Bespoke insurance product provider, Ami Underwriting Managers, has introduced Guaranteed Value Cover, a new optional add-on designed to give homeowners greater flexibility in how they insure their properties. The offering sits alongside the traditional valuation-based approach, providing clients with an alternative way to structure their cover.

The core difference is simple: clients now have a choice.

According to Christelle Colman, Ami’s CEO and Founder, clients can still insure their homes based on a professional valuation but the new option allows them to pay an additional premium to remove the risk of reduced payouts on qualifying claims, without needing to obtain a valuation.

The problem clients face
Many homeowners only realise they are underinsured at the worst possible time - when they need to claim. If the insured value of a home does not match its true replacement cost, insurers apply the “average” principle, which can reduce the payout. This often comes as an unwelcome surprise and can leave clients out of pocket when they need support most. In the current market, reduced payouts due to underinsurance are common unless a professional valuation has been done and regularly updated.

What Ami is changing
Colman stresses that the traditional approach remains in place. “Clients who prefer to insure based on a valuation can continue to do so. What we are introducing is an alternative,” she says.

The Guaranteed Value Cover add-on is available per insured address and is priced according to the insured value band of the property. It is added as an additional premium.

Colman notes that the cover does not increase the sum insured, meaning total loss claims remain capped at the insured value.

A practical, client-focused option

“Clients don’t expect reduced payouts and they don’t always want to go through processes they may not need,” says Colman. “This provides a straightforward alternative alongside the traditional valuation route.”

The intention, she says, is to give clients and brokers flexibility to choose the approach that works best for them, whether that is the certainty of a professional valuation or a simpler, premium-based option.

Both approaches remain available. The difference is that clients can now decide which suits their needs.

Ami’s aim is to provide insurance that is accessible, easy to understand and responsive to the realities clients face while still ensuring they are adequately covered at claim stage.