Non-Standard Property Insurance
Non-standard or specialist buildings are trickier to insure than a regular home or flat. If you are the landlord of a building that has non-standard elements, such as prefabricated homes or thatches roofs, you will need to mitigate the risks that come with owning such a building. Any building that is out of the ordinary in some way will need to be insured to an extent that covers all possible claim-worthy situations.
Typical non-standard property types include:
- Prefabricated houses
- Thatched roofs
- Flat roofs
- Homes with flood risk
- Listed buildings
- Timber or steel-framed houses
- Homes converted from unusual structures
If you’re looking for competitive quotes from brokers who specialise in insuring non-standard properties, then Compare Landlord can help.
What Kind of Insurance Do You Need?
The cost of insuring a non-standard property is always going to be more expensive that a normal home and many mainstream insurers will not be able to offer the right coverage. This is because it is not easy to work out what the risks may be as they vary from building to building. For example, you may want to take out non-standard property insurance for a house with that thatched roof, whereby the main risk would be fire. However, if you have a listed property that is very old, you might want to look at covering it against possible theft as there could be valuable period fixtures within.
It might be tempting to go for the cheapest insurance policy available, however this is unlikely to offer the widespread cover you need for the specifics of your policy. Buildings insurance is probably the most vital feature to include in your policy (it will often come as standard) because it covers the structure of your building against things like fire, flood, or storm damage, which will leave you with a hefty repair bill depending on its severity. Without this, you could end up paying huge amounts to get the property back to its best.
What Are the Features of Non-Standard Property Insurance?
There are some features that will normally be included as part of many non-standard property insurance policies, such as building and contents insurance, however there are a few useful additions that could prove invaluable in the future. Some of these include:
Home Emergency Cover
In the event of an emergency, you could find yourself with a costly bill if the nature of your emergency requires specialist knowledge to put right. Perhaps you have a thatched roof that is flooding; this would need expert help to fix, which could be very expensive. It is best to mitigate the potential costs with home emergency insurance.
Alternative Accommodation Cover
If an issue with your building leaves in uninhabitable for any reason, your tenant will be forced to leave their home until the issue is fixed. This is extremely inconvenient for your paying tenants, and alternative accommodation could be expensive, particularly if they have a large family. Use your insurance to help pay for a hotel or apartment whist the building is being repaired.
Property Owners’ Liability Insurance
As a property owner and landlord, you need to know your non-standard property is not cause for injury or illness for tenants and visitors. Property owners’ liability will protect you from a number of issues that can be caused by either your negligence as a landlord, or the inherent risks of the type of property.
Malicious Damage Cover
Although no landlord likes to think their tenant may maliciously damage their property, it is a possibility. Sometimes, disputes between tenants and landlords can boil over into anger, which results in damage. If your property is of a specialist or non-standard nature, this damage can be costly to fix. Insurance will pay for these costs, giving you peace of mind
Why Choose Compare Landlord for Non-Standard Property Insurance?
We understand how tough it can be to find the right quote for an unusual or non-standard property, which is why we have specially selected the most trusted and knowledgeable brokers to be our partners. One form puts you in touch with our panel, who will do their best to help you design the best policy for your needs, at a competitive price.