All too often major projects such as renovation can leave a property unprotected by existing insurance cover.
Not heard of renovation insurance? Then you might be surprised to know that buying this specific cover is the only way to truly ensure a property is protected when undergoing renovations.
It’s said that our home is our castle – and quite possibly, for many, it will be their most valuable asset. But if you undertake a renovation, it could put this incredible asset at a greater risk of damage or loss than ever before.
Many homeowners generally believe they are completely safe without renovation insurance or assume the project will be covered by existing insurance, which isn’t the case.
As a specialist private client insurance broker, we advise many of our clients on the importance of this cover. However, we often hear a few myths and assumptions in our conversations – which when we explain the reality, cause quite a surprise. Here’s what many homeowners think versus what’s really the case in terms of property protection.
#1: “My builder has insurance, so I’m protected”
Just because your builder has insurance, it does not mean it will cover you for problems that could occur with your specific project, or that their insurers will pay. Damage may occur to your home that is not the result of the builder’s negligence even though it is still caused by the renovations, so their insurance will not cover the resulting damage. And – although a builder’s liability policy should cover any damage to the property structure or works that result from builder negligence, it will not cover things like storm or theft damage, subsidence, flood, malicious damage and so on.
#2: “My home insurance will cover any damage to the building”
Insuring your property during a renovation project is a completely different proposition to insuring an occupied home. The insurers are effectively covering a building site rather than a domestic home, which is a much riskier proposition. Even when a home insurer notes that work is taking place and agrees to continue cover, they will have a specific exclusion that says, ‘any loss or damage relating to the works is excluded’. This means that your existing home could be damaged in various ways but your home insurer would not cover it, based on that exclusion. Also, consider that failing to disclose a building project would be considered non-disclosure of a material fact and would entitle the building insurer to decline a claim.
#3: “It’s unlikely anything serious will happen when I renovate, so why bother with the extra cost for additional insurance?”
Sadly, serious problems during renovations are not as rare as you might think – and if something goes wrong, then it can cost a lot of money to put it right. The cost of renovation insurance is proportionate to the risk you face when carrying out renovations.
If you need any further advice or want to explore becoming a C&C private client, we’d love to hear from you either by email or on 0161 406 4800.
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