Are Renovations or Extensions to my home covered?
Renovations may or not be covered by our house insurance depending on whether it involves structural or cosmetic work.
Cosmetic Renovations
Cosmetic renovations with no structural changes to your house are covered, and you don’t need to disclose this.
Examples of cosmetic renovations include re-painting, installing new carpet or replacing a toilet. If you’re unsure if your works are cosmetic, send us an email to [email protected] with full details of the works.
Structural Changes
If your renovation involves any kind of structural alterations to the property, construction-related losses won’t be covered by your standard house insurance policy.
A Contract Works policy is required to insure the work and your home for construction related losses. This might include losses following water leaking in through exposed cladding or structural damage caused by the work itself. For our guide on when Contract Works cover is required, see here.
If you need contract works insurance, we’ve partnered with Builtin to offer you a suitable solution. Like initio, BuiltIn are underwritten by IAG so this means that you will have the same ultimate underwriter for the house and contract works risk, which is important.
Examples of structural changes include re-roofing, removing a load-bearing wall or an extension onto your home. If you’re doing structural work but you’re not sure if it’s structural, email [email protected] with full details of the works.