How a conversion warranty works
Five steps from your first enquiry to a final certificate for every home or unit - and what we need from you along the way, starting with the building you are converting.
- Instant response
- Insurer quotes usually within one working day of your proposal
- UK FCA Regulated Broker
- Change of use specialists
- A certificate for each home
The process
Five steps to a conversion warranty
Tell us about the building
What it is now, what it will become, how many units and where you are up to. The short form takes a minute.
Review and approach
We look at your plans and the condition survey, then approach providers who take on that kind of conversion and whose cover lenders accept.
Your quote
A written quotation naming the provider, with the premium and every fee shown separately, plus our terms of business.
Registration and inspections
Once you accept and the provider has everything it needs, the scheme is registered - ideally before work starts. The provider reviews the design and inspects at key stages.
Certificates issued
When each home or unit is complete and signed off, the provider issues its final certificate for the buyer and their lender.
Inspections
What happens during a conversion
The provider's surveyor visits at the stages that matter most to the structure. On a conversion that includes the old building as well as the new work. The exact stages vary by provider and by scheme, but they often include:
- the existing building, once it is stripped out and the structure can be seen
- underpinning and any new foundations, before they are covered
- new structural work - beams, frames, floors and openings
- the roof structure and the building envelope
- pre-plaster and completion checks on each unit
We agree the stages with you before work starts, so the visits fit the programme. If the surveyor finds something that needs putting right, it is dealt with on site and signed off before the final certificate is issued.
What we need from you
Information for a conversion warranty quote
This is what providers usually ask for on a conversion. Send what you have - we can usually tell you early which providers are interested and what else they will want.
- Developer and contractor names, and the site address
- The number of units and their sizes
- The total rebuild cost of the finished building
- Planning permission or prior approval, and any listed building consent
- Architect's plans and elevations, existing and proposed
- A structural condition survey of the existing building
- Structural calculations for the alterations
- A ground investigation report, where there is new foundation work
- Helpful too: building control reports, especially if you have started
- Helpful too: company accounts and your builder's track record
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 accepted by your buyers' lenders.
During the conversion
Tell us, or the provider, about any change to the design, the scope of work, the contractor or the programme - especially anything the strip-out reveals about the old structure.
After completion
The final certificate stays with each home 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 - common questions
How quickly can a conversion warranty be arranged?
Fast. Every enquiry gets an instant reply with your reference, and we usually call you the same working day. Once we have your completed proposal, condition survey and drawings, insurer quotes usually come back within one working day. Older or listed buildings can take longer while the provider reviews the survey.
Do I pay anything before I accept a quote?
No. Our quotations are free and there is no obligation. Premium and fees only become payable once you accept the terms and the scheme is registered. Our modest broker fee is only charged on success - if we do not arrange your cover, you pay us nothing.
Who carries out the inspections?
The warranty provider appoints its own surveyors. They inspect to the provider's technical standards and are separate from building control, although the two often look at the same stages.
Is building control sign-off the same as a structural warranty?
No. Building control checks the work against the building regulations. A structural warranty is insurance that covers the cost of putting right certain defects for 10 or 12 years after completion. Most lenders want to see both.
Start with step one
Tell us about your conversion in under a minute and we will take it from there.
- Takes under a minute
- Instant reply by email with your reference
- Insurer quotes usually within one working day of your completed proposal
- Conversions anywhere in 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.
