The builders are in to carry out some long-awaited renovations to your home. But in all the excitement to get the job finally done, are you at risk of overlooking a potentially critical insurance gap?
Any work likely to affect the structural integrity of the building clearly carries risks. Yet these may also come at a time when your home or a property you let is temporarily unoccupied – with only the builders at work during the day – an occasion when most insurers may regard your existing cover as inadequate or having lapsed entirely.
This typically comes after your home has been unoccupied for longer than 30 to 45 consecutive days – the exact interval varying from one insurer to another.
Your current home insurer is likely to be concerned about several main sources of increased risk during the renovations:
- although the builders may be there most days, your home remains empty at night and when they’re not there, so the property is effectively unoccupied – and an empty property is more vulnerable to loss or damage than one that is continuously occupied;
- many types of building work – including renovations – may impact the structural integrity of your home; and
- while the work is in progress, you will likely have on-site materials and equipment you bought that are more vulnerable to theft or damage.
Renovation insurance
To fill that potentially very expensive gap, you are likely to need standalone cover that is appropriately named renovation insurance/property undergoing works.
This is typically a form of unoccupied property insurance cover specifically designed to cover the period while renovation works are in progress and the property has no one living in it. The renovation insurance policy may be flexible in terms of how long it runs for – such as for 3, 6 or 9 months.
What is renovation insurance/insurance for properties undergoing works while unoccupied?
Renovation insurance is a specialised type of insurance designed to protect properties undergoing renovation, construction, or refurbishment work. Standard home or landlord insurance policies often do not cover the increased risks associated with renovation projects, such as damage to the structure, theft of building materials, or accidents involving contractors.
Renovation insurance may be tailored to ensure that new building works and any impact they may have on the structural integrity of your home are protected against the risks of loss or damage to the building.
Typically it may also provide cover against the risk of theft, loss or damage to building materials, plant, or equipment you may have bought or hired for the building works. This may also extend to indemnity for your public liability for third parties who are injured or have their property damaged as a result of the renovation works.
Won’t the builders have their own insurance?
Yes, they should have contractor insurance. This is something you will want to leave in the proper hands of your contractor – who will need to arrange their own cover to protect against any liability claims related to the renovation work.
When all is done
You’ll be glad, of course, when the renovation works are successfully completed, the builders have packed up and moved on, and you can safely call an end to any unoccupied property insurance and renovation insurance.
Nevertheless, there remains one final gap you will want to plug. The renovation works are almost certain to have increased the capital value of your home. Following a re-evaluation, therefore, you will want to check whether you need to update the total building sum insured of your regular home or landlord insurance.
