High value buildings and contents insurance

If you own a large house and have a high level of contents, you will find that the standard home insurance market is unable to provide appropriate cover to properly protect your assets. Instead, they are structured for the one size fits all mass-market, which offers little flexibility for those who require more bespoke cover.

As specialist high value home insurance brokers, our panel of insurers include the best insurance companies for high value homes on the market. High value home insurance – or high net worth home insurance – policies will not contain many of the limits or restrictions that are found in an off-the-shelf insurance policy, such as an onerous alarm specification or requirement to fit certain locks, which can be a hinderance if you own a listed building or have pets, for example. Our specialist home insurance companies will include much wider levels of cover and provide flexibility when providing cover, sympathetic to the fact not all homes or sets of circumstance are the same. We work closely with our insurers to ensure we provide all our clients with the correct level of cover at the most competitive premium

HIGH VALUE BUILDINGS AND CONTENTS INSURANCE

The following features and benefits are available within our policies:

Buildings including accidental damage
Contents including accidental damage anywhere in the world
Fine art, antiques and collectables anywhere in the world
Jewellery and watches anywhere in the world
Legal expenses insurance to provide legal support and guidance for a wide variety of disputes and circumstances
Home emergency assistance
Property and public liability cover for a minimum of £5,000,000
Liability cover for domestic employees up to £10,000,000
Dedicated claims lines open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in the case of an emergency

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Buildings insurance

Free buildings survey / appraisal

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) it is estimated that 20% of UK homes are underinsured. Most standard insurers will apply a clause that if a home is found to be underinsured in the event of a claim, the insurer will only pay a percentage of the claim dependent on the level of underinsurance. If you are unsure of the rebuild cost for insurance, many of the insurers on our panel offer a free appraisal service to ensure adequacy of sums insured and peace of mind in the event of a claim.

Accidental damage

All our policies include accidental damage and extend to cover your home, outbuildings and external areas such as tennis courts, swimming pools, landscaping, boundary walls and electric gates.

Alternative accommodation

In the devastating scenario that your home cannot be lived in following damage, our insurers provide the widest cover on the market for comparable alternative accommodation for you and your family to live in whilst your home is restored to its former glory.

Trace and access costs

Claims for burst pipes and escape of water can cause significant damage, but many insurers will only cover the cost of the damage that has been caused. However, great expense is incurred in finding the source of the leak. Our insurers will provide trace and access cover to pay for the cost of finding the source of the leak and subsequent repairs to floors, walls and ceilings.

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Contents insurance

Worldwide cover including accidental damage

Many standard home insurance policies will only provide cover for contents within the home itself. By contrast, our insurers will insure your contents and belongings anywhere in the world, including accidental loss and accidental damage, allowing you complete peace of mind that in the unfortunate event of loss or damage, your belongings are comprehensively insured.

No deductions for wear and tear

Unlike many insurers, our high net worth insurers will not make deductions for items of clothing or linen. In our experience, items such as suits, handbags and shoes get forgotten when setting the contents sum insured, but in the event of a claim for smoke damage following a fire, for example, claims for these items can escalate. Ensuring belongings such as these can be replaced as new without a deduction for wear and tear can make a big difference.

Cover for valuables

Items of fine art, antiques, collections, jewellery and watches can also be included. Our insurers recognise that these items need to be insured on a more bespoke basis and offer enhanced levels of cover under specific valuables sections of their policies with access to specialists, if required, in the event of a claim.

Home business contents insurance

Now more than ever, people are working from home and running their business from a home office. Our specialist home insurance policies provide wide levels of business contents insurance and stock at home to accommodate this growing requirement.

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Fine art, antiques and collectables insurance

Worldwide all risks cover – including in transit

Items of fine art and valuables are insured anywhere in the world, including accidental loss and accidental damage, including whilst in transit to / from a dealer or being lent to a museum or gallery for exhibition purposes.

Depreciation in value following a claim

If an item has been partially damaged, our insurers will pay the costs of restoration plus resulting depreciation in value

Defective title

If you are legally required to return an item following a claim of ownership from someone else, your policy will cover the costs incurred or the financial loss as a result.

Death of artist

Our insurers will increase the sum insured of an item by 100% if, during the period of insurance, the artist dies. Under this section of cover, the insurer will also pay for any costs or expenses you have incurred for items commissioned by you but remain incomplete at the time of the artist’s death.

High single item limits

Specialist high value home insurance companies generally do not require items of fine art, antiques or collectables to be individually specified on your policy until the individual value exceeds £30,000, allowing greater flexibility when arranging your cover.

Agreed value cover

Items individually listed are insured on an “agreed value” basis, which means in the event of a claim the insurer will pay the full pre-agreed sum insured, with no deductions for market depreciation or wear and tear.

We understand that works of art, antiques and collectables need to be insured differently to general contents due to the often-unique nature of these items, taking into account not only the monetary value but also the sentimental value to the owner.

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Jewellery and watches insurance

It is imperative that bespoke items of jewellery and expensive watches are insured correctly, and a specialist high value home contents insurance policy will ensure this is the case, taking into account both the monetary value and often sentimental value to the owner.

A standard home insurance policy will not usually include jewellery and watches of high value, and in the event of a claim may impose specific requirements regarding their replacement through the insurer’s own approved outlets. A high net worth insurance policy will give you greater flexibility in the unfortunate event of a claim and allow for your input about how and where the damaged items are repaired or replaced.

High single item limits

Specialist high value home insurance companies generally do not require items of jewellery to be individually specified on your policy until the individual value exceeds at least £10,000, allowing greater flexibility when arranging your cover

Agreed value cover

Worldwide cover

Items of jewellery and watches, like all other contents, are covered on an “all risks” basis anywhere in the world, giving you peace of mind that if you are taking a holiday overseas or attending a special occasion, your most prized items are covered wherever you go for accidental loss or damage.

Reward

Insurers will offer to pay a reward to any person or organisation, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person who committed a criminal act which resulted in the loss or damage of your valuables.

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How to obtain a quotation from Alastair James Insurance Brokers

Requesting a quotation could not be easier. Either upload your current Policy Schedule or Renewal Notice. Alternatively you can request a call back at a specific time convenient to you, or telephone the office directly.

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01242 371058

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PRIVATE CLIENT INSURANCE BROKERS

As private client insurance brokers, we have access to a variety of insurers and underwriting agencies who specialise in the insurance of high value homes, contents, valuables, performance cars and classic cars.

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COMMERCIAL CLIENTS

Through our role as commercial insurance brokers we can provide comprehensive cover for individual company directors and sole traders through to small and medium sized enterprises and national organisations.

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ABOUT ALASTAIR

Alastair established Alastair James Insurance Brokers Limited after nearly twenty years’ experience in the insurance industry, in both the Commercial and Private Clients sector.

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Request a callback

It is easy to get in touch with us or simply request a call back at a time that is convenient to you.

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High value buildings and contents insurance

The following features and benefits are available within our policies: