Home renovators – are you one of the incorrectly insured 82%?

Worryingly, an estimated 82% of homeowners are completely unaware their home insurance doesn’t cover them during renovation works*. 

When Things Go Wrong

Carrying out renovation work on your property comes with risks and it’s important to manage and control these in order to protect your assets and liabilities. Whilst there are many aspects of a renovation project to consider, the one area that can often get overlooked is insurance. 

Each insurer has their own works threshold and if your contract value is above this amount (which varies from insurer to insurer), they will need to review the policy terms or a specialist works policy may be required. Otherwise, there will be no cover in force for the existing structure and you may not have suitable cover in place in respect of the contract works and liabilities sections. 

If you’ve never suffered a huge loss before you may think that this will never happen to you. But the consequences of a loss could be catastrophic. 

A property undergoing extensive renovation works in Kensington caught fire in the early hours of the morning with contractors on site. It was fuelled by debris and rubbish stored on the lower floors ready for collection and was impossible to put out. This caused extensive damage, with no roof or internal structure left to the property. The salvage work was very expensive because of the location and also because the front façade had to be retained, due to the property’s listed status and area restrictions. Overall, the claim equalled £4 million.

How can I protect myself?

Whilst risk cannot be avoided, it can be mitigated by ensuring you have the correct cover in force. Here at R K Harrison, we have the knowledge and expertise to provide advice on this type of cover, as well as access to specialist renovation policies. 

It’s also important to understand that whilst your contractor may have cover for the contract works, you may not be able to rely on this. For example, particular JCT clauses may make you responsible for insuring the works or their cover may not be suitable, with restrictions and clauses that you may not be aware of. This is where we can provide advice on a specialist renovation product that makes sure you are fully protected. 

We appreciate that renovation works can be costly but it is important to talk to us as soon as possible so that you can factor the cost of insurance into your budget. R K Harrison prides itself on independent advice and a hands-on claims approach so you can be assured that we have your interests at the heart of everything we do.

* (source: Renovation Insurance)