Your home is probably your most valuable asset, so if you’re planning to carry out building works it pays to make sure you, your property and your investment are fully protected. If the unexpected happens - a collapsed wall, a serious fire or theft – you need to know that your insurance policy will cover the costs. Hiscox Home Insurance includes cover for renovation and extension projects up to £75,000 a standard, protecting your existing home, new structure, materials and liabilites. For projects over £75,000 Hiscox Renovation and Extension Insurance can be added to a new, or existing, Hiscox Home Insurance policy.

Our market-leading renovation and extension insurance offers the highest level and quality of cover you will find on the market – whether you’re renovating your dream home or extending a listed building, we provide a fully comprehensive policy.

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What is renovation and extension insurance?

Renovation and extension insurance covers you for the things that might go wrong while your building works are being carried out. Home renovations are complex projects, and the potential problems might not always be obvious. During this time, your home may be exposed to the elements, structurally unstable, vulnerable to theft, and controlled by contractors.

Although most contractors will have insurance for the works carried out on your home, this might not protect you in all circumstances. Different contractors will have different levels of cover, with their own limits and exclusions. For example, the following could be excluded from contractor’s liability:

  • application of heat (e.g. using a blowtorch or grinder)
  • demolition
  • height or depth limits
  • damage to your existing building

If, for example, a fire broke out as a result of the building works, burning your extension down and if ‘application of heat’ was excluded from the contractor’s insurance, rebuilding your extension would also be excluded. This would leave you without an extension, having to sue the contractor or paying for the works once again, through no fault of your own.

Hiscox Renovation and Extension Insurance gives you comprehensive cover for your existing building, your contents, the works and all materials while the project is taking place. The cover makes sure that you have the right level of protection against the increased risks associated with a higher value project and puts you back in control of your biggest asset, your home. Watch our short video to understand the increased risks, cost and duration of building works.

  • Existing home and contents covered
  • The works, extension & materials covered
  • Award-winning claims team

The cost, duration and risk of the works

Does my home insurance cover my extension or renovation?

Home insurers will ask you to notify them of works before they begin and may then either withdraw or limit the home insurance cover provided for your existing structure and contents - leaving your biggest asset potentially uninsured. If you take out contractor’s insurance, this is designed primarily to cover aspects of the works themselves. This might mean that you are not covered for certain things you would expect, such as:

  • damage to the property caused by a contractor’s negligence
  • burst pipes, or fires
  • storms
  • damage to the property or your possessions because of an open roof
  • theft of on-site materials.

With your home’s market value at risk, you want to ensure you are gaining full coverage for your existing home and the building works project, with peace of mind there are no gaps in coverage – this is what we provide.

Our renovations and extensions insurance  is added to your Hiscox Home Insurance policy, meaning your building structure, contents and materials used are all covered if things goes wrong. Once your works are complete, we’ll remove the extra cover and your Hiscox home insurance policy continues uninterrupted.

  • The existing structure – your home remains fully insured against damage and loss.
  • Your possessions – the items in your home or temporarily in storage because of the works.
  • Alternative accommodation – if your property becomes uninhabitable due to loss or damage from the building works.
  • Building materials and equipment – those that are on-site but not yet fitted to the property e.g. kitchen units.
  • Works in progress – the sections of the property that are still under construction.
  • Public liability – if an accident happens during your building work - for example, a roof tile falling and hitting a passer-by – then you're covered.

Home building works rarely run as smoothly as planned, with over 87% going over-schedule and 92% over-budget*. If your building works might exceed £75,000, it is crucial that you don’t end up under-insured if anything goes wrong.

There are factors which are often forgotten when calculating how much insurance you will need. Some of the most common things overlooked are:

  • cost of the contract
  • VAT (which cannot be reclaimed on most domestic properties)
  • debris removal (roughly 15% of the value of the works)
  • professional fees
  • materials supplied by you outside of the contract
  • contingent amounts for cost overruns

If these are not included in your policy, your reinstatement cost could far exceed your insurance, leaving you unable to complete your project if something should go wrong.

Hiscox Renovation and Extension Insurance removes the uncertainty of what is and isn’t covered by your insurance. It puts you back in control.

*Source: Renovation Insurance Brokers based on 5,400 policies underwritten between 2011 and 2015

Key benefit of our Renovation and Extension Insurance cover

By taking out a Hiscox Home Insurance policy and adding our renovation and extension cover for projects over £75,000, there’s no need to switch between insurance companies and different policies. It will cover the duration of the works with no gaps in your protection and means there’s no need to purchase a separate specialist building works policy.

How does renovation and extension cover work?

First you need to have a Hiscox Home Insurance policy. By speaking to one of our insurance experts, you can immediately add the renovation and extension cover to your policy for the duration of the works.

If you need to make a claim, our award-winning claims team will assist you with getting your project back and up running as soon as possible. We will give you a dedicated, named claims handler wherever possible, who is there to take care of your case quickly, efficiently and fairly.

Once you've notified us that your project is complete, we'll remove the cover and your home insurance policy with us will continue without interruption.

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