Insurance for building works & home renovations

If you are carrying out renovation works on your home, you may need specific insurance to protect it. Here are some key points to consider when preparing for your building works and home renovations.

What is building works insurance?

Building works (also known as home renovation or building renovation) insurance provides cover in case something was to go wrong whilst carrying out building works at your property. This could be anything from refitting your kitchen to extending your house or building a home gym. Building works insurance will usually provide cover you for:

• Damage to your building and contents
• Theft of your contents
• Personal accidents
• The property being unoccupied for more than 30 or 60 days
• Building materials and equipment kept at the property
• Legal cover if you have any problems with a construction company completing a job

Will my home insurance policy cover building works or renovations?

The answer to this is usually not!

If the work is substantial, many standard household insurance contracts will want to stop cover as soon as you begin renovating.

This is because the risk of something unexpected happening to your home and its contents increases considerably when work is taking place. It is best practice to discuss options with your insurance broker prior to starting your project and seek a specialist insurance policy if necessary.

It is important that you have the correct insurance in place before starting any works otherwise you may find yourself uninsured.

My contractor says he has insurance in place for the project, will this cover me as well?

This type of cover will not be sufficient enough. Your contractor’s insurance policy will not cover the existing structure and will not provide cover specific perils such as flood, storm or subsidence.

Do I need a project manager?

When considering major building works on your home, we advise that you use an experienced project manager to oversee the work being done – particularly for contracts that exceed £150,000 in value. Project managers have a lot of experience in managing building contracts and will be able to offer guidance to help you stay within budget and planned timescales as well as putting you in touch with various traders and contractors, giving you a further sense of confidence that the job will be completed correctly.

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