Most pub insurance policies that are sold do not cover the actual structure or buildings. A standard policy will include contents, stock, liabilities, money and business interruption with other covers available.

There will usually be a commercial building insurance policy in place with a single insurer that is arranged by the property owner, which will usually be a pub group or property owning commercial landlord. As part of their insurance arrangement, they will need to declare, under the business building insurance cover, if the premises are of non-standard construction.

Each insurers interpretation of “non-standard” can be different, but in essence what they want to be notified of is if the building is constructed of combustible materials. For example, brick, stone or concrete block walls are fine, whereas timber walls (even in part) need to be declared. It is the same story for the roof, slate or tile is fine but insurers need to know if there is any flat roof, glass roof or felt/asphalt on timber roof. If the roof is thatched then you really do need to notify the insurers as this will cause a sharp intake of breath, particularly if there is an open fire.

If you do not insure the buildings and are the tenant arranging the insurance, you will still need to declare if the property is non-standard, as defined by the particular insurer that is providing the quote. The reason being that a non-standard building could still be susceptible to a loss that will cause damage to the contents and stock. Water ingress into a building, for example, following a storm can cause immense damage.

You will, when looking for your particular quote, be asked certain questions about the construction. If you do not know or are unsure then you will need to speak to the landlord, property owner or managing agent to clarify exactly the materials that have been used to build the property. If you do not declare, to your insurer, the correct details you could potentially be faced with a claim that is turned down.

Most insurers will accept non-standard construction at around 20% of the overall structure. This means that where an extension has been built or there is a conservatory that a claim cannot be turned down due to the mis-declaration of the construction of the building.

As ever, the best thing for you to do is to only ask an independent business insurance broker to arrange your insurance cover. The brokers job is to serve you, the insurance purchasing customer. They will ensure, through the questions that they ask you, that the correct details are declared to the insurers that ultimately underwrite the risk.