Property renovation insurance for works, extensions and refurbishment. Quotes for home renovation insurance, extension, structural work and major works insurance.

If you plan to carry out renovations to your property for which you need to move out of the premises for a time, you need to carefully consider the implications on your insurance during renovation. Prior to any works commencing you need to disclose the works that you are proposing to your insurer, who will either agree to arrange suitable property renovation insurance cover for you, or far more likely, they will impose limitations on your policy. The usual response from an insurer when you tell them of your renovation plans is to either restrict the insurance policy so you have so little cover it is hardly worth having, or they will cancel the policy.

You will therefore need to arrange for a quote for specialist property insurance for renovations, major works and extensions to your property.

Renovation insurance during building works from Bickers Insurance Services

We offer renovation insurance policies for a variety of situations over the entire duration of the work. Whether you are planning a build, part way through it, or finishing off the decorating and looking for a future tenant, we can help. 

We can cater for most types of work from adapting property for your special needs, such as widening doorways for a wheelchair for less abled people or for the elderly and loft extensions, through to complete property renovations or building an underground cinema or swimming pool being built.  

Depending on the extent of the work we can generally offer you comprehensive cover for the majority of the duration of works, with cover restricted only during parts of the build where the liability for certain events should be passed to the contractors doing the work (you wouldn’t want to have to pay for mistakes made by your builder for example – he should have his own cover for that). You need to be willing to keep us informed at various stages of the work so that we can ensure that you have the maximum cover possible throughout the project.

Plan your cover

Choosing your builder 

• Do ensure that you check your builder’s insurance arrangements. He might need:
• Public Liability Insurance
• Employers Liability Insurance
• Contract Works Insurance
• Contractors All risks Insurance 
• Professional Indemnity Insurance (if he has also carried out design work for you)

Keep your contents safe

• Contact your contents insurer
• Move valuables to a safe location
• Discuss site security with your builder
• Don’t risk invalidating your buildings insurance
• Speak to your insurer
• If they don’t give you the cover you need, Speak to us! 

Advice for householders planning works

Do I need to tell my household insurer?

A large number of householders don’t think to advise their insurers when they arrange for works on their properties. It is essential that you tell your insurers about the renovation works before any works commence. Failure to do so could lead to your policy being cancelled by them due to non-disclosure as the risk has altered from the description you gave them when you took out the policy. Any claim, regardless of its cause or nature could then be declined. It is essential to have cover for your property when you are carrying out works and in cases where an existing household insurer won’t continue to cover the property, alternative cover can be arranged with a few specialist insurers. 

Cover for the building contractors

Before you engage the services of a building contractor you need to ensure that they hold adequate insurance to cover their activities. It is not good enough to agree that if anything happens then you claim it on the house insurance. Home insurance policies will generally exclude damage arising from the activities of contractors working on the property. Furthermore, the insurers won’t give you the authority to make agreements regarding liability on their behalf. 

A building contractor should have cover for Public and Employers Liability insurance at the least. You should also consider whether his Public Liability limit of indemnity is adequate. You should be aware that as well as being enough to rebuild your house should a disaster occur, it would also have to cover the cost of alternative accommodation for you and your family and potentially for any injuries sustained by other people. This is why many builders will carry insurance of several million pounds.

Builders will often have Contractors All Risks insurance policy which covers the part of the property they are responsible for during the period of the works until sign off has been completed. For example, if a delivery of copper pipe for the plumbing is delivered to site but not fitted to the building, intruders steal it that night, this is a claim under the builders contractors all risks insurance policy, not your own home insurance. In another example, builders have spent a day constructing a wall to your extension. Youngsters visit the site during the evening a push over the new wall. The bricks need to be replaced, the wall needs to be rebuilt and your neighbour is claiming damages as her ornamental garden features were damaged by the debris. These are the responsibility of the building contractor and can be covered either by the contractors all risks insurance or the public liability insurance.

Forcible & Violent entry

When workmen are at your property you may have a ‘visible signs’ clause applied to your home insurance policy. This means that for a theft to be covered, there must visible evidence of forced entry or exit from the premises. In other words the insurer is not going to pay for your mistakes if you decide to hire a builder who either employs thieves or leaves the property insecure! You should consider that it is your own responsibility to whom you give access to your home. If you have anything in your property that is particularly valuable you may consider placing it in an alternative secure location or a bank safe for the duration of the work. This would usually be covered by your existing contents insurance policy (speak to your contents insurer).

Consider equally that during the period of the works you may be off site for periods of time. Your doors and windows may be open for ventilation and the builder may not be able to keep a close watch on security. Intruders may enter the property during the day whilst the builders are on site so it is preferable to discuss site security with the builder and have a security plan agreed. 

About the advice on this page
Please note that the information given in this factsheet has been provided on a general basis and as such may not reflect your individual circumstances. We therefore do not recommend that you act on any information contained in this document without first assessing your own situation and requirements and taking specific advice where necessary.