TL;DR: If you’re starting a renovation this fall, three things on your homeowners policy are about to be wrong: your dwelling limit, your ordinance and law coverage, and whether anyone told your carrier the work is happening. Below is what to update, in what order, and what your contractor’s certificate of insurance needs to say before the first day. Text 828.759.5154 with your contract total and your current dwelling limit and we’ll send back the number your policy should be carrying when the work is done.
Two years after Helene, a lot of Transylvania and Henderson County houses are still under construction. Some of that is storm repair. Some of it is the addition or the kitchen that got postponed while the storm work went first. Either way, fall is when WNC contractors push to close out exterior work before the weather turns, so a lot of projects are starting in the next few weeks.
The insurance side of a renovation is short. Four or five emails, spread across the length of the project. Almost nobody sends them.
Tell your agent before the first day
Most homeowners policies require notice when you materially alter the dwelling. Skipping that notice doesn’t automatically void anything, but it leaves your coverage sized for the house you used to have, and it can complicate a claim while the work is in progress.
What counts as material: an addition, a structural change, a roof replacement, moving plumbing or electrical, or a new detached structure. New paint, new fixtures, and new countertops usually don’t.
Send four things: the scope, the start date, the contract value, and whether your family is staying in the house.
That last one matters more than it sounds. Standard homeowners forms drop vandalism and malicious mischief coverage once a dwelling has been vacant for a while. A gut renovation where everyone moves out crosses that line in two months, and an empty house with new materials stacked inside is exactly the property that gets hit.
Pull the permit, and keep a copy with your policy. Unpermitted work is one of the cleanest reasons a carrier has to reduce or deny a claim later, and it came up over and over on post-Helene rebuilds. Transylvania County and the City of Brevard each handle permitting for work in their jurisdictions.
Builder’s risk, and where your homeowners policy stops
Builder’s risk is a separate policy covering a structure while it’s under construction, along with materials on site and often materials in transit. Your homeowners policy is written for a finished, occupied dwelling. The two cover different situations.
You generally need builder’s risk for an addition, a new detached structure, or anything that opens the roof or the exterior walls. A kitchen or bath remodel inside a house you’re still living in usually stays on the homeowners policy, sometimes with a temporary increase in limits.
If you’re using a general contractor, ask two questions: are you carrying builder’s risk on this project, and am I a named insured on it? A GC’s policy protects the GC. Being listed as a certificate holder tells you the policy exists. Being a named insured is what puts you inside it.
Two gaps to know about before demolition.
Materials. Standard homeowners forms exclude theft of building materials from a dwelling under construction until the home is finished and occupied. Lumber, cabinets, and appliances sitting in the driveway of an empty house are a common job site loss here, and they usually sit outside the homeowners policy.
Weather. Once the roof is open, water damage gets contested. Builder’s risk forms treat an open structure differently than homeowners forms do, and some exclude interior rain damage while the structure is left open. Ask how yours reads before the roof comes off, not after the forecast changes.
We write builder’s risk in this office. If you’re managing the project yourself, or your GC isn’t carrying it, send us the contract value and the construction timeline and we’ll take care of it.
Your dwelling limit after the project
A $120,000 kitchen and primary bath project does not add $120,000 to your dwelling limit one for one. It does move it, and nothing moves it on its own. Your carrier’s annual inflation adjustment tracks construction costs across a region. It has no idea you added 400 square feet.
WNC rebuild costs are up almost 20% since 2024 on labor, materials, and code compliance. If your limit was set before the storm and you’re adding to the house on top of that, it’s behind on both counts.
Three coverages move with the dwelling limit, and most homeowners have never been told it:
- Other structures, usually around 10% of the dwelling limit
- Personal property, usually 50% to 70%
- Additional living expense, usually 20% to 30%
Raise the dwelling number and all three follow. Leave it stale and all three stay small.
Who is liable when a contractor gets hurt on your property
Ask every contractor for a certificate of insurance before work starts. You’re looking for two lines on it: general liability and workers’ compensation. Ask to be listed as a certificate holder so you’re notified if the policy cancels mid-project.
Workers’ comp is where homeowners get exposed. North Carolina requires workers’ compensation once a business has 3 or more employees. A two-person crew is legally exempt from carrying it. If an uninsured two-person crew is working on your house and somebody falls off a ladder, the injured worker’s path to payment can run through your homeowners liability.
Homeowners liability limits typically run $300,000 to $500,000. A serious job site injury with surgery, rehab, and lost wages can pass that number. A renovation also puts more people and more trucks on a property that may already have a steep site, a gravel driveway, and a blind curve at the road. If you don’t carry umbrella, a project is a reasonable moment to look at it.
What a new roof changes besides the roofline
Roof age is doing more work on WNC policies than it used to. Carriers have tightened on older roofs across the region, and roof condition shows up regularly in non-renewal decisions here.
Once a roof passes 10-15 years in age, the markets we work with treat it differently, and replacing the roof resets that clock. If your roof was put on in the mid-2000s, that’s worth handling before it becomes a renewal conversation.
When you replace a roof, send us the invoice, the completion date, the material, and the wind or impact rating if the product carries one. Two things may change: how your carrier treats the roof at claim time, and whether an upgraded material qualifies for a credit. Both depend on the carrier and the form, so ask before you assume either one.
ADUs, in-law suites, and anything that gets rented
If your project adds a detached studio, a converted garage, or an in-law apartment, occupancy decides the coverage.
Detached structures usually fall under other structures coverage, around 10% of your dwelling limit. On a $900,000 dwelling limit that’s $90,000, which does not rebuild an ADU in Transylvania County or WNC in 2026. Ask for the other structures limit to be set on purpose rather than left at the default percentage.
A relative living there rent-free generally stays inside the homeowners policy. The moment anyone pays rent, it becomes a rental exposure and needs an endorsement or a separate policy.
Short-term rental is a business use, and it’s excluded from most standard homeowners forms. If a guest is paying to stay in the space, the standard policy is not the policy for it.
Liability follows occupancy in all three cases. A tenant or a paying guest changes the picture more than the square footage does.
The checklist
Before the first day of work
- Text or email us the scope, start date, contract value, and whether the house stays occupied.
- Pull the permit and keep a copy with your policy.
- Get the contractor’s certificate of insurance. Confirm general liability and workers’ compensation.
- Ask whether the project needs builder’s risk and who is buying it.
- Photograph the house inside and out before demolition.
While the work is happening
- If you move out, tell us the date. Vacancy changes what the policy covers.
- Keep materials secured or off site until installation.
- Keep receipts. They become your replacement cost documentation.
- Tell us if the scope grows past the original contract value.
Within 30 days of finishing
- Send the final contract total and the certificate of occupancy if one was issued.
- Ask for an updated replacement cost calculation on the dwelling.
- Review ordinance and law, other structures, and personal property against the new dwelling number.
- Send the roof invoice if the roof was replaced.
- Schedule any new high-value items that came out of the project.
Starting a project in the next 90 days?
Text us at 828.759.5154 with your contract total and your current dwelling limit. We’ll send back the number your policy should be carrying when the work is done, plus anything on the checklist above that still needs handling. Email or a phone call works too. Text is just faster, and it means you’re not waiting on a callback while the contractor waits on you.
Already mid-project? Send the start date along with it and we’ll tell you which items are still worth catching before you finish.
