In everyday use, renovating usually means restoring or updating a home, while remodelling means changing its layout, structure or size. Insurers rarely use either word to decide your cover. What they need to know is what the work involves, whether it is structural, how much it will cost, how long it will take, and whether you will live in the home while it is carried out.
Many home insurance policies restrict or exclude damage arising from building works, particularly structural works, so larger projects often need home renovation insurance arranged before work starts. This guide explains how insurers look at different types of project, what you need to tell them, and what a specialist works policy can cover.
Key Takeaways
- "Renovating" and "remodelling" are used loosely, and neither has a fixed meaning in insurance. Describe the work itself to your insurer.
- Tell your insurer about any planned building works before they start, with details of the scope, cost, duration and who is doing the work.
- Decorating and like-for-like replacement are often treated differently from structural work, extensions and basement excavation, but this depends on the policy.
- Larger or structural projects may need a specialist works policy covering the existing home and the new works together.
- Your contractor's insurance covers their liabilities, not your home. Check what they hold, and what your building contract says about insurance.
- Once the work is finished, update your sums insured to reflect the new rebuild cost and any new contents.
What Is the Difference Between Remodelling and Renovating?
In general use, the two words describe different kinds of project:
- Renovating usually means restoring or updating what is already there, such as redecorating, replacing a kitchen or bathroom like for like, rewiring or repairing a roof.
- Remodelling usually means changing the layout, structure, size or use of the home, such as knocking through walls, building an extension, converting a loft or digging out a basement.
"Remodelling" is more common in American English, and in the UK the same projects are usually described as alterations, extensions, conversions or refurbishment. The distinction is useful for planning a project, but it is not how an insurer decides what cover you need. Two projects described as a "renovation" can carry very different risks, depending on what the work actually involves.
How Insurers Look at Building Works
When you tell your insurer about planned works, they will usually want to understand:
- The nature of the work. Is it structural, such as removing load-bearing walls, underpinning, excavating or adding storeys, or is it cosmetic, such as painting, redecorating or like-for-like updates? What your policy covers can vary depending on the type and extent of the work taking place.
- The contract value. Many home policies allow minor works up to a set value, and require you to tell the insurer, or arrange separate cover, above that.
- The duration. A project lasting a few weeks is assessed differently from one lasting a year or more.
- Occupancy. Whether you will stay in the home, move out temporarily, or leave it empty for part of the works.
- Who is doing the work. A main contractor under a written contract, several trades you manage yourself, or your own work. Insurers may also ask for details of the builders and contractors involved.
- Hot work and security. Whether the work involves welding, roofing torches or other heat, and how the site and materials will be secured.
Based on the answers, your insurer may continue cover as it is, continue it with conditions or an additional premium, restrict some covers while the works are under way, or decline to cover the works. If they cannot cover the works, a specialist works policy is usually the next step.
Which Projects Usually Need Specialist Cover?
Every policy is different, so the following is a general guide rather than a rule.
Projects Your Existing Policy May Accept
Redecorating, painting, replacing a kitchen or bathroom without structural changes, new flooring, and small repairs are often within what a standard home insurance policy may allow, sometimes up to a set contract value. Even so, what the policy covers for minor works varies, so check with your insurer before starting if you are unsure. New fixtures and fittings may also increase your rebuild cost.
Projects That Often Need Specialist Cover
Structural and larger home renovations are more likely to need a separate works policy for building projects. In some cases, depending on the project, your insurer may be able to extend your existing cover instead. Projects that often need specialist cover include:
- Extensions and loft conversions
- Basement or cellar excavation
- Removing load-bearing walls or reconfiguring the layout
- Re-roofing or replacing roof structures
- Complete refurbishment, particularly if you move out
- Demolition and rebuilding
A works policy for a project like these can cover the existing structure and the new works together while the project is under way.
For high-value and period homes, the value of the existing structure is often far greater than the cost of the works, so how that structure is protected during the project matters as much as cover for the new work.
What You Need to Tell Your Insurer
Before work starts, insurers commonly ask about:
- The scope of the works and the expected contract value
- The start date and expected duration
- Whether you will live in the home during the works, and your temporary address if not
- Any change to the number of bedrooms or the use of rooms
- Contents moved into storage or to another address
- Changes to fire protection, alarms or security, including scaffolding
- Building materials stored on site before they are fitted
- Whether your building contract limits or removes your legal rights against the contractor
Tell your insurer as early as you can, ideally before you sign the building contract. If they are not told about works that affect the risk, a claim may be reduced or declined, depending on the policy terms and the circumstances. Telling them early gives them the chance to confirm cover, add terms or point you towards a specialist policy before the first trade arrives.
What Does Home Renovation Insurance Cover?
