Home Renovation Insurance
- Buildings Cover up to £1 million.
- Covers unoccupied properties.
- Underwritten by AXA Insurance.
More information
Home insurance cover while renovating
What are home renovations?
Home renovations – also known as home improvements – refer to any projects designed to improve or restore parts of a home.
It may include smaller home DIY projects, like painting and decorating, as well as larger renovations such as extensions, loft conversions, kitchen fittings and other significant building work.
Home insurance while your renovations are underway
With Homeprotect building and contents insurance, your home is covered as standard during renovations valued up to £20,000.
Undergoing renovations over £20,000? Let us know and we’ll adjust your policy accordingly.
We’ll still protect the parts of your home that aren’t being renovated (subject to certain limitations), while your contractor’s insurance covers the work areas (Homeprotect requires contractors to have at least £1 million in liability cover).
Do i need home renovation insurance?
In most instances, home building insurance and contents insurance provide enough protection against the risk of damage from fire, flooding, burglary and more – and Homeprotect policies even provide protection during home renovations.
However, home renovation cover can provide extra peace of mind that your policy will not be invalidated during any large or disruptive projects.
What if my home is consistently occupied?
Even if you remain in the home during the renovation works, you’ll still need to let us know if the project is valued at over £20,000.
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home Insurance during renovations
Our home insurance is designed to protect your home against insured events such as fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, malicious damage, subsidence, landslip or heave. However, our cover is restricted whilst your property is undergoing renovation, which we define as any work within the boundary of your property that involves building work (including electrical and plumbing adjustments) or structural alterations costing over £20,000.
what restrictions are there ?
No cover is provided for:
Accidental damage.
Damage caused by storm or weight of snow if the property is not fully wind or watertight.
Any part of the building undergoing renovation (e.g. if you are having an extension, no cover is provided for the extension, whilst being developed).
Loss, damage or liability which results from any work done by a contractor (that applies both during the renovation and after the renovation is complete, if the loss, damage or liability results from poor workmanship or faulty design).
Liability in the event of injury or death of a builder, contractor or subcontractor.
Unfixed materials or goods used as part of the renovation work (e.g. if parts or materials for a new kitchen suite are damaged or stolen).
Also, please note that:
- If your property is left unoccupied for more than 72 consecutive hours, cover will be limited to damage caused from Fire, Lightning, Explosion or Aircraft impact until the property is occupied again.
- If you use contractors for the renovation you’ll need to ensure that they have at least £1 million liability insurance to cover personal injury, death or damage to your property.
home Insurance with renovation Cover Levels
Buildings cover
Covers the main structure of your home, including attached garages and conservatories, if you need to rebuild or repair it following an insured loss. Also covers permanent outdoor structures such as driveways, patios and boundary walls. (excludes any part of the building undergoing renovation).
£1 million
(more cover available if you need it)
Contents cover
Covering the value of the possessions you could take with you when moving home, such as furniture, clothing, valuables, appliances, fittings, entertainment equipment, gadgets and bikes, following an insured loss. Cover provided on a new for old basis. (subject to the cover restrictions which apply whilst the property is being renovated).
from £25,000
Alternative accommodation
Covers the cost of alternative accommodation for you and your pets, together with reasonable expenses (e.g. travel, food, laundry) if you can’t live in your home (or where you’ve been advised to evacuate) due to an insured loss.
up to £85,000
Home emergency
Covers sudden, unexpected emergencies, such as uncontrollable water leaks, that require immediate corrective action to prevent or limit damage to your home, or make your home secure. Two levels of cover are available, for different types of insured loss.
up to £500
Family legal protection
Covers legal costs following an insured loss. There must be reasonable prospects of winning and the incident must have occurred during the policy term. Two levels of cover are available, for different types of insured loss.
up to £25,000
Trace and access
Covers the cost of detecting the source of a water or oil leak to your home or outbuildings. Includes reinstating any wall, floor, ceiling, drive, fence or path removed or damaged during the search (up to the claim limit). (excluding any incidents which result from any work done by a contractor as part of the renovation).
up to £10,000
Outbuildings cover
Covers rebuild or repair of your outbuildings (e.g. detached garages, greenhouses, sheds and summerhouses) that are within the boundary or a communal area you’re legally responsible for, if you need to rebuild or repair them following an insured loss. (excluding any parts of the outbuilding undergoing renovation).
from £20,000
Liability cover
Covers damages and claimants’ costs and expenses for your legal liability in the event of accidental death, injury or illness to a third party, or damage to property belonging to a third party. (excluding liability in the event of injury or death of a builder, contractor or subcontractor).
up to £5 million
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What’s covered by home insurance with renovations?
