How Home Renovations Can Affect How Much You Pay on Home Insurance

A lot of people will make renovations to their houses without thinking about how it will affect their insurance premiums. But you should expect changes to your property to affect insurance costs since they can make your home more valuable or secure. Making an addition to a house should logically cost more in insurance since you’ll be adding liveable space which comes with added risk. You should also know that some renovations could lead you to save money on insurance. Let’s take a look at how renovations can affect the cost of your home insurance.

Renovations That Can Increase Your Home Insurance Costs

One of the things that will cause insurance costs to go up is any renovation that is considered an “attractive nuisance” to coin insurance industry terms. Something like a pool, for instance, is a prime example of an attractive nuisance.

While a swimming pool might seem like nothing important at first glance, you have to understand that most home insurance policies include liability cover. This means that people who may be injured on your premises will be compensated by your insurance company instead of you directly. Swimming pools increase the chances of accidents and will therefore increase your premiums.

Another type of renovation that could affect your home insurance costs is adding a home office. You will either need to increase how much you pay or get additional coverage to cover work-related equipment. You also have to think about work-related injuries and crime. Note that your insurance policy may already be covering home business-related equipment, but don’t expect the coverage to be very high.

You also have to be extra careful here if your line of business increases foot traffic in and out of your home, such as if you offer tutoring, for example. You will most likely need to get additional liability insurance in this case as most home insurance policies will not cover business-related injuries.

You also have to think of things that can add to your dwelling coverage, like major modifications to a bathroom or kitchen, or a room addition. Adding living space by transforming a room will increase costs too. This is why you will need to review any renovations before you start and see how they will affect your cost including insurance.

Renovations That Can Lower Your Home Insurance Costs

There are many renovations, however, that can significantly reduce your insurance costs, and most of them will imply greater security for the people in the house and its contents.

Renovating your roof, for instance, is likely to cause a drop in your premiums. That’s because your house will be better protected as a result. You could make even greater savings if you’re in an area that deals with harsh climates, and you put in additional safety measures like impact-resistant shingles or waterproofing.

Making upgrades to your wiring and plumbing can make a big difference as well since you’ll reduce the chances of electric fires and major plumbing accidents. Adding a security system will also bring dividends.

Note that the type of system you install will make a difference, however. If you install a smart home system that alerts you only, you won’t get the same discount as if you get a more extensive system that alerts the police and other emergency services automatically, so this is something you’ll need to think about.

How to Keep Your Home Insurance Premiums Low After Renovating

If you want to keep your costs low no matter the type of renovations you make, know that there are plenty of ways to do this. One of the best things you could do is shop around and compare quotes once your policy is up for renewal.

You could use a home insurance Northern Ireland comparison service like CompareNI and get quotes from a wide selection of insurers right on the spot. This alone could allow you to save hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars on insurance.

Another thing you can do is agree to a higher deductible, but you have to be aware of the risks that come with that and always have cash on hand in case you need a major and important repair to be performed. You can also get your home insurance and your auto insurance from the same company to further drive down costs.

See how you can make your home resistant to disasters as well. There might be moves that you can make to protect your house from fires, like adding sprinklers, for instance, or making it more earthquake-resistant. Ask your insurance company what they would see as favourable and make the modifications you feel would be worth it.

Home renovations can have a deep negative or positive impact on your insurance premium. So, try to get as much information as you can before you go through with a modification or addition project, and don’t hesitate to call your insurer if you have any questions.