With spring underway, more and more Britons are turning their hands to DIY to spruce up their homes after a long winter.
March is traditionally the start of the peak DIY season, which runs until the October half term, according to consumer analysts Kantar.
And DIY is big business, with Britons typically spending more than £20billion on home improvements every year.
But undertaking serious DIY can leave homeowners in an insurance bind, as insurers demand to be told about certain sorts of upgrade work.
Don’t cut corners: Cosmetic DIY work will not affect your insurance – but more serious home improvements may do
If a homeowner doesn’t declare it, and something goes wrong, they could find themselves uninsured.
Here is everything you need to know about how DIY can affect your insurance, and when you need to get your insurer involved.
What DIY can I do without telling my insurer?
This boils down to what the wording of your buildings insurance policy lets you do.
The first thing to look out for in your insurance policy wording is a ‘minor building works limit’.
That is a clause that lays out how much building work you can do, in pounds, without informing your insurer.
However, only 19 per cent of buildings insurance deals have this clause, according to financial ranking firm Defaqto.
Go pro: Work involving a professional builder is almost certainly not going to be covered by standard home insurance, but specialist cover is available
If you have one of the remaining 81 per cent of buildings insurance products, you will have to tell your insurer about significant DIY work.
Your insurer can then either permit the work with no restrictions, permit it with restrictions – such as an additional premium – or say no.
Low-level cosmetic DIY work such as painting walls, putting up wallpaper and putting up shelves is totally fine, and you do not need to inform your insurer.
Slightly larger DIY jobs such as minor rewiring and plumbing work may be covered by your existing insurance, but it is worth telling your insurer first.
Insurers will want to know how long the work will take, the cost and whether you will need to move out.
If you employ a professional to do the work your insurer will want to know their details and if they have public liability cover.
Building work that goes beyond DIY and is likely to involve a professional, such as an extension or loft conversion, is unlikely to be covered by any buildings insurance.
Insurers are concerned that building work makes it more likely the home will be damaged or broken into, resulting in a claim.
Your insurer may allow an extension to your existing policy to cover this sort of structural work.
If you carry out building work outside the terms of your insurance deal it can invalidate your policy.
That means insurers can reject claims made if, for example, thieves get in through a window that is being replaced.
Insurer Ageas, for example, says: ‘If you are doing work such as decorating or replacing fitted units you may not need to inform your home insurance provider. But if the work will affect the rebuilding cost of your home, then you will need to get in touch with your insurer.
‘Also, you’ll need to inform your insurer in advance if you are planning any major home improvement work to your property, particularly structural changes. Your cover may need to change to reflect any increase in the rebuilding cost.’
If your existing buildings insurance does not cover you for your planned work and cannot be extended, the next step is to take out a specialist type of insurance called ‘buildings in course of alteration insurance’. That is sometimes just called ‘extension’ or ‘renovation’ insurance.
The homeowner should also enquire with their old insurer about cancelling their home insurance for the period of the refurbishment and getting a refund due to the change in occupation.
Am I covered if my DIY goes wrong?
Standard buildings insurance will also not cover you if you undertake DIY and something goes wrong.
Instead, customers will need a policy that pays out for accidental damage, or will need to buy accidental damage as an ‘add-on’ insurance deal to their main buildings policy.
Compare home insurance, car insurance and travel insurance
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New Financial Conduct Authority rules are meant to stop insurers bumping up renewal quotes, but it still makes sense to check for better deals on the comparison sites. We suggest:
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Also try Direct Line that does not appear on comparison sites and if you have previous serious medical issues consider a specialist insurer or broker.
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