Ensuring your home is properly insured is perhaps one of the most important tasks for a homeowner as this protects you from incurring huge costs if something goes wrong.
However, you could unknowingly invalidate your home insurance by making a series of common mistakes, costing you dearly on a rainy day.
From having builders in to constructing an extension, there are a number of ways you could be losing out.
This is why the specialists over at Compare the Market have listed some common mistakes made by households.
Common property mistakes made by households that could be invalidating their home insurance
Here are the property mistakes as pointed out by Compare the Market that could be invalidating your home insurance:
Extending your property
Making a huge change to your home such as adding an extension or creating new rooms is likely to increase the value of your house, invalidating your insurance.
To prevent this from happening, you should inform your insurance provider of the changes so they can assess the added value.
Having builders in
Though seemingly harmless, having builders in while working on a project could invalidate your insurance if it comes time to claim as it is understood tradespeople on site could leave doors and windows open by mistake.
This reduces the security of your property and increases the risk, which is why informing your insurance is a good idea as your provider can place special conditions on your policy.
Changing locks and doors
Insurance providers consider aspects such as home security when quoting you a rate which is why they may want to know about your locks.
Changing locks could change the conditions of your insurance as security precautions could be altered.
Moving out when work is being done
Moving out while work is carried out could alter your home insurance policy.
Staying out of the house for 30 days or more could see the property classed as unoccupied, meaning your policy may need to be changed to reflect this.
Experts say 'You should always inform your insurance provider before any improvements take place'
Anna McEntee - Home insurance expert at Comparethemarket says: “Making home improvements, no matter how big or small, is an exciting prospect. However, it is important to ensure all the necessary precautions are taken to avoid it becoming more stressful or expensive than it needs to be.
"You should always inform your insurance provider before any improvements take place – whether it's building, excavation or alteration works. This means they can assess the risk and potential value the work could be adding to your property.
"Failing to inform your insurance provider could invalidate your insurance policy and have serious repercussions. Particularly as, if the worst were to happen, such as a fire or theft, your newly renovated property may not be covered.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here