When you remodel, there’s a chance you may see a change in your home insurance rates. If and how much they change will depend on what type of work you’re doing.
What Determines Home Insurance Rates
When it comes to remodeling and figuring out how your home insurance rates might change, two factors come into play. One factor is whether remodeling affects your home’s value — as having more to insure might mean higher rates. The second factor is whether the features you’re adding might add safety — and reduce your rates — or add a risky feature that might increase your rates.
Renovations That Might Lower Your Home Insurance Rates
There are several renovations that might lower your home insurance rates.
Roof Replacement
Your roof can play a major role in your home insurance premium, as it protects you from wind, water, falling trees, and other disasters. Homeowners with older or damaged roofs often see a rate increase. And some may even have their policy canceled. A new roof can bring your rates back down. Further, if you reinforce your roof against the wind, you might see an even bigger discount. This is especially the case if you live in an area with hurricanes, tornadoes, or other wind storms.
New Safety Features
Advanced smoke detectors, burglar alarms, fire sprinklers, storm shutters and impact-resistant windows can all help bring your premiums down. The idea behind this is that they’re either protecting you against common disasters that result in insurance claims or are at least reducing the amount of a potential claim by mitigating the damage.
Garage Door Replacement
If you live in an area with hurricanes or other strong wind storms, your garage door might be your home’s weakest point. If the aluminum door caves in under the wind, the wind can then rise into your attic and push your roof off. Newer garage doors come with additional bracing to help them hold up under high winds.
Pool Fill-In
Pools often result in much higher home insurance premiums. And they are very expensive to maintain. Many homeowners who rarely use their pools and get tired of the costs and work that go with it decide to fill them in for additional deck space. If you do this, you can expect your insurance rates to go back down.
