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In New Zealand, if ordinary insurers are reluctant to insure a non-standard house, you still have several options. The best route depends on why the property is difficult to insure — for example, an unconventional construction method, unusual materials, an older or relocated house, a steep or remote site, a history of damage, or a location exposed to flooding or landslides.

The key is to look beyond standard online home-insurance quotes and find an insurer or specialist broker who can assess the property on its individual merits.

Your main options

1. Use a specialist insurance broker

Often the best starting point. A broker who handles unusual residential properties may have access to insurers and underwriting teams that don't accept these houses through standard online channels.

Ask specifically for someone experienced in non-standard construction, difficult-to-place residential risks, or declined home insurance.

2. Approach insurers for manual underwriting

A standard quote rejection doesn't necessarily mean the property is uninsurable. Ask whether an underwriter can assess it individually, with supporting information such as building plans, a builder's report, engineering documentation, photographs and details of repairs or upgrades.

The insurer might offer cover subject to conditions, a higher excess, a higher premium or exclusions for particular risks.

3. Seek specialist or non-standard property cover

Some properties require an insurer willing to consider risks outside its normal residential underwriting criteria. A specialist broker can investigate whether a suitable domestic property policy or a more tailored arrangement is available.

This may be relevant for earth houses, straw-bale buildings, converted buildings, relocated homes, unusual cladding or other unconventional construction.

4. Address the specific reason for refusal

If the issue is a repairable defect or missing documentation, fixing it may open up more options. Depending on the circumstances, useful steps could include obtaining a structural engineer's report, resolving moisture problems, replacing unsafe wiring, documenting consented alterations or clarifying the property's construction and replacement cost.

If the concern is an inherent hazard, such as land instability or flood exposure, documentation alone may not be enough.

5. Explore limited or alternative cover

Depending on availability, you could investigate cover for selected risks, such as fire, rather than comprehensive house insurance, or cover for the house's contents separately.

Be careful: a fire-only policy may leave you exposed to major losses from storms, flooding, earthquakes, landslides or other excluded events. Contents insurance does not insure the building itself.

A particularly important New Zealand option: NHCover

If you genuinely cannot obtain house insurance, investigate Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHCover). Consumer NZ specifically notes that NHCover may consider providing natural-hazard insurance directly when a homeowner cannot obtain house insurance for reasons other than natural-hazard risk. Applications are assessed individually, and you will need evidence that insurers have declined you. How to get the best house and contents insurance

• Website: Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake
• Email: NHCover@naturalhazards.govt.nz

Important: This is not a substitute for comprehensive house insurance. Eligibility is assessed case by case, and natural-hazard cover is limited to the applicable statutory protection. Ask NHCover what protection is available for your particular property before relying on it.

Where to start looking

These are possible starting points, not guarantees that a provider will insure your house.

• Sentinel Insurance — a New Zealand specialist broker that advertises assistance with difficult-to-place risks. Confirm whether it can arrange existing residential property cover, rather than construction cover only. High Risk Insurance NZ | Earthquake-Prone Buildings, EPS Materials and MoreSentinel Insurance
• Ando — offers house insurance through broker partners, including cover designed for architecturally designed and custom-feature homes. Ask whether your specific construction type meets its underwriting criteria. House
• Find an insurance broker — the Insurance Council of New Zealand is a useful starting point for finding information about the insurance market and its members.

You can also contact a broker at a larger national brokerage and ask them to refer your case to a specialist property underwriter.

What to prepare before approaching a broker

Put together a short property information pack containing:

• The construction method, materials, age and approximate floor area.
• Whether the home has a building consent and Code Compliance Certificate, where applicable.
• Any structural, geotechnical or builder's reports.
• Known defects, previous claims, repairs and natural-hazard issues.
• The estimated cost of rebuilding the house.
• Written explanations of why insurers have declined cover, if available.

Be completely accurate about the property and its history. Incomplete disclosure can jeopardise a future claim. InsuranceHome Sum Insured

Let’s narrow this down to your house

The most useful next step is to identify what makes the house non-standard, because the options for an earth-built house can be very different from those for a conventional house on a difficult site.

What type of house is it, and what reason have insurers given for being reluctant to cover it?

For example, is it an earth house, straw-bale house, monolithic-clad house, relocated house, tiny home, an older house, or a conventional house with a structural or land hazard issue? If you tell me which applies, I can narrow the options to the most relevant New Zealand insurance routes.