House insurance - Non-standard construction

Werdnal

I know we are lucky to live in a 300 year old house in the middle of nowhere, but when it comes to house insurance it has its drawbacks. Just had our home and contents renewal through at £255. Its a very comprehensive policy, but still quite pricey.

Done a quick search through the usual suspects for an alternative quote, and as I have experienced before, once you tell them its cob construction, alarm bells ring and the familiar "Sorry we are unable to quote on this property" page appears. I did find one online company offering non-standard quotes, who came back with £425!

Does anyone have any recommendations of others I could try please?

jennifernil

No help to offer, but £255 for house and contents does not sound a lot. I suppose it depends on the amounts insured.

We have a standard construction and pay just over £400.

BenL

Who do you have at the moment for insurance?

I think Norwich Union are quite good on the non standard constructions.

The unlimited product was quite good at letting through non standard stuff when I worked for Abbey. NU was the sole underwriter by the time I left for the Piece of Mind product.

Try them direct and through abbey.com maybe.

lisyloo

Just had our home and contents renewal through at £255. Its a very comprehensive policy, but still quite pricey.

That doesn't sound pricey to me at all.
I paid £480 this year and I always shop around as much as possible, but I think it's competitive for the level of cover I have.

I would advise reading Martins articles, shopping around, looking at quidco etc. but I don't think that sounds too over the top for both at all.

Remember that home insurance cover you for
buildings (maybe accidental damage)
contents (maybe accidental damage)
3rd party liability
personal possession outside of the home
valuables
bicycles
money, credit cards etc.
and maybe legal cover

so there can be quite a lot of cover there.

Werdnal

Thanks for replies. I actually didn't think it was too bad a price (only gone up £7 on last year), but my hubby was comparing prices at work with another chap who also lives in a cob house, and he said he doesn't pay anything near that. However, since posting here, I've been on his recommended website for a quote, and was declined due to the non-standard construction. Me thinks he is telling his insurance company porky-pies!

I think we will go for the renewal as it stands.

Thanks again

lisyloo

but my hubby was comparing prices at work with another chap who also lives in a cob house

There are all sorts of variables e.g.

The amount of cover you have for both buildings and contents
Whether you choose accidental damage options for either or both
Whether you add on additional items
The level you choose for personal possessions.
The optional extras you have e.g. emergency cover, freezer cover, etc.

I think house insurance is actually quite complicated.

The bloke at work could be under-insured or simply not have many options covered on his policy.
I'm sure there would be an explanation but you would need to delve a bit deeper into the cover to find it.

jag5039

Hi Werdnal

I have a house built in 1750. I am having terrile trouble finding an insurer. Be grateful if you could let me know who quoted you £255.00

Regards