If you’re about to perform home renovations to your property, there are lots of things you have to think about. Home renovation financing, what you can structurally do to your home and what you can’t, and not to mention, finding a good contractor to do the work for you. But one thing that should never be overlooked, and unfortunately often is by homeowners, is checking with your insurance company first.
Your home insurance protects you in case something happens to your home, the contents within it, or possibly the homes surrounding it. These are all things that could be affected by any home renovations you make, and therefore they’re all things that could possibly affect your home insurance policy, too.
Square One Insurance, based in Vancouver, wanted to make homeowners aware of this, especially with the busy spring renovation season approaching. They issued a press release on Friday stating,
“While your policy won’t cover costs to correct faulty design, material or workmanship, it may cover the water damage caused by the contractor. To be as protected as possible, make sure the contractor has proper licenses, solid references and both workers’ compensation and commercial general liability insurance coverage.”
And while the issue of insurance will largely be on the contractor’s shoulders, homeowners also need to remember that that won’t be the case if they’re taking on the work themselves. The press release also went on to say,
“For example, if you live in a condo and you’re the one who accidentally puts a screw in a pipe that causes damage to the units beneath you, your personal liability coverage should pay for any resulting damage to your neighbours’ property.”
There are definitely a lot of things that you want to think about when taking on home renovations. And unfortunately, there are also a lot of things that can go wrong. To make sure that you have truly covered all your bases, thought about everything, and that nothing goes wrong, always check with your insurance company before making any kind of renovations to your home. Otherwise, says Square One,
“You will no longer qualify for the guaranteed building replacement cost coverage included in most policies.”
