house insurance while building extension

[mark]

Anyone had trouble with their insurance company after telling them about work to be done?

[Reckless]

No, I informed my insurance company when I started and they just said 'let us know when it's finished and we'll adjust your premium'. However, I didn't have to make a claim so who knows in that case :)

[John Rumm]

Yup same here.... they said they were not interested until it is done.

[Lobster]

Probably obvious, but bear in mind that your builder would definitely be responsible if the house falls down (or any degrees thereof) during the works - your own insurer wouldn't want to know. A good reason for not choosing a cowboy with no liability insurance!

David

[Rick]

I have insured my project in two halfs, normal house insurance for the bit I am living in, and self build insurance for the bit I am rebuilding.

Rick

[Fred]

Your house insurance should still kick in if his insurance fails to deliver. The insurers have been informed of the extension build so they are aware of a material fact. The builder has a legal obligation to have public liability cover so it can be assumed he has the prerequisite insurance.

[bigcat]

insurance.

of course it cant.

NT

[Fred]

What I was trying to get across (I admit badly) it would be unreasonable for an insurance company to expect the householder to shoulder the responsibility to ensure the builder is insured or that any certificate he's shown is indeed valid.

[Mike]

They are usually okay provided you give them full details of work being done, timescales and so on. Only thing they really worry about is if you are taking the roof off or leaving windows and external doors off.

[bigcat]

unreasonable for

I dont know why you think thats the case. I would expect an insurer to require that the householder has seen the builders paperwork. But if neither of us has been through this, who knows.

NT

[Mark]

They downgraded my level of cover while the work was going on (without giving me any consessions of Premium).

[DavidG]

Ours demanded an extra premium to keep the same level of cover. Luckily we did. The roofers didnt tarp the roof properly one night and I am now a shareholder in 'stain stop'.

Now we shall see how we get on with the re-decorating claim.