Who have you insured your hut with? Are you happy with them? Please share tips and experiences to help other hutters here.
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Over the 5+years we have used a mix of providers.
Quotes from James Hallam private clients.
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Some more insurers that insure huts that we’ve come across at Thousand Huts are
Towergate (Holiday Lodge Insurance | Holiday Chalet Quotes | Towergate),
Love Your Hut (https://loveyourhut.co.uk/) and
Adrian Flux (https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/).
Love Your Hut sound ideal but in practice they do seem more focussed on beach huts in England and not everyone has been able to get a quote from them for a Scottish-style hut. Adrian Flux are an odd one. They specialise in antique car insurance so it can take some explaining what you’re after, but they do insure huts. Ask for their ‘cabin’ category rather than huts.
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I haven’t found it easy to get hut insurance.
I did manage it eventually with “Intasure” after being bounced along a succession of “partners” via my original enquiry to an insurer. However, their cover specifically excluded loss resulting from use of a “solid fuel appliance” (woodburner) so it didn’t really provide peace of mind. Was about £350/yr a couple of years ago, IIRC.
Also when I looked at my documents the hut was listed as a “caravan”, I queried this and was told not to worry, but it did leave me anxious that if the worst were to happen they would find an excuse not to pay out.
Likewise, I get nowhere with “Love Your Hut”. I get to the end of their questionnaire and get a message saying “someone will be in touch”, and they never do. I can only assume a hut in a wood is beyond their expertise.
I have woodland insurance via Beech Tree Insurance, and was able to add the hut for third party liability only, which would cover me if some passer-by did something stupid and hurt themselves ( or claimed to).
I suppose the biggest risk is some eejit vandal torching the place, so maybe not being covered for an accident resulting from the woodburner by the owners is fair enough. It would be nice to have some peace of mind though.
Being an old cycnic, I wonder just how helpful insurers would be if the worst were to happen.
“Thank you” to Darren for the info above, most helpful.
It would be useful to know what other people are paying? To get a feel for what is a realistic quote.
I built my hut myself so the “replacement cost” is a hard one to estimate, but it would have to be around £30k+ for even a modest hut I reckon, given the price of labour and timber.
I have put so much time, love and savings into our wee hut that I doubt I’d have the heart to build a replacement if someone hurt it.
EDIT: I have heard good things about NFU (national farmers union) but I understand you need to have existing home insurance with them before they will consider hut insurance for you. They are pricey but they also seem to be old-school, with physical offices, telephone calls, local staff and a caring customer-focused attitude. I am considering them next year for my home insurance, even though they are 20% higher than my current (disdainful) home insurer.