Listed Building Insurance

Listed building insurance should generally not be an issue, so long as you are able to explain the state of the building to your insurer.  A good, current survey, together with specification and maintenance schedule is always helpful.  Insurers don't like risk, so the more information you can provide, the better.  

If you are, for example looking for Grade 2 listed building insurance and the survey says you need to replace or repair substantial areas of the roof, you will be unlikely to get insurance if you say that the building will be uninhabited whilst the work is being done. We recently had this issue with a property we surveyed - the client told insurers that they would move into the property when the roof was finished.  Insurance was declined.  This is always a tricky area - so if you are planning on a restoration program, you almost certainly need to be on-site 24 hours.  

Whilst we aren't able to recommend specific insurers, I've always been surprised at how few people realise that NFU insurance cover non-farm properties.  They have a lot of experience in older houses - most farms tend to have older farmsteads, so the mention of 'old' doesn't automatically prompt a 'no' response.  

Thatch insurance is a little harder - again, you will find that a good report, covering things such as chimney condition, whether spark arresters are fitted, condition of thatch, fire alarm and sprinkler system and so on.  Thatched property insurance has never been a topic within our group that was a problem - again, we can't provide specifics, but the Listed Property Owners Club have some good insurance brokers listed, who are specialists in this area.