Adding Space to Your Home? Add to Your Home Insurance Policy

Adding space to your home is often needed to make your family more comfortable, especially when your family is about to expand. However, adding space to your home also means adding value which can affect your home insurance coverage needs and rates. 

Here are some things to consider: 

What Type of Home Addition Are You Doing?  
There are various ways to expand your home. It may be a simple step, such as expanding the size of a bathroom or adding in a new bedroom in the basement. These generally do not change the overall floor plan of your home. They can add value, though. 

For example, adding another bathroom or bedroom may make your home more valuable if you sold it. However, what is important here is to understand the cost to rebuild it in case of a loss.  

For example, if you convert an open space in the basement to a new kitchen, you are doing a significant amount of new work. The cost to rebuild that kitchen if the home insurance company totals it is higher than simply replacing an open space. Be sure to speak to your agent about this. You may need to add value to your home.  

Larger Scale Renovations and Updates  
There are other instances in which your home addition is more significant. You may add a second story to the home. You may expand the square footage. When this occurs, you are adding a lot more value to the home. And, the cost to rebuild it is now significantly higher.  

This means you need to have a higher amount of home insurance coverage in place. More square footage means you need to have a higher valued policy to cover the cost to rebuild.  

Speak with Your Insurance Agent 
Before you invest in a large home addition, talk to your agent about the plans. Then, get an estimate of what the new home insurance cost will be.  

When you take these steps, you gain better insight into what you can expect to pay. You also can discuss any new risks from the home addition. For example, adding a second kitchen adds more risk than adding a bedroom simply due to the fire threat.  

Protect your home and any of its upgrades with the proper home insurance policy. Speak with an insurance agent about any changes you make to your home.