High-value home insurance is a type of property insurance that provides coverage for homes worth more than the average policy limit. It is designed to protect homeowners against losses that could potentially exceed the limits of a standard homeowners policy.
Cover can include for your buildings, outbuildings, general contents, fine art and paintings, jewellery and luxury watches, liabilities, travel, family protection legal expenses, home emergency, cyber and other subsidiary covers. Although, it’s important to check your policy to discern your exact cover.
It’s typically used by owners of:
Period properties
Listed buildings
Large estates
Homes with art, jewellery, watches or collections
Cover can include your buildings, outbuildings, general contents, fine art and paintings, jewellery and luxury watches, liabilities, travel, family protection legal expenses, home emergency, cyber and other subsidiary covers. However, it’s important to check your policy to understand your exact cover.
Unlike standard home insurance, high-value policies offer higher limits, agreed value settlements and access to specialist insurers not available on comparison websites.
In a nutshell:
Specialist policy for high-value homes and contents
Designed for properties and possessions beyond standard policy limits
Common for period, listed and non-standard homes
Often includes agreed value and wider cover options
Access to insurers unavailable through comparison sites
What are the benefits of high value home insurance?
One of the main benefits of high-value home insurance is peace of mind. You can sleep easy knowing your most treasured items are often covered on an all-risks basis, including theft, damage or accidents.
With Rebuild Cost Assessment data indicating that 70% of UK properties are underinsured, regular property valuations and specialist insurance have never been more important for homeowners seeking adequate protection.
Other benefits of a high-value policy can include:
Multiple UK homes on the same policy
Worldwide “all risks” cover is standard for general contents and valuables
Accidental damage and loss cover included as standard
Replacement or cash settlement for valuable items
Home emergency cover up to £1,500
Legal expenses cover up to £150,000
Family protection cover, including kidnap and ransom, carjacking and assault
Identity theft and cyber cover up to £50,000
Cover for children’s possessions at university or parents in a care home
Interest-free direct debit
Each case is underwritten on its own merits, offering flexibility and nuance
Warranty-free policies
Alternative accommodation for up to five years
£0 excess for valuables (available on some policies)
Building reinstatement cost survey included as standard for rebuilds of £1 million plus
Who needs high-value home insurance?
If your home rebuild value is greater than £500,000 (typical entry point for specialist cover, although many high-net-worth policies start higher) and you have general contents of at least £75,000 – £150,000, then you should seriously consider high value home insurance.
This is because the cover limits imposed under a standard insurance contract may mean that you could be under-insured in the event of a claim.
Specialist cover is also often required if your property is listed, thatched, of non-standard construction, or part of a larger estate.
High-value home insurance is not just about higher sums insured. These policies often include enhanced levels of cover and service that are unavailable under standard home insurance policies.
For example, under a standard insurance policy, the alternative accommodation provision in the event you have to move out of your home due to a flood might only cover you for a short period vs a high value home policy which could cover you in a like-for-like a home for up to five years.
While the enhanced cover and service are often the main draw, many people assume this type of insurance is only available to the ultra-wealthy. In reality, high-value home insurance can be far more accessible than expected.
The barrier to entry is lower than you might think, with minimum premiums on many high-value home insurance policies starting at around £2,000. You can insure as much as you want or typically as a minimum, just £75,000 of general contents. If you do not own any jewellery, luxury watches or art but have some valuable contents and an expensively assembled home, you could still benefit from high value home insurance. Browse our article on 5 ways to keep your high value home insurance down for actionable tips on keeping the costs down on a top of the range product.
Many high-value home insurance policies are arranged via specialist brokers, giving you access to insurers and policy features unavailable through direct or comparison-based channels.
Understanding rebuild cost
It’s important you know the difference between the market value and the rebuild value of your property – read our guide to learn more.
Rebuild cost (also known as reinstatement value) reflects the cost of reconstructing your home from scratch rather than what it would sell for on the open market.
If your rebuild cost is underestimated, your property could be underinsured, potentially leaving you with a shortfall to fund yourself in the event of a major claim.
In a nutshell
You may benefit from a high-value home insurance if:
Your rebuild cost is higher than standard policy limits
Your contents include art, jewellery, watches, or collections
Your property is listed, period, or non-standard
You have more than one home to insure
You need worldwide cover for valuables
Your current insurer has restrictive single-item limits
Your policy does not reflect the true value of your risk
You own single high-value items above standard limits
You travel frequently and need worldwide cover for valuables
Existing policy exclusions or limits do not reflect your risk
A simple way to know if you qualify
It’s simple: read the four high value home questions, find out how many you can say ‘yes’ to and check out the qualifiers. The more ‘yeses’, the higher the probability that you may benefit from a high-value product.
