Home Buyer Protection Insurance

Home Buyer Protection Insurance Explained: Costs, Cover and Exclusions

You have found a property, negotiated the price and received confirmation that your offer has been accepted. You may now start paying for conveyancing, property searches, a house survey, mortgage arrangements and valuations.

However, an accepted offer does not normally make the purchase legally binding in England and Wales. Until exchange of contracts, the seller or buyer may usually withdraw, potentially leaving the other party with costs that cannot be recovered.

Government information published in 2026 reported that approximately one in three property transactions fail, with buyers and sellers losing around £400 million a year in wasted costs.

Simple explanation: Home Buyer Protection Insurance may reimburse certain conveyancing, survey, valuation, mortgage and related costs if your property purchase fails because of an event specifically covered by the policy.

Important: This insurance does not guarantee that your purchase will complete and does not cover every reason a transaction may fail. Always read the current Insurance Product Information Document, full policy wording and policy schedule before purchasing.

What Is Home Buyer Protection Insurance?

Home Buyer Protection Insurance, sometimes called Home Buyers Insurance, House Purchase Protection Insurance or Gazumping Insurance, is designed to protect some of the upfront costs of buying a property.

Depending on the policy selected, eligible costs may include:

Conveyancing or solicitor fees.
House survey and mortgage valuation fees.
Mortgage arrangement or lender fees.
Mortgage broker fees under higher cover levels.
Temporary accommodation and storage costs under higher cover levels.

The policy only responds when the transaction fails because of a listed insured event and all eligibility requirements, conditions and claim rules have been satisfied.

It is not the same as buildings insurance, contents insurance, life insurance, mortgage payment protection or a structural warranty.

Why Do Property Purchases Fall Through?

Many failed home purchases are caused by events that appear after an offer has been accepted.

Common cause	Possible effect on the buyer
Seller changes their mind	The property is withdrawn after the buyer has paid legal or survey fees.
Gazumping	The seller accepts a higher offer from another buyer.
Low mortgage valuation	The lender values the property substantially below the accepted price.
Serious property condition problem	The lender may require expensive repairs or retain part of the mortgage.
Legal ownership problem	The seller may not be legally entitled to transfer the property.
Compulsory purchase order	A local authority search reveals that the property is affected.
Damage before completion	Fire, flooding or another incident makes the purchase unsuitable.
Employment or personal event	Qualifying redundancy, relocation, death or terminal illness prevents the purchase.
Property-chain collapse	A connected buyer or seller cannot continue, although not every chain failure is insured.

Common misunderstanding: A transaction falling through does not automatically create a valid insurance claim. The reason for the failure must match an insured event stated in the policy.

Who Could Consider Home Buyers Insurance?

First-time buyers paying legal, survey and mortgage costs for the first time.
Home movers buying and selling within a property chain.
Second-home buyers.
Buy-to-let investors, subject to the provider’s current eligibility rules.
Buyers in competitive areas where gazumping is more likely.
Buyers paying substantial non-refundable mortgage, broker or survey fees.
Buyers who would struggle to repeat those costs if their first purchase failed.

Insurance may be less valuable where most professional fees are refundable, covered by a no-completion-no-fee arrangement or protected under another policy. Buyers should compare the premium with the costs genuinely at risk.

Rhino Home Protect Policy Costs and Cover Limits

The following figures were checked against Rhino Home Protect’s public product information on 12 July 2026. They differ from older HomeOwners Alliance partner prices of £74, £149 and £199.

Rhino’s current direct public prices are £79, £154 and £209. A future ADVAITH HOMES partnership or affiliate price may be different, so this table should be checked again before publication and whenever the provider changes its products.

Protection	Essential	Premium	Premium Plus
Current direct price	£79	£154	£209
Conveyancing fees	Up to £750	Up to £1,500	Up to £2,000
Survey and valuation fees	Up to £500	Up to £750	Up to £1,000
Mortgage lender fees	Up to £250	Up to £250	Up to £350
Accommodation and storage	Not included	Up to £300	Up to £300
Mortgage broker fees	Not included	Up to £200	Up to £350
Gazumping protection	Included	Included	Included
Policy period	120 days	180 days	180 days
Policy excess	No excess	No excess	No excess
VAT on insured fees	Included within limits	Included within limits	Included within limits

No excess does not mean unlimited reimbursement: Eligible costs may be reimbursed without deducting an excess, but only up to the applicable policy limit and subject to the policy terms.

Which Cover Level Might Be Suitable?

