Non-Standard Construction Materials

To the insurance industry at large, most properties that are a safe risk are those that are made of either brick or stone walls, with either slate or tile roofs. Broadly speaking, anything that does not fall under this blanket category will as a result be considered “non standard”. These materials are considered a very high risk or an unknown risk for a variety of reasons and insurance companies will be either very reluctant or simply outright refuse to insure homes made of these materials. We will now explore a few of the more common non standard materials, so that you can be aware of the full implications of owning a home made from them.

Asbestos home insurance

Asbestos is a building material famous for its many benefits in the home. It occurs naturally, and is extremely heat resistant. It's sound absorption capacities are very high, and it has great tensile strength. It saw a sharp decline in use in the 80s due to the discovery that inhaling large airborne concentrations of the materials had a very serious chance of creating a variety of cancerous diseases.  However, as long as asbestos is not damaged, or placed in a position where it is likely to be damaged, then the risk is drastically reduced. As long as the fibres cannot become airborne, then it is almost completely safe to use. Because asbestos occurs naturally in the uk, almost everyone is actually exposed to small amounts of asbestos fibres on a daily basis.

Cob construction home insurance

A material consisting of a combination of clay, sand, water, soil and water. When combined and left to dry, it produces a cheap, easy to produce material that is both fireproof and extremely resistant to earthquakes. It is becoming an increasingly popular material in eco friendly builds. The perceived risk of cob is that there is no official method of producing it. It is easy to get proportions incorrect and end up with a wall that is structurally very brittle.

Corrugated Iron home insurance

Corrugated iron tends to be used in construction in the method of galvanised sheets. Regular corrugations mean that it can easily be laid vertically or horizontally and simply joined to other sheets. Their shape makes for sturdy protection against the elements and creates natural drainage channels for rain water or snow. For insurance companies, the problem is that over time, exposed iron has a tendency to rust. A roof made of corrugated iron may also be less watertight then layers of tiles, so escape of water damage in bad weather is more likely.

Glass and Fibreglass construction home insurance

Glass is made from sand and silicates and though a common material in standard construction when used for windows, when it is used to create curtain walls or space frames (the former covers an entire building facade, the latter spans across a wide roof structure) it is thought of as non standard. Fibreglass is created using extremely fine glass fibres, and is favoured for its low weight to surface area ratio.

Timber and Plaster construction home insurance

Timber refers to a building’s wooden construction. A modern timber-framed building (usually built after 1965) might use wood as the basis of construction, employing BSST to build external walls/roof, and is usually considered as being of standard construction. Where building exteriors are built solely from timber, or timber/plaster combinations, they are likely to be seen as non-standard.

Unusual roofing materials home insurance

Roofing styles and materials can deviate as much as those of walls for a home and be considered non standard as a result. Shingle, wood tiles, thatch and glass are just some of the many options available. Flat roofs are also non standard, and their coverings can range from felt on timber, to asphalt or even bitumen or fibreglass.

If your house has any of the non-standard building materials mentioned above, then it is likely that you will have difficulty obtaining suitable insurance at a reasonable price. With homeprotect you can find a competitive online quote for home insurance, no matter how unusual your home or how non-standard the materials used to construct it are. As long as your home is in the UK and sits upon fixed foundations, we aim to provide the cover you need.