The last few months have been characterized by a high number of reconstruction and renovation works. In most cases, adaptations are limited to renovating a kitchen or bathroom. But sometimes it comes down to expanding the home, such as adding a veranda or turning an empty attic into a home office.
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“Many people are unaware that a renovation or refurbishment can affect their fire insurance,” says Leen Verheyen, Managing Director of Hillewaere Verzekeringen. In practice, we find that many people do not review their policy after major interior and exterior work..”
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Calculation of premiums
The calculation of the premium for fire insurance is generally made on the basis of a evaluation grid and not on the basis of an estimate by an expert. With this assessment, the insurance premium is calculated according to the situation of the building and the number of rooms in the house.
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“If the evaluation grid is correctly completed, the customer is correctly insured for the total value of the home and its contents”, according to Pieter Kussé, spokesperson for KBC. “To avoid mistakes, a KBC insurance intermediary helps to fill in the assessment grid. We have recently simplified the assessment method whereby the address and type of house are sufficient to be properly insured, even if you buy the policy digitally. So there’s no room for mistakes. “
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“The questions are generally sufficiently clear,” notes Laurent de Barsy, insurance mediator. “We don’t have a lot of complaints about fire policy underinsurance.”
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Cover adaptation
If, for example, you renovate a bathroom or a kitchen, it is not necessary to adapt your fire insurance. It’s different when you are extending your home. “Additional rooms in the attic or the construction of an extension to the home must be reported to the insurer, because they are decisive for the calculation of the sums covered on the basis of the number of rooms in the home”, explains Gerrit Feyaerts, spokesperson for AG Insurance.
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But insurance companies also include margins in some cases, so that even when a home is extended, the entire home remains properly insured. “If changes are made without having been notified to the company, AXA will accept a difference of up to 2 points on the evaluation grid”, explains Gianni De Muynck, spokesperson for AXA. “This corresponds, for example, to the addition of two additional rooms or to a renovation by installing solar panels.”
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Leen Verheyen believes that it is always advisable to check the new situation with the insurance broker after any renovation, regardless of the magnitude. “If you don’t add rooms and you work according to the number of rooms system in the house, you are normally in the correct one. But it is worthwhile to go through the contents again. home and see if there has not been investments in more expensive furniture, kitchen equipment or materials. These investments can cause the amount to be insured to exceed the standard coverage, which can then be adjusted if necessary. “
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Swimming pool and garden
The many months of confinement and temporary travel bans have also exploded the number of swimming pool constructions in Belgium. In terms of insurance, a swimming pool must be the subject of a specific cover. Insurance for a swimming pool is not part of the basic version of your fire insurance. But you can insure it by extending your policy. The insurance will then intervene if your swimming pool pump breaks down due to overheating, for example.
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If you took advantage of the health crisis to transform the garden in a true paradise for a more pleasant vacation, you can extend your fire insurance coverage with additional coverage for damage to the garden. This insurance covers damage and loss caused by natural disasters such as fire, lightning, storms, floods and even theft. This insurance covers everything in the garden: garden furniture, valuable plants and trees, the pond and fish swimming in it, the barbecue, tools, etc. It also covers damage caused by livestock or wild boars to your flowerbeds and lawns.
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