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Non-standard & hard-to-place
If an insurer has refused you, cancelled your policy, or your business has a CCJ or a run of claims, you have a non-standard risk — not an uninsurable one. These cases rarely fit an online form or an automated quote, but they can almost always be placed when the risk is presented properly and disclosed in full. This page explains what “hard-to-place” really means, the four situations we see most, and the one rule that runs through all of them.
Part of: Commercial insurance at Apex
In short
Non-standard or hard-to-place business insurance covers risks that standard online channels and automated quotes tend to decline — most commonly a business that has been refused cover, had a policy cancelled or not renewed, carries a County Court Judgment or poor credit, or has a difficult claims history. None of these makes a business uninsurable; they make it a risk that needs presenting to an insurer with the right appetite, usually through a specialist broker. The single rule that runs through every hard-to-place case is disclosure: under the Insurance Act 2015 duty of fair presentation, you must declare a past refusal, cancellation, CCJ or claim on every application, or the insurer can void the policy and refuse a claim. Handled openly, a non-standard risk can usually be placed on workable terms; concealed, even an ordinary risk becomes a cover that collapses when you need it.
Refused, cancelled, a CCJ or a claims history? Send us the details — we’ll tell you where it can be placed. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Get a quote Call 0117 325 0027In the insurance market, a standard risk is one an insurer can accept on its normal terms, often automatically: a conventional trade, a conventional building, no adverse history. A non-standard or hard-to-place risk is simply one that falls outside that automated box — not because it is dangerous, but because it has a feature an ordinary scheme is not set up to handle.
That feature might be the business’s history (a past refusal, a cancellation, a CCJ, a claims record), the trade itself (unusual or higher-hazard work), or the property (non-standard construction, a listed building, a flood-prone address). The common experience is the same: the comparison site declines, the renewal invitation does not arrive, or the quote comes back with terms that do not fit.
The important thing to understand is that “hard-to-place” describes the route to cover, not the availability of it. These risks are the everyday work of the specialist market. They need a human underwriter, a proper presentation and, usually, a broker who knows which insurers actively want the business — but the cover is almost always there.
Most hard-to-place enquiries fall into one of four situations. Each has its own page explaining what is really going on and what to do next.
| Your situation | What it means, and where to start |
|---|---|
| You’ve been refused or declined cover | A decline reflects one insurer’s appetite, not a market-wide verdict. The same risk can usually be placed with an insurer that specialises in it — and the refusal must now be disclosed. |
| Your insurer cancelled or won’t renew | A mid-term cancellation is more serious than a non-renewal, but both are workable. Act before cover ends, get the reason in writing, and disclose it on every future proposal. |
| You have a CCJ or poor credit | A CCJ mainly affects access to monthly premium finance, not whether cover is possible. Paying annually often sidesteps it — but an undisclosed CCJ can void a policy. |
| You have a poor or recent claims history | Claims shape your terms and excess, not whether you can be insured. A clear claims narrative — what happened and what has changed — turns a difficult record into an acceptable risk. |
Many businesses arrive with more than one of these at once — a claim that led to a non-renewal, or a CCJ alongside a previous refusal. They compound, but they do not close the door; they simply make a proper, broker-led presentation more important.
Want a hard-to-place risk looked at by a specialist? Or call 0117 325 0027.
Get a quote Call 0117 325 0027Whatever the situation, the same legal duty decides whether your cover will actually respond when you claim. Under the Insurance Act 2015, a business buying commercial insurance owes a duty of fair presentation: you must disclose every material fact an insurer would want to know, clearly and accurately.
For a hard-to-place risk, that means declaring — on every application, with no time limit — a past refusal or declinature, a cancelled or non-renewed policy, a CCJ or insolvency event, and your full claims history, including open claims and incidents that have not yet become claims. Almost every proposal form asks about these directly, which makes the answer non-negotiable.
Here is the point that matters most: the history is rarely what stops you getting cover — concealing it is. If you leave out a material fact, the insurer can void the policy from inception, treat it as if it never existed, and refuse a claim you are relying on, potentially a six-figure liability or property loss. A difficult history, disclosed and explained, is something the market works with every day. The same history hidden is a fault line under every policy you hold.
A non-standard risk is rarely a job for a price-comparison website, which tends to decline the moment an adverse box is ticked. It is the core work of a specialist commercial broker, who does three things a direct applicant cannot easily do.
No broker can promise acceptance, and an honest one will never try. But for the four situations on this page, replacement or first-time cover can usually be arranged when the risk is presented in full to a market with the appetite for it. That combination — the right insurer, a proper presentation and full disclosure — is what turns a hard-to-place risk back into an insured one.
A non-standard or high-value commercial risk is advice-led. A specialist broker searches the market rather than one insurer’s panel, presents the risk properly — which matters under the Insurance Act 2015 duty of fair presentation — and gets the details that decide a claim right. Buying a packaged policy direct can be fine for a simple, standard risk; for the risks on this page it rarely is.
Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent commercial insurance broker established in 2009 and based in Bristol, owned entirely by its directors and directly authorised by the FCA since 2016. We are not tied to any single insurer or scheme, we do not run our own policy or underwriting, and we have no placement quotas. We have access to over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s syndicates via wholesale, which is what lets us place a non-standard, high-value or hard-to-place risk that a packaged insurer might decline. We usually return three or four competing quotes set out so you can compare them like for like, every client has a named broker from first quote to renewal, and every claim gets director-level attention rather than a call-centre queue.
It is cover for a risk that falls outside insurers’ automated, standard terms — typically because of a past refusal or cancellation, a CCJ or poor credit, a difficult claims history, an unusual trade, or non-standard property. The cover is almost always available; it just needs a specialist market and a proper presentation rather than an online quote.
Usually, yes. A decline reflects one insurer’s appetite, not an industry verdict, and a specialist broker can approach insurers who actively want the risk another declined. You must disclose the previous refusals, but disclosed and explained, they rarely prevent cover being arranged.
No, though it makes a broker-led presentation more important. These factors compound but do not close the door. A specialist broker presents the whole picture — including what has changed — to a market that assesses difficult risks individually rather than auto-declining.
Automated and comparison channels are built for standard risks and tend to decline the moment an adverse answer is given, with no room for context. A non-standard risk needs a human underwriter and a full presentation, which is why it is placed through a specialist broker rather than an online form.
It is the legal duty, under the Insurance Act 2015, to disclose every material fact an insurer would want to know when assessing your risk — including past refusals, cancellations, CCJs and claims. Meeting it is what keeps your cover valid; breaching it lets the insurer void the policy and refuse claims.
It depends entirely on your circumstances, and premiums vary from one insurer to the next. A difficult history can affect the premium, the excess or the conditions — but a well-presented risk placed with an insurer that has appetite for it is often far more competitive than a business expects after being declined elsewhere.
Gather the facts — any refusal or cancellation letters, the reason in writing, your claims history and details of your trade and premises — and speak to a specialist broker before any existing cover ends. The sooner the risk is presented, the more markets can be approached in time.
Refused, cancelled, a CCJ or a claims history — tell us what happened and a specialist broker will present your risk honestly and in full to insurers who want it. Most non-standard risks can be placed when they are handled the right way. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Get a quote Call 0117 325 0027Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
