Each home needs to undergo a renovation at some point. Renovations will help homeowners preserve the original structure while transforming it to fit the latest structure standards. It is also a great way to fix damages and ensure that your home will continue providing safety and comfort.
However, if you own a homeowner insurance policy, you should be extra careful in doing some renovations on your home. Keep in mind that there are renovations that could affect or even void your insurance.
Although renovations can boost your home’s market value, your home insurance coverage may not be insufficient. As a result, you will become vulnerable to losses and even more spending. If you’re unsure what renovations works can affect your insurance policies, check out these works below:
Adding a Swimming Pool
Adding a swimming pool to your property is the number one renovation that will make your home value skyrocket. Not all houses have a swimming pool, thus adding one can make your property one of the most popular homes on the block.
However, having a swimming pool at home makes your property riskier from an insurance perspective. A pool is considered an attractive nuisance which increases your liability risk. In return, you will be charged by the insurance company a higher insurance premium.
A typical homeowner insurance policy often adds liability coverage that will help cover any medical expenses for any person who gets injured inside your property. It also helps pay your legal expenses if you get sued.
Check out with your insurance company and discuss this renovation with your agent. Assurance has the specifically aimed for homeowners in case they want to add additional features or structures such as a swimming pool.
Building an Office at Home
Working from home is a new trend today. It’s because there are so many companies nowadays that provide a work-at-home option to their employees. It happened after they saw the significant benefits of letting employees work at home due to the pandemic.
Working from home can be a good thing for you, but you should also consider your homeowner insurance policy before you start building that home office. Your insurance rates can be affected by having a home office, which means you will pay higher rates.
Additionally, your insurance provider could require you to get an endorsement to increase your insurance coverage that will cover any business-related assets and equipment. You will also be given an option to acquire a separate home business insurance policy to cover any worker injuries or protect you against crime.
Kitchen and/or Bathroom Upgrade
A beautiful kitchen and bath is the game changer when selling a home. Buyers tend to decide whether to buy a house or not after they see the kitchen and the bath. In fact, the majority of homebuyers considered the kitchen as one of the three vital factors when buying a home.
Buyers are willing to pay extra for a well-designed, highly-functional kitchen and bath. And because of this, your insurance policy will become irrelevant. So, before deciding whether to upgrade your bath and bathroom, you should contact your policy provider first.
This way, you will know what action you need to perform to ensure that your homeowner insurance policy will cover the changes you are making.
Home Expansion
There will come a time when you will feel that your home is starting to feel congested, especially if your family is growing. Expanding your home will involve widening the floor plan or adding another level.
Because your home is bigger, your insurance premium will also change alongside the changes in the size of your property. So, expect to pay a more expensive insurance policy rate when wanting to add an expansion to your home.
You also must remember that you will still need post-renovation insurance even if the expansion is done outside your house. An example of outdoor expansion is a deck or a shack. Because of the significant change in the square footing of your home, you should update your policy to reflect the changes.
Replacing Your Roof
The roof of your house is the component of your home that has the greatest influence on your insurance rates. Therefore, replacing your old roof could significantly affect your homeowner’s insurance rates.
Several property owners may be eligible for even larger discounts if they reside in a location that is prone to hurricanes and strong winds. Adding loss-reduction features like hurricane straps, waterproofing, or the best shingles also means you’re changing or adding something to your roof. Check your insurance policies if it allows you to add such features.
Almost all renovations you will perform on your home will impact your homeowner’s insurance policy. Therefore, before making any renovation plan, you should always think about your insurance policy and how the planned renovation will affect it.
