Nothing to Declare? The Essential DIY Guide for Homeowners

Before we start, it’s important to note that you don’t need to declare to your insurer if you’re undertaking small DIY projects, like assembling a desk. Let your inner Nick Knowles flourish!

However, your insurers need to be notified of significant cosmetic changes to your home when hiring contractors. This is because they may need to inform you of any limitations or restrictions your insurance policy may have in these situations, or any modifications to your policy that need to be made.

Remember! Any significant work declared must be approved by your insurer before it starts to avoid an invalid claim being made.

What are declarations and why do we need them as homeowners? Let’s take a look together.

Understanding Declarations

Put simply; declarations are part of the conditions your insurer requires you to abide by in order to purchase a valid insurance policy. In the policy-finding process, you will have encountered a list of questions that need to be completed honestly to attain an insurance policy.

These questions, called declarations, will ask about different factors to do with your property. One of the topics included is about construction work; specifically, whether you plan to have construction work or if any is currently taking place. The price of your house may fluctuate if the answer is yes, so answer with honesty. Always declare with care!

Common Things to Declare Before Starting a Project

At Source, our insurers have a few common declarations that need to be considered before you start your renovations.

• The price of the work as quoted.
• Start date and end date of the project.
• Is the work being carried out by contractors? If yes, then they MUST hold liability insurance and the contract cannot be joint liability. This protects the insurer in case something goes wrong.
• Will you be living in the property when work is being carried out?

These are all crucial for you to consider, finalise and declare to protect yourself and your insurer.

Why Do I Need to Tell My Insurer Before Changing the Structure of My Home?

First and foremost, your property is much more likely to be damaged if you’re having significant building work done. This adds increased risk for the insurer, so they’ll need to be informed.

Remember! If you need to move houses whilst the work is being undertaken, you also face the increased risk of theft when you’re away.

Increased risks of hazards, such as structural damage, theft and other potential problems are reasons why your insurer needs to know about any proposed building work.

Additionally, the work done to your home will likely affect the value of the property, so your insurer may need to re-evaluate the price of the cover required to protect the building, reflecting the new valuation.

Don’t forget! If you fail to declare work being carried out, you risk invalidating your home insurance.

Another reason for declaring work to your insurers is to ensure any injuries or damage encountered with your contractors throughout the process are accounted for and covered.

Make Sure Your Contractors Have Insurance Too!

If you’re planning on conducting renovations to your property, it’s likely you’ll hire contractors to carry out the developments. You need to be thorough when hiring someone to work on your home.

Your chosen contractors should also have an insurance policy in place to ensure everything runs smoothly when work starts on your home.

Contractors All Risks Insurance covers your home, and the contractors, from any physical damage or loss during the construction work. This includes damage to the property or extension. Any machinery and equipment are also protected from harm or loss.

As mentioned earlier, most insurers won’t accept joint liability whilst the work is being done, so you need to make sure your contractors possess liability insurance. This means the contractors’ insurer will be responsible for any claims, rather than your insurer.

What If My Home Has Work Being Done When Looking for a Policy?

This won’t necessarily mean your policy request will be rejected, but it may mean an increase in the insurance valuation.

Because of this, it’s always best to be open with your insurer and always make sure you’re honest. This avoids any miscommunication and makes sure everything is sorted once the work starts.

Conclusion

Always make sure you have all bases covered when insuring your property before development work, ensuring you’re safe on all fronts.

If in doubt, it’s always worth speaking to your insurance company to receive the best advice. This will reduce the risk of financial loss whilst protecting you and your home against any potential risks and damage that may occur.

At Source, we have a dedicated team of Customer Service Agents who are on hand to help you in situations like these. Call 02920 265 265, or view our Contact Us page for any queries about development plans or anything else you want to know.

You can view your home insurance policy here.