Home insurance when renovating provides financial protection if you need to repair your home or replace your belongings after they’ve been stolen, damaged or destroyed.
It comes in two parts: buildings insurance (cover against damage to the property itself) and contents insurance (for damaged or stolen items within the home). These can be combined or bought separately, so the first step is deciding which option is better for you.
What we offer
Quick home emergency response times
Have a home emergency, such as electricity failure, faulty locks or vermin infestation? With the 24/7 Home Emergency cover, which we provide as standard, you can typically get an engineer at your home within four hours. And if you’re worried about an uncontrollable leak in your home, we aim to have an emergency plumber to you within two hours.
Extreme weather conditions may extend response time. Policy terms and claim limits apply.
5 star rated buildings cover
Our building insurance has been given the highest rating by independent financial research companies, Defaqto and Moneyfacts.
Repair guarantee
Any buildings work we undertake is guaranteed for 24 months following a claim and any contents repair work we undertake is guaranteed for 12 months.
New for old
Where we replace an item, we will do our best to meet the original specification on a ‘new for old’ basis. If we can’t find an exact replacement, we’ll offer you a suitable alternative, or a full cash settlement.
Legal advice
We provide Legal Protection cover as standard, giving you access to telephone legal advice on any personal legal issue, under the laws of the UK, any European Union country, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Switzerland and Norway.
What isn’t included?
Damage cause gradually, or by wear and tear, or by failure to fix a known issue.
Faulty design or poor workmanship.
Damage or liability arising out of the activities of contractors.
The cost of repairing or replacing items following a mechanical or electrical fault.
Lost items.
New Customer?
If you’re deciding on whether to buy home insurance with us, you can use our latest policy booklets as a guide.
Existing Customer?
Find answers to some of your questions here. Your latest policy documents are also available to view and download.
Your renovations insurance Questions Answered
You only need to let us know about renovation or redecoration works valued at £20,000 and over. However, redecoration work at this value must be declared to Homeprotect, so we can adjust your policy accordingly.
When undergoing home renovation work with a reputable contractor, they should provide public liability insurance. Homeprotect requires contractors to have at least £1 million in liability cover to qualify for our policies.
Homeprotect renovation insurance then provides cover for the rest of your home, where the renovation works aren’t taking place.
If your home renovations are valued at £20,000 or above, you will need to let us know, so we can adjust your home insurance policy accordingly. If you don’t you risk invalidating your policy if you attempt to make a claim.
No, contractors are not covered by Homeprotect home insurance and we require renovation contractors to have at least £1 million public liability cover to qualify for our policies.
Homeprotect renovation insurance is designed to protect the rest of your property while you are undergoing valuable renovation projects. The projects themselves will be covered by your contractor’s liability insurance.
Yes, you need to let us know if your home is undergoing renovations valued over £20,000.
If you don’t, you may find your policy invalid in the event of a claim. This applies whether or not you continue to live in your home while the work is being done. This is because the risk of something unexpected happening to your home and its contents increases considerably during renovations.
Consulting a chartered surveyor is the surest way to receive an accurate rebuild cost. In fact, if your home is using non-standard construction materials or you are renovating a listed building then you will need to do this. That said, for standard construction houses, you can use the free online BCIS Rebuild calculator.
For the purposes of the Homeprotect renovations insurance policy, cosmetic changes include non-structural changes to the property such as redecorating, replacing kitchen units, or laying new flooring. However, more significant works such as changing internal plumbing, gas pipes or electrical fixtures are not classed as cosmetic.
And if cosmetic work is valued over £20,000, you’ll still need to let us know, in the same way as you would any valuable renovation works.
Yes, it is possible to access Homeprotect renovation insurance once a project has already started. However, you will not be able to claim against any incidents that occurred before the policy was taken out and any attempt to do so would be treated as insurance fraud.