Self build house insurance options

Self build home buildings insurance – protects the property building and fixtures including your walls, windows, roof, and any fitted kitchens or bathrooms.

Self build home contents insurance – covers the personal possessions you keep within your home. 

Accidental damage cover for a self build home – this is an additional level of cover that protects your finished home from one off accidents like those that result from DIY, for example, putting a nail through a pipe.

Insurance protection while building a home

Self build site insurance – This can protect the new and existing work on the building site from risks like fire, theft of materials, vandalism, or storm damage. 

Public liability insurance – This protects you against claims made by third parties for injuries or property damage that happens during the construction process. It is particularly important if you regularly have visitors or contractors on site.

Employer’s liability insurance – If you plan to hire workers as employees for your self build, this insurance is mandatory by law. It covers claims from employees who suffer injuries or illnesses as a result of their work.

Structural warranty – This covers your building for structural defects for a specified period, usually around 10 years. This cover could be crucial for securing mortgages, or selling the property in the future.

The type of home you build

Home insurance for detached properties comes with an average annual premium of £395, whereas semi-detached house insurance will cost £255 on average. See all the home insurance price differences across property types.

Where it is located

This indicates a whole range of risks to home insurers that help them set your premiums. As you might expect, the most expensive area to insure a home in England is London, with an average cost of £289. By contrast, a home in the north east region of England will only cost an average of £158 to insure. For more details, and averages in your area, see the full guide.

Burglary rates in your area

The number of residential burglary incidents reported in the area you are building will directly affect your likelihood of making an insurance claim. This is why home insurers consider it when setting the cost of your self build insurance. 

The number of rooms in the house 

More rooms typically mean higher rebuild and content costs, which can drive up the price of your insurance. Carefully consider the size of the home you are building and how it will reflect in the ongoing price of insuring the home. 

The materials your home is made of

The cost to insure a self build timber frame house will be different to that of a brick-and-block home. Using specialist materials that cost more and are harder to source can make your home harder to insure. You might limit your options as some insurers won’t cover the building, which can drive up your insurance costs too. 

If the building work is still in progress

As you’ll understand, ongoing building work can pose risks to structures that already exist. New walls collapsing could damage an existing outbuilding or garage, or construction equipment could damage the foundations that the home already rests on.