House Insurance Cover for Building Extensions

The new craze for "do-it-yourself" means that many UK homeowners are entertaining the possibility, if not already planning and constructing, extensions to their properties. These extensions could be as simple as a garden shed to a more complicated two storey extension.

The bad news is, most building insurance policies do not take into account these "add-ons" to your building as a part of the building, at least on paper. So, any damage and destruction that might be inflicted on your building extensions would not be eligible for an insurance claim.

This limitation on actual building structures and what is registered with the insurance company stems from the fact that these policies are based on building value during the initial application rather than the physical attributes of the building. A £500,000 house would then be only covered for the same amount even if the homeowner decided to add, after the insurance policy is in place, a £100,000 garage extension. Any damage incurred by the extension would not be recognized by the insurance company as eligible for a claim.

There are, however, a few providers that offer a "peace of mind" approach to this issue and would gladly insure your building and any future extensions up to a predetermined value higher than the actual building cost. These policies normally command a far higher premium than a regular building insurance.