Insurance companies arrive at the premium they want to charge for your insurance by looking at a number of factors. The premium you pay is affected by your building’s listed status and the materials of which it is made.

A man building a dry stone wall.

Insurers will want to assess the likelihood of your property being susceptible to certain types of loss. The principle risk for any insurer in the domestic property environment is fire. So what your building is made of has an absolute bearing on the premium and the way they regard the risk.

You should declare, to any insurer, how your property is constructed, and any non-standard features that are present. The following are all regarded as non-standard construction:

  • Timber frame
  • Wattle and daub
  • Thatched roofing
  • Cedar tile roofing
  • Internal wooden panelling
  • Flat roofs
  • Cob walls
  • Timber cladding

Different types of listing
English Heritage classify listed buildings in a number of ways. The most common listing is a Grade II, which applies to a reasonable amount of early Victorian and Georgian architecture within England and Wales.

Grade II listing is less onerous than Grade II*, Grade I and Ancient Monument designations. Typically, there will be controls on the exterior appearance of a property under this classification but less control exercised over internal fixtures and fittings. This is also true of those buildings in a conservation area, where control is exercised to make sure that any additions or alterations made to properties maintain the general appearance of the area in which they sit.

The higher grades of listing tend to be subject to heavier control and permissions by English Heritage and may also include an amount of interest in the interior of the property as well as the exterior.

It is also true to say that the specification of materials used in the reinstatement of the property, both seen and unseen, are likely to be restricted and therefore significantly more expensive to replace because they require materials that are in short supply and traditional methods of construction, the capacity for which is generally decreasing.

English Heritage classify listed buildings in a number of ways. The most common listing is a Grade II, which applies to a reasonable amount of early Victorian and Georgian architecture within England and Wales.

Don’t be surprised if the listing status of your existing structure increases the rebuild value by a factor of as much as three times over and above a building of standard modern construction.

The location of your property
Where your existing structure is based will have a bearing on the rebuild cost.

For instance, if your property is located in central London and you don’t have a garden, a rebuilding contractor will have significant restrictions on where they are able to store materials and rubbish generated from the site. This means that collections and deliveries will need to be smaller and more frequent, and the permits for scaffolding and the like will have to be sought, for which often a ground rental charge applies.

Equally, in remote areas, where suppliers have to travel a significant distance, or access is restricted or difficult, additional charges for the same things may apply. Particular attention should be paid to properties that are adjacent to or abut water where the cost of undertaking works can be more dangerous and complex. A good example of this would be a converted water mill.

A site’s exposure to high winds, or in some areas, particularly high levels of rainfall, can also lengthen the time over which the reinstatement takes.