Thursday, February 23, 2006 - Improving (and Protecting) Your Castle

My husband and I have been talking about remodeling our house for several years now. That's all we've done - talk. Okay, we've cut out lots of magazine photos, too. We're sort of slow starters sometimes.

But I got to thinking about homeowners insurance and what happens when you remodel.

So of course I did a little surfing on the 'net and found a really great article that talks all about what kind of insurance your contractors should have and why you should talk to your insurance company before you remodel. Especially if you plan on being your own general contractor.

Several other things to think about:

Let's say you are doing such extensive remodeling that you have to move out for a few months. Many insurance companies won't insure your house once it has been vacant for more than 30 days. All you need is for one person to get hurt for the costs of medical care to outweigh the cost of the additional coverage.

Or you build an addition and an electrical short causes a fire, burning down the addition and severely damaging the rest of the house. (This happened to my next door neighbors when I was a child.) With the soaring costs of building materials, you might not have sufficient coverage to rebuild.

Anyway, it's a good idea to talk to your insurance company every few years even if you're not remodeling.

I'm calling mine tomorrow.