How To Protect Yourself For Up To Ten Years With Home Refurbishment Insurance

By Author: Insuraneandloan Insuraneandloan
Total Articles: 9
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The undiminished craze for building work is a direct result of the enduring popularity of television programmes like Grand Designs and DIY SOS, which chart the highs and lows of transforming properties of all kinds all over the country. While you can learn a lot by watching these programmes, however, one thing that they don’t often (if ever) cover is the complexities of insurance that you’ll need to sign up while the building work is going on. Obviously you don’t want to be held liable for anything going wrong or anyone getting injured by accident, and the contractors you hire equally aren’t going to leave themselves open to getting hit financially by any insurance companies that might be involved.

House refurbishment insurance is a sticky area to get involved in as you need to be completely sure about what the insurance you have covers you against. For instance, you might think you’re covered by the builder having ...
... Public Liability Insurance, the only thing this covers is them against you. You would have to prove their negligence if anything went wrong and you wouldn’t be financially covered against any outside factors like fire or storm damage setting you back in your timeframe.

The ideal insurance is a Contractors All Risks policy, as long as the contractor’s policy does not expire before the scheduled end date of the building project and as long as it meets or exceeds the full cost of the project. It basically requires both parties to sign a written agreement that they are both responsible for the project until it is finished, whenever that might be. Another word for this kind of policy is joint names insurance as both names of those involved are on the contract. Both parties can claim against the insurer but not against each other, and the insurer cannot claim against either of them. This provides complete protection for all involved so that they can concentrate on the project and not worry about the effects and repercussions of making any kind of mistake which leads to personal injury or property damage.

There are also other policies which homeowners might want to avail themselves of if they feel it is necessary to do so. They are not essential but it often doesn’t hurt to at least consider whether they are needed or not. For instance, it can often be a good idea to sign up to a ten-year structural warranty, which covers the property against any defects that were caused by the design, materials used or the actual workmanship which might not have been noticed at the time of the project’s completion but have become visible years later. If you intend to sell the property on, this will allow a potential buyer to take out a mortgage on it. Consider things in the future as well as in the present – you might end up glad you did!