Residential Property Insurance
Most residential buildings are straightforward to insure. More complex residential risks commonly include four groups: a portfolio held across several policies and renewal dates, a second home standing empty much of the year, a property inherited and not yet dealt with, and a building made of something other than brick and tile.
A portfolio is the common one. Properties acquired over years end up with different insurers, different renewal dates and different sums insured, and nobody has a single view of the total exposure. Bringing suitable properties onto one policy can simplify administration and may improve overall pricing, and it can reduce the risk of missed renewals.
Construction is the other frequent obstacle. Timber frame, thatch, stone, concrete panel systems and flat roofs beyond a certain proportion all narrow the market, and a property refused by a comparison site may still be insurable through specialist markets.
We can advise owners of residential property that does not fit a standard policy, whether that is a portfolio, an unusual building, a second home or a property held through probate.
Common claims and risk exposures
The exposures that produce claims in this trade, rather than a generic list.
Properties on separate policies and dates
A portfolio assembled over time carries different insurers, excesses and renewal dates. The practical consequences are a lapsed policy nobody noticed, sums insured that have drifted, and no aggregate view of what a single event in one street would cost.
Standing empty for much of the year
A second home or holiday property is unoccupied for long stretches by design. Heating off in winter, nobody to notice a leak, and a burst pipe discovered weeks later are the usual sequence, and the standard unoccupancy wording was not written for a building that is empty on purpose.
Inherited property during probate
A house standing empty while an estate is administered is often insured on a policy that assumed occupation, or on one that lapsed with the previous owner. Executors have a duty to preserve estate assets, and an uninsured empty house is a common failure of that duty.
Non standard construction
Thatch, timber frame, stone, cob, concrete panel systems and large flat roof areas all affect both the likelihood and the cost of a loss. Many insurers decline them automatically rather than pricing them, which is why they appear uninsurable when they are not.
Underinsurance across a portfolio
Where sums insured have been indexed rather than assessed, the shortfall compounds across every property at once. After a period of sharp building cost inflation, a portfolio indexed for a decade is frequently materially underinsured on every address.
The cover we arrange
We arrange insurance around the property, its use, construction, occupancy and ownership structure. The cover available will depend on the individual risk and the terms offered by insurers.
Buildings
The structure on a reinstatement basis, which for non standard construction means the cost of rebuilding in the materials and methods the building actually requires rather than a modern equivalent.
- Rebuild cost, not market value
- Appropriate materials for the construction
- Outbuildings, walls, gates and grounds
- Professional fees and debris removal
Portfolio arrangements
Multiple properties on one policy, one renewal date and one point of contact, with a schedule showing each address and its sum insured. Adding and removing properties mid term becomes an endorsement rather than a new policy.
- All addresses on one schedule
- Single renewal date
- Properties added or removed mid term
- One aggregate view of exposure
Property owners liability
Liability arising from ownership, across every property on the schedule. A single limit applying to the portfolio is normal rather than a separate limit per address.
- Applies across the portfolio
- Injury to occupants and visitors
- Limits typically £2m or £5m
- Defence costs included
Loss of rent and alternative accommodation
Where properties are let, rent lost following an insured loss, and the cost of rehousing occupants where the tenancy requires it. Not needed on a second home, which is one reason portfolios are better written as a schedule than a single blanket.
- Rent on let properties
- Alternative accommodation where required
- Set per property rather than blanket
- Percentage of buildings sum insured
Contents where provided
Furnishings, white goods and flooring in furnished properties, and the owner's own contents in a second home, where the value is often higher than in a let property.
- Furnishings in let properties
- Owner's contents in a second home
- Carpets, curtains and appliances
- Cover while the property is empty
What an underwriter will ask
Having these to hand shortens the process considerably, and usually improves the terms.
- Number of properties, their addresses and the sum insured for each
- Construction of each: standard brick and tile, or timber frame, thatch, stone or panel system
- How each property is used: let, owner occupied, second home, holiday let or empty
- Occupancy pattern for any property that stands empty for part of the year
- When the sums insured were last assessed rather than indexed
- Flood and subsidence exposure across the portfolio, including any clustering
- Claims across all properties for the last five years
- Whether any property is undergoing works, and their value
What affects the cost of your insurance?
The main factors insurers consider when assessing the premium.
Construction and roof
Standard construction rates most keenly. Thatch, timber frame and large flat roof areas each narrow the market, and the difference between insurers on non standard risks is far wider than on ordinary houses.
Portfolio size and spread
Bringing properties together usually improves terms, but geographic clustering works against it: twenty properties in one flood catchment is a worse risk than twenty spread across the country.
Occupancy mix
Owner occupied and long term let properties rate best. Second homes, holiday lets and empty properties each carry loadings, and a portfolio containing several is rated on the mix.
Assessment rather than indexation
A recent professional assessment of the sums insured can improve terms in itself, because it removes the insurer's doubt about underinsurance across a set of buildings it will never inspect.
Conditions and exclusions to consider
Terms vary between insurers, so treat these as the questions to ask rather than a description of any one policy.
Occupancy other than that declared
A property recorded as a single let but used as a holiday let or let room by room is not the risk the insurer priced. On a portfolio this is easy to lose track of, because the change happens at one address and the policy covers twenty.
Average where sums insured have drifted
Underinsurance is applied property by property. A portfolio can be adequately insured overall while the one address that burns is thirty percent short, and the reduction applies to that claim.
Extended unoccupancy without agreement
A second home empty over winter, or a probate property awaiting sale, falls under the unoccupancy conditions unless terms have been agreed. Those terms are readily available in advance and rarely available afterwards.
Works beyond minor decoration
Structural alterations, extensions and large refurbishments usually need their own arrangements. Where works run past a stated value, the property policy generally steps back and a contract works policy takes over.
Common questions
Is it better to insure a portfolio on one policy?
In many cases, yes. One renewal date, one schedule and one aggregate view generally produces better terms than the same properties placed separately, and it removes the risk of a policy quietly lapsing. The exception is where one property is so unusual it is better placed on its own.
My house is timber framed and insurers keep declining it. Is it uninsurable?
Usually not. Comparison sites often decline non standard construction automatically rather than pricing it. Thatch, timber frame, stone and panel systems are all written by insurers who specialise in them, usually on ordinary terms once the construction is properly described.
What should we do about a house going through probate?
Insure it as an unoccupied property from the start, on terms agreed for that purpose. Executors have a duty to preserve the estate's assets, and a common gap is a policy that assumed occupation and either lapsed or narrowed the moment the house emptied.
How often should sums insured be reassessed?
Every three years is a reasonable rule, with indexation between. After the construction cost inflation of recent years, indexation alone has generally lagged the real cost of rebuilding, and on a portfolio that gap applies to every address at once.
How do I get a quote from True Risk Solutions?
Call 01304 262880 and speak to a broker, or email info@truerisksolutions.co.uk with what you do, what you need cover for and a phone number with the best time to call, and a broker will call you back. We need a phone number to quote, because the cover and the price depend on questions that are quicker to answer on a call than by email.
Speak to a specialist who understands your industry
Tell us about your business and the work you undertake, and we will come back to you with cover options built around it. Call 01304 262880, or email us with a phone number and the best time to call and a broker will ring you back.