Listed Building Insurance

[Penners]

Someone asked me to report back on progress with our insurance. So here's the story so far:

We've had a quote back from the PPUK partner insurance brokers, La Playa. The quote was from a high quality insurer, and La Playa went to a fair bit of trouble to ensure that they fully understood the details of our property. However, to my regret, the quote was much more than we are prepared to pay, although the quality of cover would, I'm sure, have been very good. Pity, because La Playa seem nice people to deal with.

To use a car analogy, I was being offered a Mercedes, when what I want is a Ford - completely reliable, but rather more modest in the bells and whistles department, and thus affordable.

I also had a Mercedes quote from a broker in the West Country.

I've had a quote from NFU which is much more realistic. I now have to examine whether I feel that their cover is (a) adequate for my needs, and (b) sufficiently better than my existing insurer to warrant the modest extra cost.

In case anyone would like to know, the rebuild cost figures recommended by La Playa were £225 per ft2 for rendered timberframe, and £160 per ft2 for conventional masonry cavity walls (our house has a bit of both). In both cases this applies to a tiled roof, not thatch.

I'll report back again when I've made my decision.

 

[MD]

I has a similar experience, Penners. La Playa people were very helpful, but premium was twice what I was quoted by Ecclesiastical Insurance - (the small specialist broker that we used was Bruford Valance.). Incidently, Bruford Valance people are pretty helpful too.

 

[Penners]

Well, many thanks to everyone for your thoughts and contacts. I've waded through a fair number of them, plus a few of my own.

To my surprise, I've ended up with Norwich Union. If you just do their bog-standard online questionnaire, you don't feel confident that they really understand the "special" nature of a listed, part-timberframe building. But after a couple of discussions with their helpline people (in the UK!) I found them really helpful and flexible as regards various aspects of the building and contents - all now noted on the policy.

What surprised me most of all was that an increase of over 10% in the specified rebuild value of the property had no effect at all on the premium.

So I'm now much happier with my insurance cover, at very little additional cost.

I should, perhaps, add that if the house had been stuffed with priceless heirlooms, I think I would have gone for a much more specialist company. But the only really priceless thing we have is Mrs P, so if she gets nicked I'll just have to settle for something more downmarket.

 

[Flyfisher]

We also have a mixture of construction. Did you end up calculating your rebuild costs using both figures, i.e. the timber-frame sq footage at one rate and the solid walls at another?

Not that we have conventional masonry cavity walls, but there must be a difference between timber-frame, solid brick/rubble and chalk clunch.

Your experience of La Playa matches mine. Norwich Union would not even quote because we have more than 5 bedrooms.

 

[Penners]

Did you end up calculating your rebuild costs using both figures, i.e. the timber-frame sq footage at one rate and the solid walls at another?

Yes. That was as recommended by La Playa.

Mind you, I have been given so many differing views on the whole subject of rebuilding costs that it's almost impossible to know where the actual truth lies. There certainly don't seem to be any universally recognised hard-and-fast rules.

So ultimately you come down to a gut feeling of roughly where the truth lies for your own property, then adding 10% for luck (or rather, as a hedge against bad luck).

 

[Nemesis]

Apart from the truth universally acknowledged regarding single men and being in need of a wife, but I suppose that's a different matter entirely and one of pride, prejudice and Mr Darcy.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

.

Dunno who he insured with.



http://www.polishedsociety.com/forum/

 

[Flyfisher]

Ah, thanks for that Penners. I'm now wondering if the £130/ft2 figure I was given was already averaged over our three main types of construction. Our renewal is in April so I can sense a similar exercise as yours in the very near future!

 

[Penners]

I always felt that Ms Austen got that one the wrong way round. It is (or it was) the single woman who was in need of a husband.

 

[Penners]

Our renewal is in April so I can sense a similar exercise as yours in the very near future!

A similar exercise, but a hell of a lot more complicated, I fear.

£130/ft2 sounds surprisingly low.

 

[Nemesis]

I always felt that Ms Austen got that one the wrong way round. It is (or it was) the single woman who was in need of a husband.

It was that literary device irony. She was famed for it apparently.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Very useful information and nicely timed, thanks Penners and all else who contributed.

 

[Penners]

How are things progressing,Joss?

 

[jocelyn plummer]

One stepping stone in place!

 

[Moo]

One stepping stone in place!

And that means ....?

Aw, come on Joss - don't be so cryptic!

xxx M