Large Home Insurance

What is large home insurance?

Large home insurance is a type of high value home insurance for UK homes that sit above the average home in rebuild cost, size, or contents. At rivr, this usually means a rebuild cost of £1,000,000 or more, and higher-value contents than a standard home insurance policy is built for. It brings together buildings insurance, contents insurance, and extra protection so one policy can properly cover the full value of the property and possessions.

What counts as a large home in the UK?

There isn’t a single legal definition, but for insurance purposes a large home is normally a detached or larger semi-detached property with more rooms, higher-quality finishes, or a higher rebuild cost than the average home. At rivr, we typically treat a property as a large or high value home when the rebuild cost is at least £1,000,000, or when the combination of buildings, contents, and valuables means a standard policy wouldn’t provide the right cover.

Who does a large home insurance policy suit?

Large home insurance suits owners whose main home or second home is larger than average, with a higher rebuild cost and high value contents. It’s designed for high value homes with valuables such as fine art, jewellery, or collections, and for households that may have more than one property or spend time between locations. Bringing buildings, contents insurance, and valuables together under one policy helps keep everything properly protected.

How rivr protects you

Your home insurance policy covers all risks of physical loss or damage to your buildings and contents, anywhere in the world after an insured event. That includes protection against theft, fire, escape of water, accidental damage, and malicious damage, plus alternative accommodation cover for up to three years if you can’t live in the home.

Home emergency cover is also included, with a 24/7 helpline and help towards urgent repairs when you have issues such as water leaks, boiler breakdowns, or loss of essential services. If your valuables increase in market value, settlement can reflect that when you hold up-to-date valuations, and your sum insured makes clear the level of cover in place.

Valuations and underinsurance

Keeping valuations current is important for large homes, where the rebuild cost and the value of high value contents can change over time. For fine art and antiques, a recent valuation supports settlement in line with market value, and helps avoid underinsurance. Reviewing your sum insured regularly, and updating it when you make significant purchases or works, helps make sure you’ve got the right cover at the point of claim.

Planning works and time away

Let us know before starting building works where the total cost will be more than £75,000, so we can confirm if any additional cover’s needed. You should also tell us about extended periods when the property will be unoccupied, as standard cover can change once a home’s empty for longer periods, and we want you properly covered.

Day-to-day ease

With rivr, you manage your home insurance online, with simple access to policy documents, cover details, and claims history in one place. Existing customers can request changes or start a claim digitally, and a dedicated team’s on hand when you want to talk things through.

Why a specialist policy matters

A specialist large home insurance policy’s built around high value homes and high value contents, rather than the average home. Alongside buildings and contents cover, you have home emergency cover, family legal protection, and legal expenses cover, plus worldwide cover for personal belongings and valuables.

That means one policy for buildings, high value contents, and everyday possessions, with clear limits and a claims service used to handling complex properties. The aim’s straightforward: to keep your large home properly protected, while giving you day-to-day peace of mind.

Reviewed by Will Clarkson Webb, CEO at rivr – updated 18 Nov 2025.