Specialist Non-standard Home Insurance

Once a property becomes unoccupied, most insurers will limit cover to just fire, lightning, explosion, and earthquake after 30 days.  This can leave you financially exposed to events such as:

All of which can carry a significant price tag.

We understand that some properties may only require short term cover and can therefore arrange 3-, 6- and 9-month policies. We can also seamlessly convert unoccupied policies into Landlords’ Policies, should you decide to rent it out.

These are properties where the construction could present an underwriter with specific considerations.

For example, thatched properties come with a lot of responsibility to the homeowner, who will need to maintain and replace the thatch over periods of time. The obvious risk to an underwriter is the fire exposure and that they are prone to rot.

An additional consideration is that certain thatch materials are not readily available, and the craftsmen required to repair these roofs are limited. You will therefore find that a specialist is required to find you the right cover with an A rated insurer.

Other buildings that require special consideration are those of architectural interest and listed properties.  Again, they may require artisans of limited availability who can deal with the repair/reinstatement and the cost of rebuild will be significantly higher.

You may find that if your property is in an area that has undergone extensive flooding, sourcing insurance that will include flood is becoming increasingly difficult.

However, the government launched a scheme, Floor Re, in 2016 and awarded certain insurers to cover areas that are deemed as a significant flood risk. The policy is administered by that particular insurer who have recourse to approach the government to pay for the flood element of the risk, after having resolved the claim with their client.

Carbon have access to this market and will endeavour to source a Flood Re insurer to provide you with adequate cover including the flood risk element.

Houses that have a history of subsidence is also a specialist insurance policy within the market.  We will spend as much time as necessary to go over the particulars of the subsidence issue and advocate your policy to a panel of insurers.

Some but not all renovations can present higher risks to insurers.  Insurer’s can deem the property to be more exposed to theft – especially if you have moved out.  This is usually because builders are in and out of the property during the daytime and they could unintentionally leave doors unlocked and alarms off. 

Some renovations can leave the roof breached, meaning the property is exposed to weather, and indeed theft again.  Most insurers will exclude liability whilst there is extensive building work ongoing and will expect the builders to cover this element (e.g. leaving machinery in driveways that couriers or a postman could trip over, resulting in a claim being made).

Holiday homes and/or second homes will usually require a specialist policy. This is largely because the property will experience higher levels of inoccupancy than your first home.

We can help you with this and can also accommodate the property should you wish to rent it out on a short-term basis.

Regardless of your property, if have invested heavily in jewellery, watches, artwork or collections you’ll need to make sure that you are adequately covered.

Most insurers will have a limit on valuables, and it is usually 1/3 of your contents sum insured e.g. a contents overall value at £75,000 will cover you up to £25,000 for jewellery, watches, and other valuables.

Some policies will have a single article limit which could be as low as £1,500, so you could easily fall outside of the internal limits.

We will identify the correct cover for you and can include risks outside of the home as well as accidental damage or loss.