A homeowners insurance policy is essential to protect your home and belongings against unfortunate mishaps. However, what happens when you begin to make a few improvements? Will renovations impact your homeowners insurance cost? How much home insurance do you need to be fully protected? Before you begin your renovations, you should contact your insurance agent to let them know what your plans are. Your insurance can be adjusted as necessary during and after the renovations.
Here are some factors that may impact your homeowners insurance in Astoria:
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Roof Renovation
Properly maintaining your roof or renovating or replacing it altogether will help to decrease your overall risk of loss/damage, decreasing your premiums. The money you spend on repairing or replacing your roof can be a rather large investment. Once it is finished, updating your insurance policy is a must if you are interested in protecting your investment. Take pictures and gather your receipts, so your agent has copies.
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Installing a Pool
Installing a swimming pool will dramatically increase your potential for liability risk, increasing your premiums. Even if you put up a security fence and take every possible precaution, there is still a level of risk that must be addressed. While there are ways to mitigate your risk, you will always have some degree of liability simply because of the nature of the risk. Protecting yourself by whatever means necessary is important.
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Putting in a Home Office
If you work from home, you may want to have office equipment and any additional furniture to accommodate your workspace. This will increase the cost of your insurance as loss/damage to such things will cost more. Even if you have business insurance, it will only cover what is owned by the business. Anything else that is used by both your business and your family will be covered under your homeowners insurance.
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Space Extension
Expanding your living area will increase the square footage of your home. Anytime the area of your home increases, your homeowners insurance premiums will rise. Though space extension does not have much to do with increasing the overall risk, your premiums rise because the value of your home has substantially increased along with the addition of both materials and furnishings.
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Improving Your Bathroom or Kitchen
Your bathroom and kitchen are both incredibly expensive in terms of fixtures and appliances, as well as overall risk. Upgrading either one means a substantial increase in the cost of the materials used to perform the renovations. You may install a few safeguards to mitigate your risk, but the increase in the value of your home will cause your homeowners insurance premiums to rise. Talk to your insurance agent before, during, and after the renovations to ensure that you are always covered.
ALSO READ: HOW TO HANDLE YOUR INSURANCE DURING A HOME REMODEL
No matter what type of upgrades or renovations you plan to do, you will need to be prepared for adjustments to your insurance policy. You must let your agent know what is going on before purchasing the materials. Being covered from the beginning to the end is essential.
If you are looking to buy homeowners insurance in Astoria or want to learn more about minimizing your risk when repairing or renovating your home, contact our agents at 01 Insurance today. We will help you find the right policy that ensures you are always sufficiently covered.