Building insurance with renovation work

[oaky55]

Looking for recent experience of speaking to your home insurer about upcoming building work (specifically Nationwide underwritten by RSA, but any experience welcome).

We're getting some fairly minor renovation work done - won't change the number of rooms or anything like that and the house won't be unoccupied (unless we take a weekend away to escape the dust!). Its basically insulation to a suspended floor with maintenance work if required, and insulating a small lean-to roof with replacement of the rafters and adding a Velux window.

Have just realised that I probably need to tell the insurer, but am finding some examples online where people have just had their policies cancelled! Most examples though are more like extensions and significant work, so much larger in scale than what's happening here. At the other end of the scale there are people whose insurers have said stuff is no problem and no change to an existing policy. The builder has sent me their insurance docs so its all above board.

Obviously its dependent on the insurer and the scale/nature of the work, but I'd just like a sense of what the outcome might be. I get very anxious with this kind of thing and was burnt by a travel insurance provider a few years ago when they said I wouldn't be covered due to getting medical tests.

Thanks!

Have you read through your policy? Mine said I didn't need to contact them unless the works were over £70k

My policy doesn't say anything specifically, but there is a declaration to say that building work isn't happening and I have to tell them about a change in circumstances.

After posting this I bit the bullet and contacted them. It was actually fine, and I had to explain what was being done and answered some questions. They've re-issued the policy with some exclusions for the time the work is being carried out but there was no additional cost.

The only sticking point which I need to get clarity on is that they asked whether the property would be unoccupied. I said essentially no, but I might be away for a weekend or a few nights around Christmas. At this point I can't be specific (though I suppose that I could be at a push) and the guy on the phone sort of implied that there might be a workaround if I could tell them specific dates.

At the moment though the document says the house will be 'unoccupied', because I've said that I can't guarantee someone will be in overnight - every night - whilst the work is happening. Its odd because the Policy itself defines unoccupied as being away for more than 60 days and the exclusion does not give a new definition. However, when I spoke to the they implied that a single night would count as unoccupied. Will need to give them another call when I know the builder's start date as this seems contradictory.