Home Ins. and Loft Conversion with no planning permission - do I need to let insurers know?

weegie_2

Looking for some advice re home insurance.  We've been struggling with space in our house so recently put a set of fixed stairs in from our small third box bedroom, into the loft space and converted the space into something more useable.  Basic space, has one window (not dormer).  All work was carried out by joiners/plasterers etc.  No planning permission as it would have cost us more to get this I think than do up the space - and we are aware of other houses in the area doing the same thing.  If we ever sell the house (not planning to for a v long time), we would remove the stairs and reinstate the ceiling etc/loft hatch.

Anyway. Home insurance is due and I need to renew.  Do I need to let them know that I have put the stairs in and created a new space in the house? Do I let them know it has no planning permission?  Any guidance/advice in this area would be much appreciated.  Thanks in advance!

eddddy

The easiest, simplest answer would be to phone the insurers and ask them if the policy needs to be amended.

If you genuinely mean that you've installed a fixed staircase to access (non-habitable) storage space - just say that.

But if you intend to use it as a habitable room - e.g. a bedroom, study, play room - you should definitely tell them that.

There's no benefit in trying to sneakily keep quiet about it. If you did, they'd happily take your premium, but then potentially refuse/reduce any claim you make.

The lack of planning consent shouldn't be an issue - in fact, you probably wouldn't need planning consent for the type of conversion you'e done.

(But if they want to make a fuss about it, it's better that they do it now - so that you can find a different insurer or whatever - rather than after half your house has burnt down, and they're challenging your claim.)

weegie_2

Appreciate your reply.  We've installed the staircase and do plan to use it as a bedroom space.  I want to be up front and honest so that if, god forbid, anything happened, we would be insured.

Sandtree

as access is from another bedroom what is that room now being used as? Is it still a bedroom or a de facto extention of your landing?

Some policies are room rather than sum insured rated and so you would need to speak to your insurers to confirm how they will now consider the box room and the loft bedroom without planning permission. The most prudent answer is that they are both now bedrooms and so higher premiums for bedroom rated policies but some may take a different view. Will be a case of checking before you switch insurer each time or going for the prudent approach

weegie_2

The small box room/bedroom is now being used for access and clothes storage (kinda like a dressing room with stairs!).  The converted loft space will have a bed and a TV, with the eves used for additional storage (but we are not hoarders, so hardly anything of value stored)  That's literally it.
Sounds like on the safe side I need to make several phone-calls to make sure I get insured properly.  I don't mind paying a higher premium if it means I have done it right. 

davidmcn

This is a red herring which comes up quite a lot - I don't see the need to chat to insurers about it (other than increasing the number of rooms, if they want to know that), as it tends to just cause confusion at the call centres. You don't get asked about such things on proposal forms because insurers don't really care. But bear in mind that your insurance only covers you for the stated risks, not for e.g. sorting out dodgy building work.

maisie_cat

Has the conversion been signed off by building regs? There are specific issues around fire safety with loft conversions and non compliance might be an issue for insurance. 

weegie_2

So I chatted to the insurers, who spoke to the underwriters.  As its still being used as a 3 bedroom property, they would still insure us, with no change in premium.  I explained what we had done and what would be in the rooms and they were content with that.
It has not been signed off by bldg regs - we do have smoke alarms throughout the house, a fire escape plan in place and are looking at installed a fire door.  Insurers didn't ask any fire safety questions when I spoke to them.

Sandtree

davidmcn said:

This is a red herring which comes up quite a lot - I don't see the need to chat to insurers about it (other than increasing the number of rooms, if they want to know that), as it tends to just cause confusion at the call centres. 

Its mainly because they have such poorly worded questions and guidance notes. Direct Line for example state:
Please tell us the number of bedrooms your property has. You should include all rooms originally designed for sleeping in, even if they are now used for another purpose, and any rooms that have been permanently converted for sleeping in.

What on earth does "permanently converted" even mean? If I have a 4 bed house with a study down stairs but as elderly mother cannot use the stairs too well these days we make the study down stairs into her bedroom when she visits and make the upstairs 3rd bedroom a study does that mean we have a 5 bed house according to DL as the new study was originally a bedroom and the downstairs is long term converted but only occasionally used?

Until insurers can word questions clearer its their own fault for calls to their call centre and at least if you put the answer they tell you to put they dont have comeback on you if they say your answer is wrong.

As said, you can take the prudent approach and just give the max possible answer but this is supposed to be a money saving site not the way to get the highest premiums possible.

davidmcn

maisie_cat said:

Has the conversion been signed off by building regs? There are specific issues around fire safety with loft conversions and non compliance might be an issue for insurance. 

I've never known insurers to ask questions about building regulations. The vast majority of properties don't comply with current building regulations in one way or another (or predate building regulations even existing).

williamgriffin

davidmcn said:

maisie_cat said:

Has the conversion been signed off by building regs? There are specific issues around fire safety with loft conversions and non compliance might be an issue for insurance. 

I've never known insurers to ask questions about building regulations. The vast majority of properties don't comply with current building regulations in one way or another (or predate building regulations even existing).

They don't ask, however lack of building regs maybe an issue in the event of any claim.