The home improvements you need to tell your insurer about (and the ones you don’t)

You’ll need to tell your insurer about any changes or alterations you’re planning on making to the structure of your home. Things like extending a room, adding a conservatory or doing a loft conversion. 

Your insurer doesn’t need to know about cosmetic changes to the interior of your home, like painting the walls, re-tiling your bathroom or putting up some shelves. 

The rules around what home improvements you need to disclose to your insurer may seem straightforward enough. But why is it so important – and why do you need to inform them before work starts? It’s more than a box ticking exercise, as Jonathan Cracknell, Home Underwriting Manager at Aviva, explains. 

“If you plan to carry out any structural works to your property you should inform your insurer to check that the work you’re doing won’t invalidate your policy, and to check that you have sufficient cover in place”, says Jonathan. “Altering the structure of the home could impact your cover.”

“For example, building an extension or adding rooms to a property could involve you having to temporarily move out of the home, having regular workers and building materials on site, or leaving and some parts of the property exposed to the elements whilst the work is ongoing. It may also change the original value and sum insured you have the home insured for.”

Your home insurance premium may increase to reflect the changes to your home, but you'll have peace of mind knowing you have the cover you need.

“If you intend to make any alterations or renovations to your property, or perhaps even carry out some basic redecorating at home then it’s important to consider your insurance cover and what is and isn’t included”, says Jonathan. 

It’s worth noting that most home insurance policies exclude accidental damage as a result of buildings alterations, renovations, extensions or repairs. So if your property is damaged due to building work, your buildings insurance is unlikely to pay out. 

However, there are a few simple things you can do to help protect yourself and your home while building work is taking place. 

Check your contents insurance policy

Check whether your contents insurance includes accidental damage cover, as this can provide protection for belongings damaged by unexpected mishaps. 

Consider adding on legal cover

Thinking about potential disagreements with your neighbours isn’t pleasant, but building work has a habit of turning even the most civil of relations sour – and it’s not unheard of for disputes to end up in court.

If you’re planning significant building work, it could be worth looking into whether you can add legal protection to your home insurance policy. If you’ve added legal cover to your policy and your situation is covered, we’ll arrange for you to discuss your case with a third-party lawyer. If they believe you’ve got a reasonable chance of winning, we’ll pay for them to represent you up to the amount on your schedule.

Keep in mind we won’t cover old or existing disputes that started before you took your cover out, claims relating to town and country planning legislation and claims relating to land works/extraction (like quarrying, gas or mineral) where the effect is not limited to your home. Read more about our legal services cover.

Make sure your builder is insured

Since standard home insurance policies don’t normally cover significant building work, it’s so important to check that whoever is doing your building work does have their own liability insurance. 

“Most professionals should have their own insurance to cover the work they are conducting and any resulting damage”, says Jonathan. "And it’ll usually cover any damage done to your neighbours’ properties as a result of the building work, too – so it’s definitely worth checking it’s in place."