Independent advisers · Homes, landlords and small businesses
Cover that still makes sense on the day you claim
We read the wording, not the headline price. Send us the policy you already hold and you get a written comparison of what is actually covered, what is excluded, and what we would change before your renewal date.
What we arrange
Five lanes, and the detail people get wrong in each
Most gaps we find are not missing policies — they are policies bought on price three renewals ago and never re-read. Start with the lane closest to your situation.
Home and contents
Owner-occupiers, including period properties and homes part way through building work.
Landlord and let property
Single lets, flats above commercial units, and properties between tenancies.
Small business and liability
Trades, studios, consultancies and anyone who visits a client site or hosts visitors at their own.
Motor for households
Multi-car households, named young drivers, and vehicles used partly for work.
Income and illness cover
Self-employed earners and single-income households with a mortgage to service.
Buying guidance
How household cover levels actually differ
Insurers use different names, but household cover tends to sit in three bands. This is the shape of what changes as you move up, so you can judge where the extra premium is earning its place.
| Policy feature | Essential | Standard | Extended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buildings and contents sums insured reviewed each year | On request | Included | Included |
| Accidental damage to the building | Not included | Included | Included |
| Accidental damage to contents | Not included | Optional add-on | Included |
| New-for-old contents replacement | Limited categories | Included | Included |
| Alternative accommodation while repairs run | Lower limit | Included | Higher limit |
| Home emergency call-out | Not included | Optional add-on | Included |
| Named high-value items away from home | Not included | Specified items only | Specified and unspecified |
| Choice of excess at renewal | Fixed | Two options | Set per section |
Bands are a reading aid, not a product. When we compare quotes for you, the written recommendation names the insurer, the section limits and the excess for each one.
Who reads your wording
A small advisory practice, not a comparison screen
Lark Form is a two-adviser practice. The person who reads your schedule is the person who writes your recommendation and the person who picks up the file if you ever need to claim.
- We are independent, so we are free to recommend staying exactly where you are.
- We are paid by commission from the insurer or by a flat advice fee — whichever applies to your case is stated in writing before you decide anything.
- Every recommendation names what it would not cover. If a risk sits outside the policy, you read that sentence from us first, not from a claims handler later.
- Your renewal dates go in our diary, so the next review starts before the auto-renewal letter arrives.
How a review works
Four steps, finished before your renewal date
No appointment is needed to start. Send what you have and we will tell you quickly whether a review is even worth your time.
Send your schedule
Your current policy schedule and renewal date are enough. If you cannot find the wording, we will request it from the insurer with your permission.
We read it properly
Limits, excesses, conditions and exclusions, against how you actually use the property or run the business. This is where gaps show up.
You get it in writing
A short comparison: stay, adjust, or move. Each option names the insurer, the cover changes and the excess, with our reasoning in plain language.
We handle the paperwork
If you choose to change, we arrange it and confirm the start date. Your renewal goes in our diary for next year either way.
Straight answers
The questions worth asking any adviser
Including the awkward ones about how we are paid. If an adviser will not answer these in writing, that itself is the answer.
Why does the cheapest quote often cost more at claim time?
Premium is only one of four numbers. The others are the sum insured, the excess and the section limits. A cheaper policy usually moves at least one of them, and the saving appears in the one place you will not look until something goes wrong.
When we compare options, those four numbers sit side by side so the saving is visible as a trade-off rather than a discount.
What is an excess, and when should I raise mine?
The excess is the part of any claim you pay yourself. Raising it reduces the premium, which makes sense if you could comfortably cover that amount from savings tomorrow and you do not intend to claim for small losses.
It makes much less sense if the excess is set per section, because an escape-of-water claim can trigger more than one at the same time. Check how yours is applied before you trade it for a lower premium.
What does my buildings sum insured actually need to cover?
Not the market value of the house. It needs to cover demolition, site clearance, professional fees and rebuilding to current building regulations — which is why rebuild figures and sale prices move independently of each other.
If your figure has simply been uplifted by a percentage each year since you bought the policy, it is worth recalculating. Under-insurance allows an insurer to reduce a settlement proportionally, even on a small claim.
Do I need different cover because I work from home?
Clerical work alone is usually fine under a standard household policy, but three things commonly fall outside it: business equipment above the contents limit, stock held at home, and anyone visiting for work purposes.
If clients, deliveries or employees come to the property, you are into liability territory and the household policy will not help. Tell us what the working day looks like and we will say whether anything needs adding.
What happens to cover while a property is empty?
Most wordings restrict cover once a property has been unoccupied beyond a set number of consecutive days — commonly between thirty and sixty. After that, theft, escape of water and malicious damage are often excluded.
Cover is usually maintainable if you notify the insurer and follow the conditions in the wording, such as draining the system or keeping the heating at a minimum temperature. Tell us before you leave, not after.
Will you move my policy every year to justify a fee?
No. A review that concludes "stay where you are, and here is why" is a complete piece of work, and it happens often with insurers who price renewals fairly.
What we will not do is let an auto-renewal pass unchecked. The diary note matters more than the switch.
How are you paid, and will it change what you recommend?
Either the insurer pays us a commission that is built into the premium, or you pay a flat advice fee for the review. Which applies depends on the type of cover, and we state it in writing before you commit to anything.
Because the basis is disclosed up front and does not vary between the insurers we compare, it has no bearing on which option we recommend.
Request a review
Have these to hand
You do not need all of it to start — the first three are enough for us to tell you whether a review will find anything.
- Your current policy schedule, and the wording if you have it.
- The renewal date and the insurer's name.
- What has changed since you bought it: work to the property, a new vehicle, a different working pattern.
- Your buildings rebuild figure, if you know how it was calculated.
- Any items you would want covered away from the home.
- Claims in the last five years, settled or not.
