Updating Your Home? Update Your Insurance, Too

 

Home renovation projects come with lots of details. There are plans to draw up, construction bids to get and finishes to choose. If you’re going to continue living in your home during construction, you’ll probably have to move some furniture, tape off doorways and cover ventilation systems. If you’re going elsewhere for the duration, you’ll need to pack, cope with temporary housing and learn to deal with a new routine. Whether you’re living in or visiting your work site, you can count on loud noises, unpleasant smells and strangers in your space. And then there’s the dust…always so much dust.

With a lot going on, one significant detail can be easily overlooked—insurance. Even if you already have quality high-value home insurance, do you have the insurance you need while renovating your home? Do your coverage amounts need to be adjusted both before and after your renovation project? Here are some considerations:

Increased Homeowners Coverage Limits
Odds are good that it will make sense to increase your coverage limits before construction begins. For example, having more people in and out of your home means there are more opportunities for someone to be injured. Increasing your umbrella coverage could be a smart move. With extensive expertise in high-value home insurance, Kelly Klee can help you determine the right amounts.

Builder’s Risk Insurance
Builder’s risk insurance provides coverage for a wide variety of scenarios that can occur during a construction project, such as theft of materials or damage to unoccupied spaces, and can fill in the gaps when your contractor’s insurance coverage is not comprehensive. Kelly Klee recommends that any client with luxury home insurance consider adding this coverage when doing renovations.

Contractor Coverage
Your contractor should have several different types of insurance in place; sometimes several are components of one larger policy. These include: surety (to cover completion of the job), liability (to cover construction errors), auto (to cover any contractor vehicles parked on your property) and workers’ compensation (for injured employees).

Your most prudent course of action is to ask the contractor’s insurer to send you proof of current coverage directly. This will help weed out unethical contractors.

Subcontractor Coverage
It’s very common for contractors to engage subcontractors for specific tasks on a larger job like installing drywall or plumbing. Each subcontractor should either have their own proof of insurance, or your main contractor may list specific subcontractors as a named insured on their policy/policies. Again, get current proof directly from the insurance provider.

Storage Coverage
It’s common for homeowners to rent portable storage units that can be kept on the property. Will your homeowners policy cover your belongings once they are out of your house and placed into that type of unit? You’ll want to be sure yours does.

Check Coverage Again After Completion
When your renovation project is all finished, you’ll have an improved space to enjoy, and the value of your home will likely have increased, sometimes substantially. If you have a high-value home, it’s especially important that the increased value is reflected in your coverage limits. You may also find some pleasant surprises. If you made whole-house system improvements like a new roof or updated plumbing or electrical, you may be eligible for new discounts from your insurer.

Kelly Klee specializes in meeting the insurance needs of those with high-value or luxury homes. To learn more about how to make sure you have the right insurance while renovating your home, click here to contact one of our expert agents.