Insurer prepared to take on customers others reject

Homeprotect promises to offer insurance to people who live in flood-prone areas and those whose homes are at risk of subsidence.

It will also offer cover to people who are typically turned down by other insurers because they have a criminal conviction, work from home, leave their property empty for more than six weeks at a time or have a home built from non-standard materials.

The group, which is part of insurance broker Avantia, has developed a computer system which enables it to generate instant quotes for people who are classed as being non-standard.

It estimates it is able to provide an instant quote online or by telephone for 97 per cent of customers, with the remaining three per cent referred to its three specialist underwriters because their situation is more complex.

Homeprotect claims its service is much quicker, as it typically takes three to four days for people classed as being non-standard to obtain an insurance quote.

It concedes that non-standard cover does tend to be more expensive than standard cover, but said that during its pilot phase many people were able to save money through using its service.

The group won insurance broking initiative of the year at the 2010 British Insurance Industry Awards following its pilot scheme.

One home owner, who lives in Shropshire, used the service after being refused cover by 63 insurers because he lived close to a river.

Another consumer in Berkshire turned to the company after converting two adjacent properties into one. His previous insurer had insisted on continuing to underwrite the properties as two separate risks.

David Walker, chief executive of Homeprotect, said: "Most insurance providers focus on the 85 per cent of the public who are relatively uncomplicated, and they have no interest in people whose circumstances fall outside the ordinary. People with unusual or unique circumstances no longer have to accept that getting their home insurance sorted is going to be a lengthy and frustrating process."

"Through technology we have built a system which can offer all customers a quote, no matter what their circumstances."

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said: "Anything which helps provide cover for those finding it difficult is to be welcomed."