If the contents element of a standard home insurance policy covers your possessions, the buildings cover can be said to protect the ‘bricks and mortar’.
It seems that phrase may be a little outdated though, with more and more homes being built that feature neither bricks nor mortar and which are considered by house insurers to be of ‘non-standard construction’. Timber frame construction accounted for one in four new homes last year, and now it looks like ‘Prefab’ housing could be set for a comeback too.
There are 1.25m pre-fabricated houses in the UK already, and the number is set to rise.
In part, that’s due to the fact that pre-fabs - first used as a quick-fix answer to a post-war housing crisis in Britain - can be manufactured indoors. So where regular building work has been hit by relentless winter weather so far this year, production of pre-fabricated houses can carry on regardless.
But it’s also the result of a breakthrough from the Build Offsite Property Assurance Scheme – BOPAS for short.
BOPAS launched just a few weeks ago, and aims to make it easier than ever for would-be buyers to get mortgages for newly-constructed low-energy, low-carbon homes - infinitely increasing their appeal.
The scheme is being backed by major UK banks and Lloyds Register, and enables pre-fabricated and technologically advanced properties to be independently checked to verify their suitability for a mortgage.
Non-standard construction property insurance
Notably, with independent test results establishing the solidity and safety of a prefab home, it should soon also be easier to find home insurance for such properties.
Until now, that particular mission has been tricky, as a prefab home is ‘blacklisted’ alongside timber and steel properties as a ‘non-standard construction’.
Non-standard construction properties are deemed too much of a risk for regular insurers, and so require specialist non-standard construction home insurance. Even if your home is built from the afore-mentioned ‘bricks and mortar’, a quirk in its construction – such as a substantial proportion of flat roof – sees it fall into the non-standard property bracket.
So if your home is just a little different to the norm, one of those new build timber frame houses, a ‘wattle and daub’ cottage or even part of the pre-fab revival, you’ll find insurance easier to come by at QuoteRack. We have an array of specialist non-standard construction property insurance experts ready to provide you a competitive quote today.
Here’s hoping in a few years’ time, non-standard property insurance will be easier to come by. In the meantime, discover how QuoteRack can help you.