Essential Property Protection

This may suit buyers with relatively modest conveyancing and survey fees who expect the transaction to complete within 120 days. Buyers should consider whether 120 days is realistic, particularly for leasehold properties, long chains or complicated legal titles.

Premium Property Protection

This provides higher conveyancing and survey limits, 180 days of cover and additional protection for eligible mortgage broker, accommodation and storage costs.

Premium Plus Property Protection

This provides the highest stated limits and may be more suitable where professional fees are expensive, a detailed building survey is planned or the buyer is paying a mortgage broker.

Before choosing: Obtain written quotations from your conveyancer, surveyor, lender and mortgage broker. Compare the actual amounts at risk with each policy limit rather than choosing only by property price.

When Could Rhino Home Buyer Protection Pay?

Subject to the full policy terms, Rhino’s published policy wording identifies insured events including:

The seller withdraws the property from sale for reasons beyond the buyer’s control.
The seller accepts another offer that is at least £1,000 higher than the buyer’s previously accepted offer.
A local authority search reveals that the property is subject to a compulsory purchase order.
The seller is not legally entitled to sell or transfer the property.
The buyer or joint buyer dies and the survivor cannot or does not wish to continue.
A qualifying buyer receives notice of redundancy or qualifying employment relocation.
The buyer is diagnosed with a terminal illness and cannot or does not wish to continue.
The initial mortgage valuation is less than 90% of the accepted offer.
The lender requires repairs costing more than 10% of the accepted offer before releasing funds.
The lender retains more than 10% of the accepted offer from the mortgage advance.
The property is damaged during the policy period and repairs exceed 10% of its value.

The event must occur during the policy period and result in the purchase failing. Evidence will normally be required.

How Does Gazumping Protection Work?

Gazumping happens when a seller accepts an offer from one buyer but later accepts a higher offer from somebody else before exchange of contracts.

Under the published Rhino wording, the competing offer must be at least £1,000 higher than the buyer’s accepted offer. The insurance may then reimburse eligible costs within the selected limits.

Buyers may need evidence from the seller, estate agent or legal representatives confirming why the transaction ended. A buyer should not assume that every unexplained seller withdrawal will automatically be recorded as gazumping.

When Should You Buy the Policy?

Timing is one of the most important eligibility conditions.

Obtain written acceptance of your formal offer from the seller or their representative.
Purchase the policy before, or within 14 days of, submitting your mortgage application or formally instructing your conveyancer, whichever happens first.
Purchase the policy before a survey has been carried out.
Do not assume that expenses paid before the policy start date will be reimbursed.

Practical recommendation: Consider the insurance immediately after receiving the memorandum of sale and before ordering a house survey or incurring substantial non-refundable costs.

A mortgage agreement in principle is normally different from submitting a full mortgage application, but buyers should confirm their timing directly with the provider.

Eligibility Requirements Buyers Should Check

The current Standard Insurance Product Information Document states that:

The policyholder must be over 18.
The property must be a permanently constructed residential property.
The property must be in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
A solicitor or licensed conveyancer must conduct the conveyancing.
No survey must have been carried out before the policy starts.
The purchase must not be subject to a contract race or sealed bids.

Rhino’s public website also states that auction purchases are not covered. Buyers considering new builds, repossessions, buy-to-let properties, company purchases, best-and-final-offer sales or unusual property types should obtain written confirmation of eligibility before paying.

Territory warning: Although some marketing wording refers generally to UK purchases, the available Insurance Product Information Document specifies England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Check the current policy if purchasing in Scotland.

What Is Usually Not Covered?

Important published exclusions include:

Costs incurred before the policy start date.
Withdrawing because the buyer simply changes their mind.
A break in the property chain below the buyer.
A known problem or circumstance that could reasonably lead to a claim.
A relevant previous survey carried out within 90 days before the start date where the buyer knows it may cause the purchase to fail.
Deliberately causing delay or behaving unreasonably so that the purchase fails.
Making a reduced offer that leads to the purchase failing.
Costs that can be refunded, paid by an employer or claimed under another insurance policy.
Legal or other costs connected with the property the policyholder is selling.
Voluntary redundancy and certain redundancy involving self-employed buyers, company directors or business partners.
Mortgage broker fees where the mortgage is used to purchase a different property.

The policy protects stated professional expenses. It does not normally insure the purchase deposit, moving disappointment, lost property value or every financial consequence of a failed transaction.

Does a Bad Survey Automatically Create a Claim?

No. This is one of the most important limitations for buyers to understand.

A survey that reveals damp, roof defects, subsidence, asbestos or expensive repairs does not automatically mean the buyer can withdraw and recover all costs.

