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Renovation Insurance

There are many benefits to renovating your home: increased market value, energy efficiencies, and design updates to suit your family’s needs and style. 

You’ll also be investing quite a bit of money, time, effort, and energy into your home renovation project. That’s why you want to make sure you do everything possible to protect that investment. One of the best places to begin is with home renovation add on coverages to your homeowners insurance policy. 

Homeowners renovation insurance policies are designed to provide protection for the structure and building materials used in the course of a renovation. Many homeowners can benefit from the protection homeowners renovation policies offer. 

When you purchase homeowners renovation insurance, we will work with you to help you determine the length of time or policy term available to fit your needs. At that time, you will want to make sure we know about the upgrades to your home so we can confirm that you have the appropriate insurance protection for your home moving forward. 

Does the Standard Homeowners Insurance Policy Cover Renovations?

Before you hire a contractor or start a renovation project, you should review your current homeowners policy with one of our insurance agents. When you renovate your home, you’re typically increasing its value and potentially increasing the cost of repairs down the road. You may need to boost your homeowners policy limits to protect your home once the renovation project is complete. 

However, your standard homeowners’ policy typically excludes theft of material and supplies to the dwelling while your home is under construction. It’s important to note that homeowners’ insurance may not always cover liability during new construction or renovation. It also doesn’t provide protection for the home’s contents during new construction.

Further, it doesn’t provide protection for accidental damage in the course of construction due to improper handling, mechanical breakdown, rust, and corrosion, or dropping items. Most policies also specifically exclude damage from acts of terrorism or war, earthquakes, and flooding. 

Therefore, you’ll likely want to add some key coverages unique to home remodeling projects. Before your home remodeling project commences, you’ll need to make sure you have the appropriate add-on coverage to cover things that a basic homeowners policy won’t.

Vacant Home Insurance

If you are living somewhere besides your home for 30 days during your renovation, vacant home insurance can protect it from the unexpected.

Other Insurance Considerations to Keep in Mind

If you’re hiring contractors for your home renovation project, your contractor should have coverage to protect themselves and you. At a minimum, your contractor should have workers compensation and liability insurance. It’s a good idea to ask your contractor to provide you with a copy of their certificate of insurance. If your contractor is also using subcontractors on your home renovation project, the subcontractors should have the appropriate coverages as well. 

It’s also important to review your homeowners insurance policy upon completion of your renovation. Certain renovations, such as increased square footage, adding a swimming pool, or updated kitchen, baths, flooring with high-quality materials, may increase the value of your home.

Choose Generazio Associates, Inc. for Home Renovation Insurance

Your homeowners policy may not cover losses during renovations.

Please contact us at (973) 429-8100 to discuss how we can help make sure you have the proper insurance coverage.