Reliable Dorset Thatched Property Insurance
Did you know that regular roof insurance products don’t provide sufficient coverage for thatched roofs? If a fire or storm causes damage to your thatching, you’ll likely find that your insurance company won’t cover the cost of fixing it. Considering the risks to thatched properties, this is hardly an ideal situation.
The good news is that there are insurance companies out there that specialise in insuring thatch roofs. These companies offer policies that are specifically geared to thatched roofs, providing the necessary coverage level, and ensuring complete peace of mind.
Here at the NSMT, we’re not an insurance provider, nor do we recommend insurance products. What we do is provide links to various insurance providers, so you have the information to hand to make an informed decision. You can click on any of the websites we’ve listed and compare insurance products to find the right cover for your home.
You’ll find policies to suit any house, regardless of size, shape, age, condition, or location. And with handy tools to compare home insurance products across these various websites, you’ll have no trouble insuring your home from damage.
Any property with a thatched roof faces much greater risks because of the materials used to construct the thatched roof. These materials include straw, reeds, and even palm fronds found commonly in rural areas and historic districts. While these materials are eco-friendly, they are far more likely to catch alight than conventional roof materials.
That’s why most regular insurance products don’t provide sufficient coverage because they are geared towards a house with a tile, slate, or flat roof. For homes with thatched roofs, you need thatch home insurance, as only these insurance products offer the following:
- Cover for All Types of Thatching
- Cover for All Heating Types, from Gas and Electricity to Solid Fuel Stoves and Open Fires
- Cover for Your Home Whether It’s Occupied, Listed, an Air BnB, a Holiday Home, or a Let Property
- Cover to Allow for Replacing and Repairing Non-Standard Materials
- Can be Expanded to Include Jewellery and Artwork
There is estimated to be around 60,000 thatched homes and businesses in the UK. Of these, around 50-80 suffer serious fire damage each year, usually resulting in complete property destruction. Around 90% of homes affected by fire will have a wood-burning stove with either a flexible chimney liner or no liner at all.
Those who do not protect themselves with the right thatch home insurance product risk losing everything should the worst happen. You must also consider that thatched roofs are highly susceptible to storm damage, more so than standard roofs. Violent winds can quickly decimate a thatched roof, and again, if you don’t have insurance, same result.
Thatch home insurance is a type of non-standard house insurance that can provide the appropriate level of cover for your personal requirements. It provides you with complete peace of mind that should such situations arise, and your roof becomes damaged or worse, you’ll be financially protected.
Of course, when shopping for thatched property insurance quotes, you want to make sure you’re getting the best deal. The last thing you want is to be paying a premium rate when there are measures you could’ve taken to lower your monthly costs. These measures include:
- Installing Smoke Detectors
- Maintaining Safe Electrical Wiring
- Cleaning Chimneys
- Fitting Fire Barriers
- Using Fire Protection Sprays
- Comparing Quotes
These are just some of the steps you can follow but by this is by no means an exhaustive list. By following these steps, you present as less of a risk to insurance providers, meaning they’ll be likely to offer you the same level of coverage or better for a lower monthly premium.
You might have also heard the term ‘liability insurance’. Liability insurance is not something you personally take out to cover your home. Rather, it’s an insurance product that thatchers take out to cover themselves while working on customers’ properties. If anything should go wrong, the policy ensures that neither the company nor the property owner is left out of pocket.
If you would like to learn more about thatched roof insurance, what you can do to lower your insurance premiums, or liability insurance and how it protects you, contact the NSMT today.
