Remodeling your home, either to increase value or increase quality of life while living there, is almost a no-brainer. The activity of remodeling, however, and the results that follow will affect your homeowner’s coverage.
Insurance during the Remodel
While remodeling your house, you’ll need to have the proper liability coverage in place. If you hire contractors to work on the home, they may have their own coverage. Although, handymen and friends of the family, if injured, should have the opportunity to file a claim on your homeowner’s policy.
Turning your home into a construction site can put the interior at risk for damages. You should try your best to minimize risk exposures so as not to be negligent or expose yourself to more risk than is necessary.
The materials you use during your remodel could affect your insurance premiums. Be sure to follow the most recent code guidelines when making improvements. Also, try to invest in building materials that fortify the structure against damage. Fortifying your home can, in turn, add discounts to your home insurance policy.
Finally, think about your possessions listed in the contents area of your policy during the renovation. For some, you may have to find temporary, offsite storage for some items. This can take them out of the scope of your policy and expose you to risk of loss unless you have a supplementary plan of coverage those items while they are offsite.
Insurance after the Remodel
Once your remodel is complete the property value, as well as your replacement costs, will increase. If any redecorating is included with the remodel, the value of your contents might also have increased. All of this translates into a need to review and possibly update your home insurance policy to reflect your new values. Raising your limits will ensure you’ll get exactly what is needed out of your policy in the event of a post-remodel insurable incident.
It’s very easy to update your homeowner’s policy to reflect these changes. Just give your agent a call to let them know what needs updated, and they can help you decide what your new property and contents limits should be. Since increasing your limits will likely increase your premiums, you could consider raising your deductible a bit in order to balance the changes out.
Contact us at Insurance Planning Service today to make sure your Michigan home insurance policy is all up to date!
