Home Renovators Insurance
Learn more about how to protect your home during renovations when your standard home insurer has said no
Home renovators insurance — is this you?
Your standard home insurer is built for a home in its normal state — fully occupied, no active construction, and no material change to the structure or value. The moment you start a significant renovation, your existing home insurance policy may no longer cover you — and most homeowners don't find this out until something goes wrong. Here is who needs specialist home renovators insurance and why.
Your home insurer won't cover the renovation value
The renovation pushes your property value beyond your policy limit
Most home insurance policies are written for the insured value of your home as it stood when you took out the policy — not the value it will be when the renovation is complete. If your $800,000 home becomes a $1,200,000 property after a major extension, your standard policy is not covering the full replacement value of what's being built.
Many home insurers also have a maximum renovation value threshold — typically $50,000 to $150,000 depending on the insurer — above which they will not extend your existing policy to cover the works. If your renovation exceeds this threshold, your insurer may decline to cover the construction period entirely, or void your policy if you proceed without notifying them.
Your property is vacant during the renovation
Moving out while works are underway voids most standard home policies
If you move out of your home while significant renovation works are carried out, most standard home insurers will apply their vacancy clause — typically voiding or significantly limiting your cover after 60 consecutive days of non-occupation. Renovations that require you to vacate often run for three to twelve months or more, leaving your property uninsured for the majority of the construction period.
A vacant property under renovation faces compounded risks — it is simultaneously a construction site (higher fire, structural, and liability risk) and an unoccupied building (higher vandalism, theft, and water damage risk). Your standard home insurer is not structured to cover this combination of risks, which is why specialist cover is required.
Owner builders
Carrying out works without a head contractor
Owner builders who act as their own head contractor face the most complex insurance situation of any renovation type. You are personally responsible for the site, the subcontractors, the public liability exposure, and the structural warranty obligations — none of which are covered by a standard home policy. Specialist owner builder insurance is not optional — it is a legal requirement in most Australian states for renovations above a certain value.
Major structural renovations
Underpinning, restumping, extensions and additions
Structural works — underpinning, restumping, extensions, and major roof works — create risks to the existing building structure that standard home insurers specifically exclude during construction. If a structural error or accident damages your existing home during major works, your home policy will likely not respond. Renovation insurance covers the existing structure and the new works together during the construction period.
Investment property renovators
Renovating between tenants or before sale
Investment property owners renovating between tenancies or before a sale face a gap between landlord insurance and standard home insurance — neither of which covers an actively renovating vacant property correctly. Specialist renovation insurance bridges this gap, covering the existing structure, the works, and the public liability exposure from contractors and tradespeople on site.
We review your current policy
We check exactly where your existing home insurer's coverage stops — so you know precisely what gap needs to be filled before works start.
We find specialist renovation insurers
We access insurers who specifically underwrite home renovations — including vacant properties, major structural works, and owner builder projects.
We structure the right cover
One policy covering your existing home, the renovation works, public liability for contractors on site, and the vacancy period — no gaps between covers.
We manage claims if something goes wrong
If damage occurs during the renovation, we manage the claim from lodgement to settlement — so you can focus on getting the project back on track.
What will my renovation insurance policy cover me for?
A renovation insurance policy will protect your property from major perils such as, but not limited to; fire, vandalism, storm, flood, wind, and hail.
Your Commonly Asked Questions, Answered
Is my house insured whilst renovating?
Most home insurers will decline to offer you home insurance whilst renovating because there is an increased risk in damages to the property by tradesmen, and an increased risk to individuals such as your guests entering the property and injuring themselves.
What value of my renovations will void my traditional home and contents insurance?
We see that this figure does differ between insurers. Some insurers have a low threshold of $50,000 whereas other insurers offer a slightly higher threshold of $100,000.
Vacant property guidelines
If your home insurer has accepted your renovations, great news! However, be mindful of what their conditions are around how long your property can be vacant for. Most insurers have between a 60 to 90 day unoccupancy clause, and if you exceed this duration, your insurance could be void.
Insuring your home building whilst undergoing renovations
Finding an insurer that will insure your existing building during renovations can be hard if you don’t know where to look. Fortunately, the team at Morgan Insurance Brokers handles insurances like this on a daily basis. We have access to a panel of insurers that will insure your existing building whilst the property is undergoing renovations.
Am I classified as an owner Builder, or a home renovator?
Owner builder
In Queensland, an owner Builder is usually the person who owns the property, and is undergoing works to the property over $11,000 which they are overseeing themselves. As the role of the head contractor for your renovations, you will be responsible for the site, including and damages to your property, and any injuries to the subcontractor’s that you engage. You also have a responsibility to ensure that the public, including your guests, that enter your property during the renovations are also safe from injury.
Home renovator
A Home renovator is a residential property owner that engages a licensed builder to oversee, and carry out the works to their property. The licensed builder will have their own insurance policy to which covers Public Liability and damages to the areas undergoing renovation, repairs, alternations, or extension. An Owner Builders permit is not required.
But wait, won't the builders insurance cover my house?
Your builders insurance primarily protects the parts of the property that are being renovated. For example, if you are building a deck, the builders insurance will protect the builders interests for the erection of the deck, rather than your existing house. It is not common for Builders to take on the Liability to your home for events such as storms or fire. It is in your best interest to purchase your own policy to protect your existing building, in the event that your home and contents insurer does not agree to insure your property.
Am I doubling up with my builder by insuring the contract value as well?
The policy that you take out whilst your property is being constructed will protect your existing house + the renovations that have been completed to your property. For example, if you had a $1M house and you were doing $1M worth of renovations and there was a fire that destroyed everything days before the completion of the renovations, your construction policy would look to pay $1M for the existing house + $1M for the value of the renovations that have been completed.
It is also not possible to just insure the existing house/structure under a construction/home renovators insurance policy.
How do I get a quote?
Contact us today and Morgan Insurance Brokers will guide you through the process of protecting your greatest asset with an Insurance policy that is going to respond.
