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Reviewed by William Cooper
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At a glance
● A claim can reveal important details about your home that its market value can’t
● Bespoke features and inherited possessions aren’t always straightforward to repair or replace
● The right specialist input can matter as much as the speed of a claim
● The success of a claim often depends on how well your circumstances were understood before the loss
You can spend years shaping a home around the way you live. But bespoke joinery, original features, artwork and inherited jewellery can all be difficult to replace if something goes wrong.
A serious fire, escape of water or theft raises more than a repair question. Who understands what was there before? Can it be restored properly? What happens if you can’t live at home?
A high-value home insurance claim follows the usual stages of reporting, assessment and settlement. But where the property or possessions are more complex, the outcome can depend heavily on how well those circumstances were understood before the loss.
how does a high-value home insurance claim work?
The high value home insurance claim process follows a familiar sequence:
1. Make things safe
2. Report your claim
3. Provide relevant information
4. The claim is assessed
5. Repairs or replacement are agreed
6. The claim progresses to completion
The broad process is similar to a standard home insurance claim. The difference is often in the detail and the expertise required to deal with it properly. Repairing bespoke joinery after an escape of water, for example, can involve different questions from replacing a readily available kitchen. This is one reason high-value home insurance focuses on the individual property and circumstances rather than value alone.
What should you do immediately after a loss?
Your first priority is safety. Contact the emergency services if necessary. Once everyone is safe, take reasonable temporary action to prevent further damage and report the situation to your insurer or broker as soon as reasonably possible.
It helps to photograph damage, keep receipts for emergency expenditure and retain damaged possessions where practical until you’ve been advised what to do with them.
Always try to follow your insurer’s instructions before arranging substantial permanent repairs. You don’t need to have every document ready before reporting the claim.
Depending on what happened, your insurance provider might subsequently ask for photographs, receipts, valuations, inventories or other evidence. If valuables have been stolen, police or crime-reference information can also be relevant. Keeping appropriate records before something happens can make it easier to establish what you owned and its value later on.
Who handles a high-value home insurance claim?
A complex claim can involve several specialists because different questions need answering. The claims team manages the insurance claim itself. Your broker can help you understand the process, communicate with the relevant parties and keep sight of the wider circumstances behind the policy.
Surveyors, structural engineers, specialist contractors, valuers or restorers can also become involved where their expertise is needed. For significant losses, you may also meet a loss adjuster.
What does a loss adjuster do?
A loss adjuster is generally appointed to investigate and assess a claim on behalf of the provider of the policy.
They may inspect your home, discuss what happened, review the damage and consider estimates or specialist reports. Their assessment helps establish the extent and likely value of the loss.
A loss adjuster is different from a loss assessor. A loss assessor is appointed by you to represent your interests and is normally paid by you.
Making a high-net-worth home insurance claim doesn’t automatically mean you need a loss assessor.
What does your broker do?
As your broker, our role is different. We can help provide continuity when a claim involves several parties, explain what’s happening and help make sure the relevant details about your home, possessions and circumstances remain part of the conversation.
We can also liaise with the claims team and loss adjusters where appropriate, help clarify what information is needed and support you through the process.
We don’t determine whether a claim is accepted or decide the settlement. Our role is to help you understand the process, make sure the right information is available and remain in your corner while the claim progresses.
How are specialist repairs and valuable possessions handled?
Repairing damage isn’t always the same as restoring what was there before. A listed or period home may contain specialist stone, timber, plasterwork or architectural details. A renovated property might include bespoke cabinetry or finishes made specifically for the space.
After a significant loss, the important question isn’t simply how quickly something can be replaced – it’s what’s required to return your home as closely as possible to its previous condition within the terms of the policy.
That can mean establishing what can be repaired, what needs replacing, and which specialists are appropriate. The same principle applies to possessions.
An inherited piece of jewellery, original painting, antique or discontinued watch may not have a straightforward like-for-like replacement. Valuations, photographs or other evidence may be needed and specialist advice can help establish whether restoration or replacement is appropriate.
An agreed value can also be relevant. This is a value for a specified item that has been agreed in advance, subject to the terms of the policy.
The important distinction is between knowing what something is worth and understanding what would actually be involved in restoring or replacing it after a loss
What happens if you can’t live in your home?
If your home can’t reasonably be occupied after an insured loss, your policy may provide alternative accommodation, subject to its terms and limits. For a lengthy claim, finding somewhere else to stay isn’t always as simple as booking temporary accommodation.
