Will My Insurance Rates Go Up If I Renovate My Home?

Your homeowner's insurance premiums might go up due to some house improvements you make, but this is not always the case.

Your homeowner's insurance premiums could go up due to improvements you make to your home that make it more valuable. Suppose you increase the amount of living space in your home, for example, by adding a room (whether it's a new bedroom, a second owner's suite, or a family room). In that case, your homeowner's insurance premium will almost certainly go up as a result. This is since an increase in the home's total square footage increases the cost of rebuilding the structure.

Similarly, home improvements that install higher-end materials, for example, marble in the dining room or commercial-grade appliances in the kitchen, also increase the cost of reconstructing your home. That, in turn, leads to an increase in your rates.

Several alterations to your house will likely increase your rates, but other enhancements can have the reverse impact. Imagine that you have your roof replaced with materials that are more durable or that you have shatter-resistant windows and storm shutters installed. Your homeowner's insurance premiums can go down due to these circumstances because your house will be less likely to sustain damage from storms. Similarly, you may be eligible for a reduction in your homeowner's insurance premium if you modernize the home's plumbing, heating, or electrical systems or install safety equipment such as smoke detectors deadbolt locks, or burglar alarms.