a loft extension that cost about the same.

In both cases the insurer never batted an eyelid when I told them. I do not remember who it was but I have only ever used one of the big providers. .

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81927153#Comment_81927153

Not really but insurers appetites vary significantly. Hiscox by comparison covers projects up to £250k as standard and will cover higher for an additional premium.

Tirian

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81926819#Comment_81926819

By definition, someone who's selling cover that you don't offer isn't a competitor in that context. I'd frankly have greater respect for them if they did recommend an insurer (or insurers) who might offer cover. They could even take a referral fee, I wouldn't much care. And I would be more likely to return to them in future. As it is, they are now firmly bottom of my list.

I don't have anything against using a broker in principle, but I'm afraid that one who can't even maintain a functional website will never convince me that they're going to be up to managing a claim.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81927153#Comment_81927153

Sounds more or less the same as what I'm doing - kitchen/diner extension and knock-through. steels required etc. I think that the issue is that insurance has just become a lot more commoditised since then, and the products are sold within very strictly defined parameters. The mainstream insurers only really care about volume - as long as they can shove product out the door on those terms without any deviation then they're happy. Everything else gets booted to specialists.

MyRealNameToo

Many people when asked who their insurer is mention a broker or other form of intermediary rather than the PRA regulated insurer.

The other considerations are that brokers access a range of insurers so more likely to find appropriate cover than naming a niche direct insurer that may be really good for thatched roofs but won't touch building works plus it saves the overhead of having to check who's specialising in what all the time. Also all direct insurers are non-advisory in nature so they have to be careful about recommending/advising you to go elsewhere.

Many niche providers do offer mass market products too, they just dont focus on them, so it is recommending a competitor even if they can't offer what you are looking for today. Often direct insurers will be on the brokers panel and so it doesnt feel as bad. Finally you get the twist that Axa Direct may not offer something but HomeProtect does offer it despite being underwritten by Axa. Insurers may be willing to take a broader range of customers via brokers when they are going to be the ones liable for any mis-selling.