Home Renovations and Insurance Coverage

Planning for an Oklahoma City, OK home renovation comes with a number of permit applications, tasks, reminders, and resources to arrange to make sure everything falls into place per plan. However, one that many people tend to forget is the simple task of checking the coverage on their homeowner’s insurance before making any big renovations. And when something goes wrong, the lack of coverage becomes apparent after the fact.

Homeowner’s insurance in Oklahoma City, OK doesn’t automatically adjust just because a change is made to a home. It is not designed to be an automatic, umbrella-type insurance protection. Instead, homes are evaluated and insured based on their current condition. However, because many homes fall into similar categories of use and risk, the initial evaluation process often seems to come across as automatic to the homeowner.

Big changes that need to be checked ahead of time include the installation of a backyard pool, replacing the house roofing system, changing a room to be a business office with significant structural changes like a business entrance door, or building out a room by removing walls or putting in an expansion. The other big component player involves kitchen and bathroom system replacements as they frequently involve putting in gas and power appliances and changing the plumbing which can all be source of damage when not installed properly.

It’s also important to notify one’s policy provider because doing so can trigger big savings, according to FM Insurance. For instance, a new roof can produce a 10 to 20 percent reduction in insurance costs because the external protection has been upgraded with a new, long life barrier.

When notifying, it’s not enough to just call up and say a renovation is occurring. Photos and documentation are frequently necessary to update a policy correctly. To go over the process and know exactly what is needed for a home upgrade, contact FM Insurance for more information.