Published cover may apply where:

The lender’s initial valuation is below 90% of the accepted offer.
The lender requires rectification work costing more than 10% of the accepted offer.
The lender applies a mortgage retention exceeding 10% of the accepted offer.

If the buyer reduces their offer after receiving a survey and that reduced offer causes the transaction to fail, the published policy wording excludes those costs.

Survey precaution: Do not describe this insurance as general protection against every bad survey. The lender-related thresholds and exact reason for the failed purchase matter.

Common Home Buyer Insurance Problems and Solutions

Problem	Practical solution
The buyer purchases too late	Check cover immediately after written offer acceptance.
A survey has already been completed	Do not assume eligibility; contact the provider before purchasing.
The buyer assumes every failure is covered	Read the insured-event list and exclusions before paying.
Professional fees exceed policy limits	Compare quotations with each cover level.
The transaction takes longer than the policy period	Select an appropriate duration at the outset and monitor the expiry date.
The buyer cannot prove their expenditure	Keep invoices, receipts, bank evidence and professional correspondence.
The buyer delays reporting a potential claim	Notify the claims team immediately and follow the policy deadline.
The buyer relies only on marketing summaries	Read the IPID, full policy wording and personal policy schedule.

How to Make a Home Buyer Protection Claim

Contact the insurer or claims administrator immediately after becoming aware of an event that may cause a claim.
Quote the policy number and explain why the transaction failed.
Obtain and return the claim form within the required deadline. The current IPID says to obtain it no later than 30 days after the event.
Provide the memorandum of sale and evidence of the accepted offer.
Provide the conveyancer’s confirmation explaining why the purchase failed.
Submit invoices, receipts and proof that the fees were paid.
Provide evidence supporting the insured event, such as an estate-agent letter, valuation, lender decision or redundancy notice.
Identify any refunds or payments available from another source.

The policyholder should continue to follow the insurer’s instructions and should not exaggerate or withhold relevant information.

Home Buyer Protection vs Other Property Insurance

Insurance type	What it generally protects
Home Buyer Protection Insurance	Eligible upfront buying costs when a purchase fails because of a covered event.
Buildings insurance	The structure of the property against insured risks such as fire or flooding.
Contents insurance	Personal belongings against insured loss, theft or damage.
Mortgage payment protection	Mortgage repayments following certain income-related events.
New-build warranty	Specified structural defects affecting a recently built home.

Home Buyer Protection normally ends when the first claim is made, the policy is cancelled, the purchase completes or the policy expiry date is reached, whichever happens first.

Is Home Buyer Protection Insurance Worth It?

There is no single answer for every buyer. The decision depends on the premium, the level of eligible expenditure, the property transaction and the buyer’s ability to absorb a financial loss.

It May Be Worth Considering When:

You are paying substantial non-refundable professional fees.
You are buying in a competitive market where gazumping is possible.
You are arranging an expensive building survey.
You would struggle to pay the same costs again for another property.
The cover limits closely match your expected expenditure.

It May Offer Less Value When:

Your conveyancer provides comprehensive no-completion-no-fee protection.
Your main costs are refundable.
Your greatest concern is a chain collapse that the policy excludes.
Your survey has already taken place.
The likely reason for withdrawal would not be an insured event.
Your transaction is not eligible under the policy rules.

Balanced recommendation: Compare the premium with the eligible costs genuinely at risk. Do not buy solely because a transaction might fail; buy only after understanding which reasons for failure are covered.

Final Buyer Checklist

☐ My offer has been accepted in writing.

☐ I am still within the permitted purchase window.

☐ No survey has been carried out.

☐ My property and purchase type are eligible.

☐ I have compared my legal, survey, lender and broker fees with the limits.

☐ The policy duration is realistic for my transaction.

☐ I understand the insured events and exclusions.

☐ I understand that an ordinary chain failure may not be covered.

☐ I understand that changing my mind is not covered.

☐ I have read the IPID, full policy wording and policy schedule.

☐ I know how and when to report a possible claim.

Final Note

Home Buyer Protection Insurance can provide useful peace of mind, particularly when a buyer is spending significant money before exchange of contracts. However, it is protection against specified events, not a promise that every failed purchase will result in reimbursement.

Buy early enough, choose limits that reflect your actual costs, keep evidence of every payment and understand the exclusions before relying on the cover.

Key takeaway: The most important question is not simply, “Can my purchase fall through?” It is, “If it falls through, would the reason and my expenses be covered by this particular policy?”

Home Buyer Protection Insurance