Four possible high value home answers
If you can answer ‘yes’ to:
All four questions, without doubt, you should consider a high value home insurance product
Any three of the questions, it’s very likely you would benefit from a high value home insurance product
Any two of the questions, you could require a high value home insurance product, but we may have lower premium, off-the-shelf products available that may be better suited.
Four indicators that you may benefit from high value home insurance
Are you paying more than £2,000 per annum for your home insurance?
Will it cost you more than £150,000 to replace all of the general contents in your home?
Is the total value of your jewellery, watches, artwork and other collectibles more than £50,000?
Why high-value home insurance matters
Your luxury home represents a significant financial investment. High-value home insurance helps protect you financially if your property is damaged by events such as fire, theft, storms or accidental damage, helping to cover the cost of repairs, rebuilding or replacement following a covered claim. Many high-value policies also offer extended rebuild protection (often up to 150% of the declared sum insured), helping to reduce the risk of underinsurance following major losses.
High-value home insurance offers extensive coverage for high-end assets, including luxury furnishings, artwork, antiques, jewellery, watches and valuable collections. In the event of loss or damage anywhere in the world, your insurance policy could provide adequate compensation, enabling you to replace or repair these valuable items. Some high-value home products will cover up to 150% of the declared value, subject to approved valuations. They can also include agreed value cover for specified items, avoiding disputes over depreciation at the point of claim.
High-value homes may boast unique features, including custom-built structures, high-end finishes, smart home technology, and specialty amenities. High-value home insurance considers these distinctive elements and offers tailored coverage to protect these valuable assets specifically, ensuring you’re put back in the same financial position prior to any loss.
For luxury homes that play host to gatherings and events – we’ve written a guide about insurance coverage for house parties. High-value home insurance can provide enhanced liability coverage to protect you from potential legal claims arising from accidents or injuries sustained by guests on your property. This coverage can offer peace of mind and financial security in case of unforeseen incidents. Policies can offer liability limits significantly higher than standard cover, often up to £10 million or more depending on the insurer.
“Purchasing a high-value home insurance product for your home is like purchasing organic and free-range food during your weekly food shop. It may cost a little more, but it’s good for you. There will always be lower-cost options in a world full of choice but recognise they are lower-cost for a reason. You shouldn’t take any risks when it comes to one of your most valuable assets. ”
Matthew Ashton, Director and Co-Starter of Stanhope
Key considerations for high value home insurance
A high-value home insurance policy offers all-risk coverage. This means that, unlike standard named-perils policies, cover applies unless specifically excluded. This includes protection against risks such as fire, theft, water damage, natural disasters, and more.
Seek an insurance policy that provides agreed value coverage for your luxury home and assets, especially your valuables, like artwork, jewellery or watches. Agreed value ensures you will be compensated for the full insured amount without any depreciation, ensuring an accurate reflection of your property’s worth. See our blog on valuations if your current valuation is greater than five years old.
Choose an insurer that offers specialised valuation services to accurately assess the value of your high-end possessions. These services may include professional appraisals of the buildings or access to a network of experts who can provide accurate valuations for unique items such as artwork collections.
With high-value claims, having a broker involved can make the process smoother, particularly for complex losses involving art, jewellery, or heritage properties.
Inquire about additional risk mitigation services offered by the insurance provider, such as security assessments, smart home monitoring systems, home leak detection systems and recommendations for preventative measures. These services can help reduce risks and potentially lower your premiums.
Most high-net-worth insurers distribute exclusively through brokers, making professional advice essential when arranging this type of cover. When purchasing such a product you should expect a high-quality brokerage service, readily available to help with claims, adjustments, renewals, and anything else. See our blog on the 8 top tips to choosing an insurance broker.
How to get your high value house valued
We would advocate the use of a specialist surveyor to physically or virtually appraise the rebuild value of the property.
The RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) recommends regular rebuild valuations, particularly for period or listed properties where costs can fluctuate significantly.
However, using the standard RICS calculator alone will likely lead you to undervalue and therefore underinsure your property – making it important to seek professional advice.
At Stanhope, we work in partnership with high value home insurance products which include a rebuild value assessment as part of their offering. Additionally, we work closely with Rebuild Cost Assessment, and offer our clients a discount if they choose to have an assessment done.
