Home Insurance Warning Issued by Provider

Many homeowners in the UK are planning to make changes to the structure of their homes over the next year.

Sainsbury's Bank claimed today that around 21 per cent of this group were planning to make the changes, and issued a warning that the property's home insurance provider must be informed before work commences. The firm also found that the average spend on the structural changes is set to average out at £17,361. Around one per cent of the homeowners was even found to be planning to spend £100,000 or above on the work, while a further three per cent wished to spend over £50,000.

However, when questioned about whether or not they would contact their home insurance provider, one third informed Sainsbury's Bank that they "were not aware" of their obligation to do so. Proposed structural changes made to homes for which insurance firms need to be informed include home extensions and basement and loft conversions.

Neil Laird, home insurance manager at Sainsbury's Bank, said: "In the current housing climate, creating extra space in your home is another option for those who have maybe decided to put their plans to move on hold. But, as buildings insurance premiums are calculated based on the type of house, for example the number of bedrooms it has, creating extra rooms can have an impact on your premium even if you have unlimited cover.

"We want to make sure that homeowners are aware that they could be left underinsured or even invalidate their insurance entirely in the event of an incident during or after the works if they have not informed their insurer first."