Finding the cover to suit your style

Why high net worth home insurance really is good value

No-one in their right mind would buy a cheap umbrella for a trek through Brazil’s rainforests. Such inadequate cover simply wouldn’t make sense.

Yet many high net worth individuals make the mistake of buying the wrong kind of home insurance cover – not by choosing the wrong product, but because they either don’t class themselves as wealthy enough or think it’s safe to opt for a standard policy.

Either way, they seriously underestimate the true value of specialist high net worth home insurance.

While many standard policies may look attractive because of their price, they may be – just like cheap umbrellas – full of holes. And if they’re not, the specialist protection you need as a high net worth individual will probably come at a price.

For example, the upper limit of many standard insurance policies may not match the value of your home, unless you pay an extra premium.

Again, few standard policies offer cover for second homes or holiday homes, which a high value policy will often offer as a matter of course.

Unlike the majority of high value policies, not many standard policies will offer you travel insurance on a worldwide basis, and cover for your family and your all needs as a business traveler, as part of the same package.

If, through unfortunate circumstances it should be necessary, very few standard home insurance policies will guarantee to pay the full cost of rebuilding your home, even if the reconstruction costs exceed the sum insured, yet high value insurers often will.

High value policies also often offer a full ‘new for old’ cash settlement on claims made for personal property, and the option to decide whether or not you want to repair or replace lost or damaged items. Moreover, unlike their standard counterparts, high value insurance policies usually include specialist cover for antiques and works of art.

Again, high value policies usually cover your possessions wherever they are, which can be especially useful if you move house, given that the contents of high value homes can easily be damaged in transit.

Most specialist high value insurers also offer legal cover up to a limit of £100,000, which can even extend to cases involving libel, slander and character defamation.

These are just some of the ‘extras’ that come as ‘standard’ with a high value home insurance policy. Others can include the benefit of an increase in the value of your cover to take account of the additional valuables you may have in the house during the Christmas season.

Of course, not every high value insurer will offer all these options. Some may offer fewer while others may even offer more. Most importantly, most will conduct expert valuations that will allow them to be more accurate in their assessment of your property, its contents and risk profile than could ever be the case with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ standard policy. This will result in premiums that accurately reflect the value of your assets, and which may be less expensive than you feared.

As a specialist high value insurance broker, we can help you choose an insurer who can provide the cover that best suits your needs and your pocket.

While we may not able to help you with the intricate arrangements for a Brazilian rainforest trip, we do know the names of several good umbrella suppliers.