You may need to remain near children’s schools, accommodate pets, find enough space for your household or stay close to the property while a complex restoration is underway.
For larger or more unusual homes, those practical requirements are worth understanding before you ever need the cover
How is a high-value home insurance claim settled?
Depending on the policy and circumstances, this could involve repairs, restoration, replacement or a cash settlement where appropriate. Major building claims can progress in stages, particularly where specialist contractors or lengthy restoration work are involved.
Your policy excess may also apply. An excess is the amount you’re responsible for contributing towards an insured claim. There’s no useful universal answer to how long a high-value home insurance claim takes.
A stolen watch and a serious fire in a listed home may both be significant losses, but the work required to resolve them can be entirely different. Speed matters, particularly when your home or possessions have been disrupted. But so does allowing the right expertise and evidence to inform decisions about specialist repairs, restoration or valuation
Can underinsurance affect your claim?
Yes. Underinsurance can affect a claim, although the outcome will depend on the policy and the circumstances.
Underinsurance means the amount of cover doesn’t adequately reflect the value at risk. For buildings, this is why rebuild value matters. Your home’s market value is what it might sell for, while its rebuild or reinstatement value reflects what reconstructing it could cost.
Bespoke construction, specialist materials and listed features can make those figures very different.
Possessions change too. You may inherit jewellery, renovate a room, commission furniture or gradually build a collection without thinking to revisit the figures on your insurance.
We recognise that underinsurance rarely starts with one dramatic mistake. It builds quietly as homes, possessions and lives change around a policy that has stayed the same. By regularly reviewing your cover, you can help make sure today’s insurance still reflects today’s home.
Matthew Ashton, Co-Starter, Stanhope
What can you do now to make a future claim easier?
A well-handled claim often starts before the loss. That doesn’t mean preparing for the worst. It means making sure your insurance accurately reflects what you own and the circumstances that could make repairing or replacing it more complicated.
Keep important valuations and records under review. Think about renovations, inherited possessions, growing collections, new purchases and changes in how your property is used. Photographs and inventories can also be useful, particularly for possessions where proving ownership, condition or value later could be difficult.
And don’t focus on financial value alone. A bespoke interior, listed feature or inherited collection may require a very different approach from something that can simply be bought again.
Your existing insurance may still be entirely appropriate. Specialist cover isn’t automatically necessary simply because something is valuable.
The important question is whether your insurance reflects what restoring your home and possessions would actually involve.
The real test of your home insurance
A high-value home insurance claim is where your cover meets the reality of your home, possessions and circumstances.
The better those circumstances are understood before something happens, the clearer the starting point can be when you need to claim.
If you’re unsure whether your current insurance still reflects your home and the way you live today, speak to Stanhope. We can help you review your home and contents and explain the support available if you ever need to claim.
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High-value home insurance claims process FAQs
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Do I need receipts to claim for valuable possessions?
Not necessarily. What is required will depend on the policy and circumstances of the claim. Receipts can be useful, but photographs, valuations, inventories, certificates or other evidence of ownership and value may also help.
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Can I choose my own builder after a claim?
Sometimes. This will depend on the policy, circumstances and work required. If you have a preferred builder, architect or specialist who already understands the property, raise this before commissioning substantial work so the appropriate approach can be agreed.
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Will a loss adjuster always visit my home?
No. A loss adjuster may be appointed depending on the size, circumstances and complexity of the claim, but not every claim requires one.
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How is a high-value claim different from a standard home insurance claim?
The broad process is similar. The difference is often the complexity behind the loss. Bespoke buildings, specialist materials, valuable possessions and items that are difficult to replace can require additional assessment and expertise to establish the right way forward.
Written by Matthew Ashton
I started working in the insurance industry in 2004. Four years later, I left to focus on theological studies, working as a youth worker and then as a ministry director in Seattle, USA. When returning to the UK, I had an opportunity to work for the late Andrew Marchington. I joined his firm as a sales advisor when it had around ten staff members. Within three years, I was Head of Ops with a staff team of over 30 people. After a chance encounter in 2019 with Rachel Living and Will Cooper, I co-started Stanhope to build a high-value home, luxury watch, and jewellery broker synonymous with trust. I love being with Donna, my wife, and four kids when not working, cramming in the odd row, or run when I can. I am fortunate to love what I do and consider it a blessing to grow the Stanhope brand.