Get a Listed Property Owners Insurance quote
Here at Lloyd & Whyte we offer specialist advice to owners of heritage property, from thatched homes, listed homes to listed blocks of flats. With over 15 years’ experience of insuring Heritage Property we are able to offer practical and professional advice and open the door to get you the most appropriate and cost effective cover for your commercial property needs. We use a panel of insurers to find the most appropriate and reasonably priced Property Owners insurance policy for you.
Plus, we are here to continue to support you all the way in the event of a claim.
Whether you are a Resident Committee, Private Owner or Management Company, speak to our experts about how to protect your assets.
What sort of properties need Listed Property Owners Insurance?
Listed Blocks of Flats
Listed buildings that have been converted into flats present an interesting insurance challenge. With landlords, tenants and often residents committees all having their own priorities.
Commercial Property
Owning a listed building used for commercial services could have insurance implications you're not aware of. You need to be aware of the insurance risks for the business that operates in your building.
Residential Let Property
Letting out your listed property means handing over the day-to-day care of your investment to someone else. This carries risks that a standard property owners insurance policy might not cover. Talk to us to find a policy that fits what you need.
Don’t confuse your comparisons
Special buildings require special solutions. Online websites make assumptions and are simply not designed to ask the right questions for such a specialist asset. Even simple things like construction materials and hidden features, which would need specialist craftsmen to restore, may cause your cover to be inadequate. The rebuild cost of a listed building will be significantly more than a non-listed building, as the local authority will determine how and if it will be rebuilt. These considerations simply don’t come up on a “one- size- fits- all” offering. Furthermore, certain insurance policies are only available through specialist brokers.
Greater risks
Historic buildings are more vulnerable to damage and cost a lot more to repair. Their design and structure often facilitates the rapid spread of any fire. Plus many old buildings are more prone to flood damage than their modern counterparts. The very attributes that make your property special also make it more vulnerable.
Property Underinsurance
Underinsurance is a key issue for any type of property, but especially with a commercial property. It is essential you get the ‘rebuild cost’ or ‘declared value’ correct to make sure that you are not penalised for the shortfall in the event of a claim.
In the UK, 60+% of commercial property is underinsured. * In a survey commissioned by Aviva, their specialist valuers found that on average 77% of the properties they surveyed were under insured by 45% of the correct value**
When considering the worst possible damage, remember that your claim could be reduced significantly if you are underinsured.
A further consideration with listed properties is to ensure that your cover will, as a minimum, be adequate to satisfy all future foreseeable conservation implications and restorations.
We can advise how to avoid being penalised by insurers in the event of a loss. When was the last time you obtained a rebuild cost assessment? Just as Lloyd & Whyte are experts in offering and providing insurance, we recommend that you work with relevant experts for assessing the Rebuild Cost of properties. We work with specialist providers of desktop rebuild valuations which can help you ensure that you are adequately covered.
*Insurance Hound, 2018
**http://www.bch.uk.com
Legal obligations
If you have listed building status, there may be legal obligations and special consents required, which have implications on planning legislation, the materials needed to repair and the cost of reinstatement. If your property is damaged and you do not have adequate insurance to cover the cost of repairs, be aware that a local authority can serve notice requiring repairs to be made for preservation of a listed building and even use compulsory purchase powers for non-compliance.
Helping Listed Property Owners
We’ve put together some useful information including guides and calculators in our Heritage Advice Zone, to help you learn more about protecting your listed property or home.
Get a quotation now