Insurance and building work

battenburg88

Just wondering how home insurance companies deal with minor renovation work. Our home insurance is with Nationwide (unwritten by Royal Sun Alliance) so specific experiences would be welcome. I’ve found lots of examples of similar queries, but mainly for larger work and not always with a conclusion!

2 bits of work are planned - lifting floorboards in the living room insulating.This will also include some levelling and repairs to wallplates/joists if required, but only like for like.

Second thing is to reroof a lean to utility room, insulate and install a velux window. This is all effectively like for like as well, but the roof joists are being changed to deeper ones so the insulation can be fitted so potentially considered ‘structural’ (though not being done for that reason).

This is obviously pretty minor stuff in the grand scheme of building work and I hadn’t thought about having to tell my insurer until just now. In the statement of facts it currently has a declaration that no building work is happening, but doesn’t mention anything about this in the policy document itself. Just that if there is a change in circumstances I should tell them.

Looking at the policies of a few other insurers, some of them define a cost threshold of when they need to be told (the work would be way below the threshold of these examples). But Nationwide don’t say anything, making me think it could be a blanket no.

I don’t mind paying an extra bit for the month that the work is happening if that’s what’s needed.

I’m hoping Nationwide are large enough that some other customers might be on this forum!