Thatched Roof Insurance - the traditional thatched building conjures up pictures of an idyllic rural life and offers a quintessential English image that is known throughout the world. It is many persons dream to own a Thatched Building but ownership does bring responsibilities. Most thatched buildings were originally constructed prior to 1700 thus you will probably find that your dream home has listed building status. Practically all property that survives from before this date is on the protected list as administered by English National Heritage. Thus if you own a Thatched Roof Home, you will almost certainly be legally responsible for it's upkeep. This listing status means that it is difficult to make alterations to the property although in fairness, most are purchased by enthusiasts who simply want to maintain the thatched home as close as possible to its original condition. In the United Kingdom, there are three main types of thatched roof covering:-

• Water Reed

• Combed Wheat Reed

• Long Straw

The choice of covering is often decided by the location of the property and of course, you will have to replace the roof with the existing reed type. Of great surprise to many people is that these Thatch roof coverings can last anywhere between 25 & 65 years. It is essential though to be pro-active in keeping the roof including all ridging & netting in tip top conditions, regular checks should be made and any repairs should carried out as quickly as possible, this should ensure that the roof lasts as long as possible. Despite what many people may lead you to believe insurance for Thatched buildings is not too difficult to obtain and need not be expensive. However it is true that almost all of the standard insurance markets shun this type of risk as they believe that the non standard construction can lead to an increased chance of a loss. You do need to approach a specialist insurer and there are a number now prepared to accept this type of risk. As well as declaring that your property has a non standard roof, you will almost certainly be asked for the following information, so it is a good idea to find it out in advance.

• The construction of the walls ( often thatched properties employed such techniques as Wattle & Daub.

• The age of the property and if it has listed building status.

• The method of heating used in the property.

• The age and condition of the wiring

• The age & condition of the roof

• The type of reeds used on the roof

• Details of any previous claims.

As well as the above, all the usual information required by an insurer to offer a thatched roof inusrance quotation will need to be supplied. Whilst there are approximately 50 serious fires a year in Thatched Buildings, the ratio of claims to number of properties covered is actually lower than claims submitted from standard type dwelling houses. This is probably caused by the owners being extra careful in making sure that losses do not occur and the fact that in recent years a number of excellent products have been introduced to help thatch owners manage their property in a way that will have prevent or at least minimize losses

• Needless to say the bulk of claims are fire claims with fires caused by wood burning stoves and electrical faults being the main culprits. If you do own a thatched Property you should observe the following.

• Always be careful with naked flames within the property, never leave candles burning unattended and in you use wood burning stoves, exercise extreme caution.

• Never light bonfires close to a Thatched Building, sparks or flames can easily carry and set fire to the roof

• Make sure the electrics in the property are checked on a regular basis by a qualified electrician.

• If you intend to install a new heating system in the property, always seek professional advice before you do so.