What Is High Value Home Insurance? A Complete UK Guide

What is high value home insurance?

High value home insurance, also called high net worth or private client home insurance, is buildings and contents cover written for properties and possessions that fall outside a mainstream insurer's appetite. It is underwritten individually rather than priced from a postcode and a few tick boxes.

There is no official threshold. As a rough guide, the specialist market becomes relevant when the rebuild cost runs to seven figures, when contents exceed the £100,000–£150,000 range, or when single items such as jewellery, watches or art are worth more than a standard policy's single-article limit. Unusual construction, listed status, large grounds, second homes and periods of unoccupancy push a property towards specialist insurers too, whatever its value.

The practical difference is how the policy is put together. A specialist insurer expects to assess the property, agree realistic sums insured, and then cover it broadly, rather than apply a long list of exclusions to a cheap base policy.

Who needs high value home insurance?

Most people arrive at the specialist market for one of a handful of reasons:

The rebuild cost is too high for a mainstream insurer's maximum buildings sum insured.
The contents are too valuable, or a single item exceeds the standard limit for jewellery, art or collections.
The property is non-standard — listed, thatched, timber framed, stone built, or with outbuildings, annexes, a pool or stables.
There is more than one property, or a home abroad, or long periods when the house is empty.
A renewal has been declined or loaded after a claim, subsidence history, or a change to the property.
Cover needs to travel — jewellery and watches worn away from home, art on loan, wine stored off site.

What high value home insurance covers

Terms vary by insurer and policy wording, but a specialist policy typically brings the following together in one place:

Buildings — the main dwelling plus outbuildings, garaging, walls, gates, driveways, pools and tennis courts, usually on a full rebuild basis using matching materials.
Contents — furnishings, electronics, clothing and general possessions, commonly with accidental damage included as standard rather than as an add-on.
Valuables and fine art — jewellery, watches, antiques, paintings, wine and collections, often on an agreed-value basis and frequently covered worldwide.
Alternative accommodation — generous limits, which matter when a large or listed property takes a long time to restore.
Liability — public liability as occupier and, where relevant, employers' liability for domestic staff such as gardeners, nannies or housekeepers.
Extras — home office equipment, garden and landscaping, cyber and identity theft, legal expenses, and family travel cover on some policies.

Our guide to what high-value home insurance typically covers goes through each section in more detail.

How it differs from standard home insurance

	Standard policy	Specialist policy
Underwriting	Automated, postcode and tick boxes	Individually assessed, often with a survey
Sums insured	Set by you, capped by the insurer	Assessed rebuild cost, often index linked
Single-article limit	Typically low, itemising required	High limits, agreed values available
Accidental damage	Usually optional	Commonly included as standard
Valuables away from home	Limited or excluded	Often worldwide all-risks
Averaging	Payout reduced if underinsured	Frequently waived where sums are professionally assessed
Claims	Call centre, panel suppliers	Named handler, specialist restorers
Where to buy	Direct and comparison sites	Brokers only, in most cases

What affects the cost

We cannot quote premiums, and any site that promises a figure before seeing the property is guessing. What we can set out is what underwriters actually look at:

Rebuild cost, floor area and construction type
Listed status and the materials required for a like-for-like repair
Location, including flood, subsidence and crime exposure
Security: alarm grade, monitoring, locks, gates, CCTV, safes
Contents sum insured and the value of individually scheduled items
Occupancy — full-time, second home, let out, or empty for long spells
Claims history and any previous refusals or special terms
Excess levels and whether valuables are covered worldwide

See factors that affect high-value home insurance for a fuller breakdown.

Getting the sums insured right

Underinsurance is the most common and most expensive mistake in this market. Rebuild cost is not market value: it is what it would take to demolish, clear and rebuild the property to its current standard, including professional fees. For a period or listed home, that figure is often well above what the house would sell for.

Contents are usually understated too, because people value them at what they think things are worth rather than what replacing them would cost today. Where a policy applies average, understating contents by a third can reduce every claim by a third, not just the large ones. Our guide to rebuild cost explains how the figure is calculated.

Who insures high value homes in the UK?

A relatively small group of insurers and Lloyd's syndicates underwrite this market, and most of them distribute only through brokers holding an agency with them. That is why these policies do not appear on comparison sites and why searching insurer by insurer rarely gets you far.

Each has its own appetite. Some actively want listed and period property; others prefer modern homes with high-grade security; several will not consider a risk without a rebuild assessment. A specialist broker knows which door to knock on, which saves both time and a trail of declined applications on your record.

How to arrange cover

Gather the detail. Rebuild figure if you have one, year and type of construction, listed status, security, contents estimate, a list of items above roughly £10,000, and your renewal date.
Start early. Four to six weeks before renewal gives an insurer time to survey and quote properly.
Use one broker, not five. Multiple brokers approaching the same insurer causes conflicts and can stall a quotation.
Compare terms, not just price. Single article limits, worldwide cover, average clauses and claims service decide what you actually receive.
Review annually. Renovations, purchases and inflation all move the numbers.

Our checklist on preparing for a high-value home insurance quotation covers what to have ready.

Common questions

What counts as a high value home?

There is no legal definition. In practice, UK insurers tend to treat a home as high value once the rebuild cost or the contents sum insured passes the point at which their standard product stops, or where individual items such as jewellery, art or watches exceed normal single-article limits. Thresholds differ between insurers, which is why the same property can be declined by one and accepted by another.

Is high value home insurance more expensive?

Not automatically. A specialist policy is usually broader, so it is not comparing like for like against a basic policy, and premiums depend on the property, its rebuild cost, security, location, claims history and the contents scheduled. We cannot quote prices, and neither can any introducer. An FCA-regulated broker can give you actual figures once they understand the risk.

Do I need a survey?

Many specialist insurers will ask for a rebuild cost assessment, and some request a full survey for larger or listed properties. Insurers often arrange and pay for this. It protects you as much as them, because it is the main defence against being underinsured at claim time.

Can I buy it online or through a comparison site?

Rarely. Most insurers writing this market accept business only through brokers who hold an agency with them, so their products do not appear on price comparison sites.

Does it cover a second home or a property abroad?

Often, yes. Specialist policies frequently cover multiple properties, holiday homes, unoccupied periods and valuables carried worldwide, but the terms vary. This is one of the clearest reasons to use a broker rather than assume.

Are listed and period properties covered?

Yes, though they need an insurer with the right appetite. Listed status, thatch, timber frame and non-standard construction all affect who will quote and on what terms, and the rebuild cost is usually far higher than the market value.

What Is High Value Home Insurance?

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