Renovation insurance

What is home renovation insurance?

From painting the walls and refitting your kitchen, to extending the house to build that study you’ve always wanted, renovations insurance protects your property when you’re carrying out work on your home.  If anything, bad were to happen, like a collapsed wall, a serious fire or a theft, renovation insurance would cover the costs incurred.

Will my home insurance policy cover renovations?

It depends on the level of work, but most home insurance policies only cover redecoration and DIY. To make sure you are covered while you make renovations, you should contact your home insurance provider before you begin.

Depending on the work taking place there might be different restrictions placed on your cover. Your insurer may say no changes are needed and be happy for you to proceed, but it’s a good idea to check and make sure. This is even more important if your building is listed as listed buildings often require specialist materials or techniques for repair and renovation work, which can be expensive or hard to source.

What renovations are not covered by my home insurance?

Most standard home insurance policies will not cover major renovation works, because they increase the chances of something going wrong and you needing to make a claim.

You usually need separate cover for:

• Accidental damage to your building and contents
• Theft of your contents and building materials
• Personal accidents
• Legal cover if you have any problems with a construction company completing a job

Ask your existing home insurer if they can cover the work before you start. If they cannot, find a policy that can insure your house during renovation projects.

What will my insurance provider want to know?

Once you’ve told your provider about the work you have planned, they will ask you some questions to help work out what level of extra risk, if any, the work poses to your home.

Your insurer’s questions may cover the following:

• The cost of the work
• How long it will take
• Whether the property will be unoccupied while the work is being carried out
• The name of any builders or contractors you’re hiring, or whether you’re doing the work yourself
• Whether the contractors you hire have public liability insurance

Do I need renovation insurance?

If your insurer is unable to cover major renovations to your home, it’s a good idea to take out specialist renovation insurance. This type of insurance policy should cover you for:

• Damage to your building and contents during renovations
• Theft of your contents and building materials
• Personal accidents
• The property being unoccupied for more than 30 or 60 days
• Building materials and equipment kept at the property

Once the work has been completed, most renovation insurance policies can continue to cover your home, but you could get a better policy by comparing standard home insurance.

Will my home insurance premium go up?

This depends on what work you are having done. An extension for example, where you are adding extra rooms, fixtures and fittings, may increase your premium as the cost to rebuild in event of a claim would likely be more.

If your premium increases dramatically or your provider won’t cover you, you can compare quotes through MoneySuperMarket to look for a good deal while the building work is taking place.

Compare home insurance

If you’re looking for a home insurance policy to cover your home improvements, you can use MoneySuperMarket’s home insurance comparison tool to search for the level of cover that’s most suitable for you and compare quotes from a variety of providers.

It’s important to remember that the cheapest deals are by no means the best when you’re considering policy quotes. Always make sure you check any policy documents carefully before taking cover out, as you’ll be able to see exactly what’s included in each deal.

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