A specialist works policy is designed for the period while building work is under way and typically runs for the duration of the project. Depending on the policy chosen, it can cover:
- The existing structure of the home against insured events while the works are carried out, and accidental damage where included
- The new works as they progress, together with materials on site
- Your contents, including items in the home or in storage
- Your legal liability as the owner of the property, through property owners' liability cover, if someone is injured or a neighbour's property is damaged
- Alternative accommodation if the home cannot be lived in after damage from an insured event, such as fire or escape of water
- Malicious damage linked to attempted break-ins or forcible entry, where included by the policy
Flood cover can be restricted or excluded depending on the location of the home, so check what your policy includes.
Arranging the existing home and the new works on one policy can avoid disputes about whether damage falls under your home insurance or the contractor's cover, because one insurer deals with the claim on one basis of settlement.
Works policies have exclusions, as all policies do. Common examples include poor workmanship, defective design and gradual deterioration. If you move out and the home is empty during the works, cover for some perils may also be restricted, so tell your insurer how the property will be occupied.
Your Contractor's Insurance
Your contractor should hold public liability insurance, which covers their legal liability if their work injures someone or damages third-party property. It is not cover for your home, and it may not respond to damage that is not the contractor's fault. Their own tools and equipment are a matter for their insurance, not yours.
Before work starts, ask for evidence of the contractor's insurance and check the limits and expiry dates. Many building contracts, including JCT contracts, set out who must insure the existing structure and the works, and a joint-names arrangement can reduce disputes over who claims if there is damage during the project. Read the insurance section of your contract alongside your policy, as the contract may require you to arrange specific cover.
If the work affects a wall shared with a neighbour, you may also have obligations under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 in England and Wales.
After the Work Is Finished
When the works are complete, your home insurance needs to reflect the home as it now is:
- Update the buildings sum insured. Extensions, conversions and higher-specification finishes all add to the rebuild cost. If the sum insured is too low, a claim may be reduced.
- Update the contents sum insured. Add new furniture, appliances and valuables.
- Tell your insurer about changes. Include extra bedrooms, new security or alarm systems, and any change in how the home is used.
If you are unsure what the new rebuild figure should be, the principles behind calculating house rebuilding costs apply, and for a larger or more complex home a professional reinstatement valuation is the more reliable basis. Once the project is finished, it is also sensible to review your cover with your broker so it reflects the home as it now stands.
How Ellis David Can Help
We have arranged insurance for over 50 years from our office on Essex Road in Islington. Our team has 150+ years' combined experience, and we place cover with 100+ UK insurers and MGAs, giving access to 1,000+ products, including specialist works and renovation insurance.
We look at your project, your existing policy and your building contract together. We explain whether your current insurer can continue cover, what conditions would apply, and whether a separate works policy would suit the project better.
- Rebuild cost review after works. Checking your rebuild cost once renovations are complete helps keep your sums insured accurate.
- Support when the work is done. We can help you update your home insurance once the work is complete, so it reflects the finished home.
- Straightforward guidance from real people. You deal with UK-based people, not an automated call queue, and you can meet the team who will look after the policy.
If you are planning building work, contact our private client team before it starts, so the cover can be in place when the first trade arrives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need to Tell My Insurer About Renovation Work?
Yes, in most cases. Tell your insurer about any planned building works before they start, with details of the scope, cost, duration and who is doing the work. If works that affect the risk are not disclosed, a claim may be reduced or declined, depending on the policy terms and the circumstances.
Does Home Insurance Cover Building Works?
Sometimes, within limits. Many home policies allow minor works, painting for example, sometimes up to a set contract value, but restrict or exclude damage arising from larger or structural works. Check what your home insurance policy covers and speak to your insurer or broker before the work begins.
What Is the Difference Between Renovation Insurance and Contractor's Insurance?
Renovation insurance protects your home, the new works and your contents during the project. A contractor's public liability insurance covers the contractor's legal liability if their work injures someone or damages third-party property. It does not insure your home, so the two are not interchangeable.
Do I Need Renovation Insurance If I Move Out During the Works?
You need to tell your insurer, because an unoccupied property during the works changes the risk. An empty home under renovation may need renovation insurance that covers unoccupancy, and cover for some perils may be restricted while nobody is living there. Each policy sets its own unoccupancy period, so check your wording before you move out.
Should I Update My Home Insurance After an Extension?
Yes. An extension increases the rebuild cost and may add bedrooms, new fixtures and new contents. Update your buildings and contents sums insured once the work is complete, and tell your insurer about any changes to the home.
Is Remodelling Treated Differently From Renovating by Insurers?
Not by name. Insurers look at what the work involves, whether it is structural, the contract value, the duration and whether the home will be occupied. Two projects described the same way can be treated very differently, so describe the actual work when you speak to your insurer.
This article is general information, not a personal recommendation. All cover is subject to the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions of the policy. Ellis David Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, register number 442066.
