Doing DIY? Tell your insurer, says expert

People carrying out DIY projects at home could risk invalidating their home insurance if they neglect to tell their insurance provider about it, Sainsbury’s Finance has said.

Neil Laird, home insurance manager of Sainsbury’s Finance, said people can make small changes to their homes, such as replacing doors or decorating the interior without informing their home insurer first, but they should let them know about any major changes.

Mr Laird noted that structural changes would warrant telling the insurance policy provider beforehand.

“We want to make sure that homeowners are aware that they could be left underinsured or even invalidate their insurance entirely in the event of an incident during or after works if they have not informed their insurer.”

According to figures from the UK home insurance company Zurich, nearly half of all homeowners fail to inform their home insurer of major DIY changes they make to their properties.

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Up to 1.78m homeowners without insurance

Up to 1.78 million homeowners do not have buildings insurance while a further 656,000 consumers are not aware whether they possess it, one financial expert has claimed.

The research from Sainsbury’s Bank shows that female homeowners are more likely to be without cover than their male counterparts with 1.055 million women admitting to not having it in place.

A further eight per cent of homeowners aged 65 and over and another eight per cent of those aged between 25 and 34 said that they do not have buildings insurance.

Neil Laird, home insurance manager with Sainsbury’s said that thousands of homes could be at risk from storms this week, so it’s alarming to see so many without the insurance.

“The growing number of weather-related instances really highlights the importance of having adequate cover in this area and unlimited buildings cover ensures peace of mind that you won’t be left underinsured should the unthinkable happen,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the firm said that the earthquake from last week could result in 3,250 home insurance claims.

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