There are more than half a million listed buildings in the UK and many are in use as business premises. If a catastrophe such as a fire or flood occurs and more the 40 per cent of the historic fabric has survived, then English Heritage will insist on a full, like-for-like re-instatement. So it’s vital to have appropriate buildings insurance.

Buildings insurance for a listed building needs to be more extensive than conventional cover. So consider the following:

• Engaging historic building experts to carry out a professional valuation of the property: this is a much more complicated process than normal and needs an experienced specialist surveyor.
• Ensuring your insurance policy has adequate re-instatement cover: English Heritage will insist on a full re-instatement of the entire building using like-for-like methods and materials. This can be very expensive.
• Using specialist insurers: they must do more than just looking at the rebuilding costs from the exterior as this is not acceptable for a listed building.
• Looking at high net worth cover: this will usually cover buildings with a value of more than £250,000 – and in many cases the costs for re-building a listed building will reach this level.

If you own a listed building and need to make a claim, then Morgan Clark can help. We have extensive experience in listed buildings claims: you can find out more about our services by visiting our business insurance claims pages.