High-value buildings insurance
Standard buildings insurance is designed for the average home, often for those up to the value of £500,000. Many high-value homes are worth far beyond this, meaning standard cover will likely fall way short, as these properties need specialist valuations and bespoke or unlimited cover.
Buildings cover typically includes:
Structure
Outbuildings
Boundary walls
Gates
Driveways
Swimming pools
Permanent fixtures
It’s important to consider the overall rebuild cost of your home (the reinstatement value), rather than simply the market value – this should account for any non-standard materials required for the rebuild and any listed building constraints.
Feature
High-value home insurance
Common with standard home insurance
Sum insured
Tailored, high or flexible limits
Fixed limits with caps
Listed building cover
Included, specialist cover
Limited or restricted
Non-standard materials
Covered, case-by-case
Often excluded or limited
Outbuildings
Higher or specified limits
Included within lower caps
Accidental damage
Included as standard
Optional or limited
Unlimited buildings cover
Optional feature
Not often offered
In a nutshell
High-value buildings insurance:
Covers the structure of the home and permanent features
Can include outbuildings, walls, gates and pools
Specialist policies and insurers can account for listed or non-standard construction
Accurate rebuild valuation is essential
Unlimited buildings cover may be available
What does building insurance cover for a high-value home?
Building insurance cover for high-value homes typically includes:
Home emergency and loss of use cover (subject to policy)
Liability cover for injuries on your property
Accidental damage as standard or optional
For high-value properties, the features you’re covered for will vary on a case-by-case basis, which is why it’s important to work with a specialist broker to help you get it right.
How do I calculate my home’s rebuild cost?
Many people believe that their market value reflects their rebuild, whereas, in reality, these two figures can be very different. That’s because your market value is defined as what your home is worth on the open market, including the location, demand and local property trends. The rebuild value is the cost of rebuilding your home completely from scratch, taking into account the labour, materials and professional fees.
Getting the rebuild cost right can be particularly tricky for listed buildings, as they often require specialist materials and labour. To help ensure your valuation is accurate:
We recommend using a RICS-accredited surveyor to provide a professional rebuild assessment
We can help guide you to suitable valuers, so you can be confident your home is insured for the right amount
Is my mortgage valuation the same as my rebuild cost?
No, your mortgage valuation is different from your rebuild cost. It’s a basic assessment carried out by the lender to confirm the property is worth enough to secure the loan. It’s often very conservative. The rebuild cost of your property is the cost to rebuild the property from scratch, including materials, labour and professional fees. If you base your rebuild cost on your mortgage valuation, you will likely be underinsured, which can lead to a reduced settlement in the event of a claim.
High-value contents insurance
While standard contents insurance is designed to cover your everyday belongings – often with relatively limits on individual items – high-value home contents insurance can support valuable or unique items that exceed these standard thresholds.
Contents insurance covers the items you would take with you if you moved home. This can include:
furniture
art
jewellery
watches
electronics
collections
clothing
wine
As well as offering higher single-item limits overall, you can also specify standalone key items, often with an agreed value. You can also include broader all-risks cover, with the option to extend protection worldwide. This means your belongings are covered both at home and when you’re out and about.
Feature
High-value contents insurance
Standard contents insurance
Overall limits
Higher or tailored limits
Fixed limits with caps
Single item limit
High or flexible
Low, often restrictive
Specified items
Agreed value available
Market value, limited flexibility
Unspecified cover
Broader all-risks cover
Basic cover, often limited
Worldwide cover
Commonly included or optional
Often limited or add-on
High-value items (e.g. jewellery, art)
Designed to accommodate
Often restricted or capped
In a nutshell
Higher limits for high-value contents
Agreed value for specified valuables
Worldwide cover options
Better cover for jewellery, watches, and collections
Designed for assets that exceed standard policy thresholds
What counts as high-value contents?
Your contents are typically split into two categories: general contents and specified valuables.
General contents are everyday items that usually fall within the overall limits of your policy. Specified valuables are higher-value items that exceed standard limits and therefore need to be listed separately to ensure they’re fully covered.
General contents examples
Furniture
Home technology
Appliances
Clothing
Children’s belongings
Specified valuables examples
Jewellery
Watches
Art
Antiques
Wine collections
Musical instruments
Sports equipment
Collectible items
It’s important to specify valuables because they can be covered on an agreed value basis, avoid depreciation at the point of claim, and help ensure a better overall claims outcome.
