Buildings Insurance - Doing work Kitchen/Bathroom

shaunagh123

Hello,

Me & my partner are waiting for the exchange of contracts to happen for buying our first house. When we move in we will be getting a new kitchen (straightforward) and a new bathroom. With the bathroom we are moving the door position from the LHS to the centre as the kitchen leads to the bathroom and means more usable space in the kitchen. This also means moving the radiator position to do this, we will be getting professionals in to do all the works.

When I have been getting insurance quotes one of the questions on the comparison sites is, are there any building works starting/ongoing on the property. When we opt no there is a lot more choice of insurers and our premium drops from around £190 to £110 a year.

With this in mind I am unsure if the works we are planning constitute “building works” that we would need to state in our insurance.

Can anyone advise on their experiences with this?

Thanks in advance!

jonesMUFCforever

Yes IMO you need to tell your insurer about the works.
They might restrict some cover if it means that some of the property would be ''open'' during the works.

Get the proper cover now - move away next year or if the cancellation is low for future years.

shaunagh123

The doorway we are amending is internal, the back door of the property is in the living room so won’t affect the security of the home.

Maybe I am best calling and asking them, most quotes have come up with Admiral as a good price so I will see

Thanks for the reply!

jonesMUFCforever

shaunagh123 wrote: »

The doorway we are amending is internal, the back door of the property is in the living room so won’t affect the security of the home.

Maybe I am best calling and asking them, most quotes have come up with Admiral as a good price so I will see

Thanks for the reply!

It may not affect the security of the house but for example if they cut a cable or pipe that may lead to a fire or flood - I would want to make sure I'm covered.

in_my_wellies

Twenty years ago I had various extensions and alterations done and it never occurred to me to inform the insurance company, I don't remember being asked or reading about it in any of the T&Cs
My son just bought his first house and I sorted the insurance for him and was asked this question on every quote. So these days I would definitely tell them.
The companies varied a lot. Some wanted to be informed about everything, eg, changing a wooden garage side door window to a double glazed window, others just about major works.
Some said just to inform them but there would be no charge and others wanted an extra fee and an admin charge on top
So shop around.