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What is a non standard home?

In the UK, most homes are typically built using brick or stone with a tile or slate roof. Non standard homes are ones that weren't built using those typical materials.

This also includes:

Thatched roof houses: Houses with thatched roofs are expensive to repair and more liable to catch fire, so they require specialist insurance.
Houses with flat roofs: Flat roofs are more prone to collecting water and cause water damage. They also allow for easier access for thieves, so many insurers are reluctant to provide cover.
High value homes: Some insurers will not provide cover if a property is over a certain value or size. Those who do may require you to take out a non standard home insurance policy.
Steel or timber-framed building: These are expensive to repair, so they require specialist insurance policies
Listed buildings: These are homes of special architectural or historic interest and often tend to be over 100 years old. Repairing them is usually expensive.

Do I need non standard home insurance?

If your property can be described as any of the above mentioned categories, you’ll probably need non standard home insurance.

In some cases, for example, if you have past criminal convictions and are finding it difficult to get home insurance, a non standard home insurance policy may be an option that you can consider.

How a property is classified as non standard can vary depending on the insurers. Most insurers will ask you the relevant questions before giving you a quote to establish what kind of property you have.

How much cover can you get with non standard home insurance?

Non standard home insurance comes in three different types:

Bed-room rated insurance: In this case, your cover amount is based on the number of bedrooms you have in your property. The insurer may have a set limit for a two-bedroom property, and a higher limit for a property with three or more bedrooms.
Rebuild cost: In this case, your claim limit is based on what it would cost to rebuild your home if it were destroyed.
Blanket cover: In this case, your claim limit is set at a standard amount, no matter what the rebuild costs may be. This is usually a high limit of eg. £1 million. So even if the rebuilt cost of your home is below that, you would still be covered up to £1 million.

Which is the best non standard home insurance policy?

That depends on a number of factors such as:

The type of property you own
Its size and value
The amount of cover
The premium you can afford to pay

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Are non standard homes more expensive to cover?

Non standard homes are often built using atypical materials and methods of construction. Some of these materials are hard to find, and also more prone to damage or to catch fire.

At the same time, finding tradesmen who can do repairs for non standard methods of construction can be difficult. This means that claims costs for materials and labour can be more expensive.

Although you can buy a separate non standard home insurance policy, it can be cheaper to combine it with a contents insurance policy.

For more help, read our guide on how to reduce the cost of your home insurance

How to get the best deal on non standard home insurance?

As with other forms of insurance, in order to get the best deal for your circumstances is to compare non standard home insurance quotes, for the amount of cover you need.

It’s important to keep in mind that the cheapest deals are not necessarily the best deal for you. Your aim should be to make sure you get the right cover for the best price possible.

How to make a claim on your non standard home insurance?

If anything happens to your home that you think is covered by your non standard home insurance policy, you should:

Report it to the police, if a crime has been committed
call your insurance provider
provide as much information as you can about any damage
take pictures of the damage

Most providers will likely have a 24 hour claims line listed in your policy agreement documents. Some providers may require you to fill out a claims form for you to complete with supporting documentation.

Make sure you don’t proceed with any repairs before you speak to your insurance provider so that you don’t commit to any payments that may not be covered under your policy.

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