Are my contents covered outside the home?
While standard policies may offer limited cover away from the home, this is often restricted and subject to lower limits. High-value policies typically provide the option to include worldwide all-risks cover, meaning specified valuables – and sometimes unspecified items up to a set limit – are protected both at home and when you’re out and about. This is particularly valuable for items such as jewellery, watches and other valuables in transit.
What’s the difference between general contents and specified valuables?
Contents are typically divided into two categories: general contents and specified valuables.
General contents are covered under a single blanket sum insured, including everyday items such as furniture, clothing and electronics.
Specified valuables are individually listed on your policy and insured at an agreed value.
If you’re not sure, it’s worth specifying any item worth over £5,000 to ensure its fully protected and not subject to standard policy limits or restrictions.
What does a high-value home insurance policy include?
High-value home insurance is designed to provide broader, more flexible protection for higher-value properties and possessions, with cover that’s tailored to individual needs.
Buildings cover – works to protect the structure of your home, including outbuildings and permanent features
Contents cover – insures your belongings inside the home, including both everyday items and valuables
Accidental damage – covers unexpected damage to buildings or contents
Alternative accommodation – pays for temporary housing should your home become uninhabitable following a claim
Personal liability – protects you if you’re legally liable for injury to someone or damage to their property
Fine art, jewellery and watch cover – provides specialist protection for high-value and collectible items, often on an agreed value basis
Worldwide all-risks – covers specified belongings against loss or damage both at home and anywhere in the world
Home emergency cover – offers immediate assistance for urgent issues like plumbing or electrical failures
Home legal protection – covers legal costs for disputes relating to your home, such as boundary issues or contract disagreements
Cyber cover – helps protect against online risks, including cybercrime and data breaches
Travel insurance (where available) – can be included to provide cover for trips, often aligned with the needs of higher-value lifestyles
Multiple property cover – allows you to insure more than one property under a single, streamlined policy
These features combine to offer more comprehensive protection than standard policies, with greater flexibility and higher limits.
Levels of cover available
Take a look at some of the possible cover available – please note that terms, conditions and exclusions apply.
Buildings-only cover
Buildings-only cover works to protect the structure of your home, including walls, roof, fixtures and permanent features. This option suits homeowners who want to arrange separate contents cover, as well as landlords or property owners who don’t need to insure personal belongings under the same policy.
Contents-only cover
Contents-only cover insures the belongings within your property, such as furniture, clothing and valuables. It’s typically chosen by renters or leaseholders, where the building itself is insured by the landlord or freeholder, or by those who prefer to arrange buildings cover elsewhere
Combined buildings and contents cover
Combined cover includes both the structure of your home and its contents under a single policy. This is the most common option for owner-occupiers and often the most straightforward, helping ensure consistency in cover and a smoother claims process if both buildings and contents are affected.
How to value the contents of your high-value home?
It’s important to accurately value your contents in order to avoid underinsurance, particularly when it comes to higher-value homes, where the gap between what you’re covered for and what your contents are actually worth can quickly grow. Due to a lack of regular and accurate valuations, many homeowners underestimate the value of their belongings, often by thousands of pounds.
Here’s some steps you can take to obtain the true value of the contents in your home:
Work room by room
Start by systematically going through your home and recording your contents, including outbuildings, lofts and storage areas, to ensure nothing is missed.
List items at replacement cost
Now it’s time to record what your contents are worth right now. This should reflect what it would cost to replace each item today, not what you originally paid for them as prices can fluctuate over time.
Get professional valuations for high-value items
Valuables like jewellery, watches, art, antiques and wine collections should be professionally valued to ensure accurate cover.
Include items away from home
If you regularly take items out of your home, for work or travel, it’s worth taking note of these so this can be reflected in your policy.
Review valuations regularly
It’s worth undertaking a full annual review of your contents to reflect new purchases, changes in value or simply to account for inflation.
In a nutshell
Use replacement cost, not purchase price
Include outbuildings, lofts and storage areas
Get valuations for valuable items
Review annually
Remember, high-value contents often get underinsured
Why use a specialist broker for high-value home insurance?
As high-value home insurance is a lot more complex than a standard policy, using a specialist broker can make a big difference in the quality of your cover. The purpose of a specialist broker is to help shape a policy that works around your specific needs and lifestyle, rather than issuing a one-size-fits- all policy.
