Insurance options to consider if you are refurbishing your property - Guest article from Rachel Ewing at Stackhouse Poland

by Aaron Strutt

Nov 10 2018

Guest article from Rachel Ewing at specialist insurance broker Stackhouse Poland.

If you are planning to carry out major building works at your property, you need to think about the works from an insurance perspective.

• Have you informed your buildings insurance company? Most policies state within their wording you need to inform your insurer should you enter into any works. Without doing so, your policy may be invalid in the event of a claim.
• Are you going to leave the property during the works? Most insurers avoid covering properties while they are unoccupied or apply major exclusions to the insurance cover.
• Say you are spending £150,000 or £1,000,000+ on the works, who is insuring this should something happen halfway through or towards the end of the project?

What insurance cover should you take out?

• Buildings Insurance: An insurance policy that covers the financial cost of repairing damage to the physical structure of a property in the event of damage or loss.
• Contractors All Risk Insurance: A non-standard insurance policy that insures the materials, fixtures and fittings used in the course of the building works at the home.
• Public Liability Insurance: Public liability insurance covers the cost of legal action and compensation claims made against your business if a third party is injured or their property suffers damage while at your business premises or when you are working in their home, office or business property.
• Non-Negligence Insurance: This policy protects against expenses, liability, loss, claim or proceedings which may sustain because of injury or damage to any property caused by subsidence, heave, collapse, vibration, removal or weakening of support or lowering of groundwater arising out of the building works.

During the works, you can obtain an All-Risks buildings policy, which will offer you the best coverage possible. To do so, you are best using a broker to provide you with accurate advice, and that can obtain the best policy terms available.

Don’t just be reliant on your builder/contractors insurance, dependent on the contract you have signed; you may be liable for insuring the building works yourself or in joint names. By insuring the works, yourself you will avoid potential gaps in cover and grey areas.

All these insurances can be arranged under one policy through a specialist insurance broker.