Insurance for buildings that can't be replaced, only restored.

Standard carriers struggle with historic buildings for several reasons: there is no actuarial history for 100+ year-old construction, the materials and craftsmanship can't be priced on a modern replacement-cost formula, code-upgrade exposure after a loss is large and hard to quantify, and many properties have unusual uses (churches, inns, museums) or periods of vacancy during restoration. Rather than underwrite the complexity, most decline, misclassify, or impose actual-cash-value settlements that leave owners badly underinsured. Specialty heritage and surplus-lines markets — the ones we access — have priced these risks correctly for decades.

Agreed value means you and the insurer fix the building's insured amount when the policy is bound, and that amount is what's paid on a total loss — with no coinsurance penalty and no depreciation argument at claim time. It matters for historic buildings because actual cash value would depreciate irreplaceable architecture to a fraction of its restoration cost, and standard replacement cost has no modern equivalent to value original features against. Agreed value, paired with restoration-cost settlement, is what actually funds rebuilding a landmark.

Ordinance-or-law (also called code-upgrade) coverage pays the extra cost of complying with current building codes when you repair or rebuild after a covered loss — things like updated wiring, fire sprinklers, ADA accessibility, and structural reinforcement that weren't required when the building was constructed. On a historic property these upgrades can cost more than the original damage, and a standard policy excludes them. For any older building, ordinance-or-law sized to the real reconstruction cost is essential.

Yes. National Register listing and local landmark designations are exactly the properties we specialize in. Listing adds preservation standards (often the Secretary of the Interior's Standards) that govern how the building must be repaired — we structure agreed-value, restoration-cost, and ordinance-or-law coverage around those obligations, and can write coverage for tax-credit or grant-funded rehabilitation projects as well.

Premium depends on the building's reconstruction value, construction type, location and protection class, use (private residence, church, inn, museum, commercial), occupancy or vacancy status, and the limits you carry for ordinance-or-law and restoration. Because we place these in specialty markets and value the building correctly up front, the goal is coverage that will actually pay to rebuild — not the cheapest premium for a policy that fails at claim time. We provide free, no-obligation quotes so you can compare real terms.

Yes. Vacancy and active restoration are common situations for historic properties and a frequent reason standard carriers decline. We place coverage with vacancy permits, renovation and builders-risk provisions, and partial-occupancy terms so the building is protected through capital campaigns, rehabilitation, and the transition back into use.

Landmark and listed homes, historic churches and houses of worship, bed & breakfasts and historic inns, museums and cultural buildings, commercial buildings in historic districts, and the restoration contractors who work on them. If a property is old enough or significant enough that standard carriers balk, it's the kind of risk we're built to place.

Yes — Contractors Choice Agency is licensed in all 50 states, and Historic Building Insurance is our specialty division for heritage property. Wherever your landmark building is, we can quote and place coverage. Call 844-967-5247 or request a free quote online to get started.