Buildings Insurance (Building works)

[unclebulgaria67]

This is more of a warning thread, for people having any significant renovations to their homes, to check there is Insurance, should anything go wrong.

 

Here is an article showing a real life example of what could happen. In the article a young couple with small children lost their home and have huge debts after works to create basement living space went seriously wrong. This is just one example of such a situation occuring in the London area.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3484417/Our-1m-nightmare-dream-home-collapsed-shoddy-builders-thought-life-couldn-t-worse-just-start-ordeal.html

 

Before you allow any structural alterations to your homes, please do get advice from your architect and/or surveyors. They will have full knowledge of what Insurance is available and you can then make sure you have adequate cover, whatever happens. DO NOT just take the word of builders, that they have full insurance for the contracted works, your house and all liabilities created. YOU must check any Insurance thoroughly to make sure it fully covers you.

 

People unfortunately are so focused on trying to create a home of their dreams, that Insurance becomes a forgotten aspect. They wrongly assume that between their own Home Insurance and the builders contractors Insurance, that they will be fully covered. This unfortunately may not be the case. Please DO INFORM your Home Buildings Insurers of any structural alterations before any work commences. They can inform you of any requirements, exclusions to cover etc.

 

As a final point, if you are doing any significant structural work as DIY work, don't assume your Home Insurance accidental damage cover will always come to the rescue. I can remember a case years ago, when a husband decided on knocking down a few walls and this led to major damage. The Insurers refused to pay out and it ended up with years of litigation between the wife (joint policyholder) and the Insurers. The husband who created the mess decided to leave his wife and the country, landing her with it to sort out. I did not find out the outcome, as it was dealt with by the Insurers legal team and the policyholder. The advice must be to think about what you are going to do and check that you do have Insurance, if it goes horribly wrong.