Stanhope provides independent, professional advice you can trust, with expertise across listed, period and non-standard homes.
Feature
Comparison site
Direct insurer
Specialist broker
Access to specialist insurers
Limited
Limited
Extensive
Tailored advice
None
Basic
Yes
Valuation guidance
None
Limited
Yes
Claims support
None
Limited
Full advocacy
Complex property expertise
No
Limited
Yes
Multiple property cover
Limited
Limited
Yes
Independent advice
No
No
Yes
Tailored advice for complex properties
One of the main advantages of using a specialist broker rather than going direct through an insurer through comparison sites, is that we’re better equipped to handle higher-value estates, listed buildings and non-standard construction. This gives you more flexibility, fewer restrictions and overall – more suitable protection.
Through tailored advice, a specialist broker can help you properly structure your policy, avoiding gaps in cover. This includes guidance on accurate rebuild costs, contents valuations and how best to insure high-value or unusual items.
If you have multiple properties, brokers can also arrange cover under a single, coordinated policy – which means less admin and more consistency.
We can support with:
Listed buildings
Thatched properties
Non-standard construction
Collections
Multiple properties
Expert support when you make a claim
Should you need to make a claim, your specialist broker will stand by your side, acting as an advocate to help ensure a timely and fair outcome. They will manage communication with insurers, handle complex queries and support you throughout the process. This is particularly valuable for high-value or unusual claims, where specialist expertise, negotiation and a clear understanding of policy terms can make a significant difference to both the experience and final settlement.
When to get high-value home insurance
There are several points where it’s important to review or arrange high-value home insurance to ensure your cover remains appropriate.
At exchange of contracts – you’ll typically need buildings cover in place from this point.
When contents exceed standard policy limits – higher-value items can quickly outgrow standard cover thresholds.
After purchasing a significant item – such as jewellery, art or collectibles that require specification.
When moving to a listed or non-standard property – these homes often require specialist underwriting.
At renewal – a regular opportunity to reassess values, limits and overall suitability.
After renovations or extensions – changes to your home can significantly impact rebuild costs and risk profile.
Reviewing your cover at these key moments helps ensure you remain fully protected and avoids gaps that could affect a future claim.
Why choose Stanhope?
At Stanhope, we’re an FCA-regulated independent broker, specialising in complex and high-value home insurance. We can support with high-value homes, listed properties, period homes, non-standard constructions and more. Our goal is to ensure that you have the protection you need when standard cover just isn’t enough.
We offer access to a carefully selected panel of specialist insurers, many of whom only work through brokers. This means that we can source more flexible, comprehensive cover that’s tailored to your individual circumstances.
All of our clients benefit from a dedicated account manager, who’ll work with you to develop an in-depth understanding of your home and lifestyle needs. Our team has extensive experience arranging cover for complex risks, including multi-property portfolios and high-value contents.
By bringing together technical knowledge with practical support, we’ll help you structure your policy correctly from beginning to end. Our exceptional client feedback speaks for itself, revealing our proven track record of delivering consistent, high-quality outcomes.
In a nutshell
Key reasons to choose Stanhope
Specialist broker for high-value and complex homes
Independent and FCA regulated
Access to specialist insurers not on comparison sites
Dedicated named account support
Strong client feedback and proven service
Our claims promise
Making a claim can be stressful, particularly where high-value homes or possessions are involved. That’s why we provide clear, hands-on support from start to finish.
From the moment you notify us, you’ll speak to a named contact who will guide you through the process. We’ll help you understand next steps, manage communication with your insurer and, where needed, liaise with loss adjusters on your behalf.
As your broker, we act as your advocate, ensuring your claim is handled fairly and in line with your policy cover. We stay involved throughout, providing updates and support until your claim is fully resolved.
In a nutshell
What you can expect
• Speak to a named broker contact • Support from first notification to settlement • Clear claims guidance at every stage • Help dealing with insurers and loss adjusters • Dedicated support throughout the process
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I was recommended to Stanhope by a friend who has one of their policies. I’m very pleased with the product offered, the service and especially the cost.
I started insurance broking in 2009. I followed my great-grandfather, grandfather, and father into the world of insurance. In 2019, I decided I wanted to do things differently. I formed Stanhope in 2019 with Matthew Ashton and Rachel Living. We want to shake up the industry! Let's make insurance cool and useful for our customers. Let's improve the customer journey and get them to trust us as their insurance company. Let's pay claims quickly; let's be excellent and honest in all that we do!
