How a retrospective structural warranty works
From your first call to a certificate for every home - how we place a warranty for a project that has already started or finished, what the provider reviews, and the paperwork you receive before cover is arranged.
- Instant response
- An honest answer, early
- UK FCA Regulated Broker
- 10 and 12 year cover
- Part built and finished projects
The process
Five steps to retrospective cover
Tell us what has happened
What has been built, the address, how many homes, where the build is up to and why a warranty is needed now.
An honest first view
We tell you early whether specialist providers are likely to consider it and what evidence they will want. If it looks unlikely, we say so.
Evidence and survey
You send the records. The provider reviews them and its surveyor visits, sometimes asking for opening up or further reports.
Your quotation
A written quotation naming the provider, with the premium, the provider's fees and our fee shown separately.
Registration and certificates
Once you accept, the project is registered, the remaining stages are inspected and each home gets its own certificate.
Inspections
Inspections on a late registration
On a part-built project, the provider's surveyor usually inspects the stages still to come in the same way as on a project registered at the start. For the work already done, the provider relies on your evidence, its own survey and, where needed, opening up. Typically that means:
- an initial visit to see the building as it stands
- inspections of the remaining key stages, such as the roof and building envelope
- any opening up or intrusive checks the provider asks for
- a final inspection before each home's certificate is issued
On a finished building there may be a single survey rather than a series of visits. Anything the surveyor finds that needs putting right is usually dealt with before cover is confirmed.
What we need from you
Information that speeds up a retrospective quote
- Developer and contractor names
- Site address and a short description of the project
- Number of homes or units, and their sizes
- The total rebuild cost - what it would cost to build again
- When work started, the stage it has reached, or when it finished
- Planning permission, and the architect's plans and elevations
- Structural calculations and any ground investigation report
- Building control reports, dated photographs and any site reports
Before cover is arranged
You receive our terms of business and a statement of your demands and needs before any cover is bought. We also check the provider is likely to be acceptable to the mortgage lenders involved.
While the case is reviewed
Tell us about anything new - a defect found, a change of lender or a fresh deadline. It helps us keep the provider's review and your timetable in step.
After the certificate
Each home's certificate stays with it for the policy period. If an owner ever needs to claim, the claim goes to the provider or insurer named on the certificate.
How it works - questions
How long does a retrospective warranty take to arrange?
Longer than a standard registration. We can often give a first view quickly once we have the basics, but formal terms follow the provider's evidence review and survey. Complete records are the biggest single thing that speeds it up.
Do you charge for a quote?
No. Our quotations are free and there is no obligation. Our modest broker fee is only charged on success - if we do not arrange your cover, you pay us nothing. On a retrospective case some providers charge for their survey or review, and any opening up has a cost - we tell you about these before anything is arranged.
Who decides whether the project is accepted?
The warranty provider. We present your case as clearly as we can and tell you honestly what we think the chances are, but the provider makes the decision and sets the terms.
Tell us what has happened
It takes about a minute. We will come back with a first view and what the providers are likely to need from you.
- Takes under a minute
- Instant reply by email with your reference
- We call you, usually the same working day, with an honest view of what is possible
- Part built and completed sites across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Free and no obligation
Already filled in a proposal form? Email it to us or send it on WhatsApp with any drawings you have and we will take it from there.
