Home insurance doesn’t automatically know about a new conservatory. Whether and how it affects your policy depends on your specific insurer and policy wording, so treat this as a list of questions to take to your own insurer or broker — not a set of figures or a verdict on your cover.

Why it matters to your insurer

Buildings insurance is designed to cover the cost of repairing or rebuilding your property, and the Association of British Insurers’ guidance on home insurance is clear that understanding exactly what your policy does and doesn’t cover, and keeping that information accurate, is central to how the cover works — including reading the exclusions rather than assuming standard cover applies to everything. Adding a conservatory changes the size, construction and rebuild cost of the insured property, and it can also introduce new features — more glazing, a different roof structure, new external doors — that weren’t part of the original risk your insurer priced. None of that is unique to conservatories; it’s the same principle as any other structural change to a home.

Questions to ask before you build

• Does the sum insured (rebuild cost) need updating? A larger property generally costs more to rebuild than the figure set when the policy was taken out on a smaller footprint. The ABI’s guidance stresses getting the value of what you’re insuring right — too low and a claim may not be fully covered, too high and you may be paying for cover you don’t need.
• Is the property covered during the build itself? Building work can introduce risks — an open structure, contractors on site, materials stored on the property — that standard cover may or may not extend to. Ask specifically about the construction period, not just the finished room.
• Does the insurer need to see planning or Building Regulations evidence? Some insurers ask for confirmation that consented work has the appropriate approvals in place, particularly for a structural addition. Keep your paperwork so you can answer this on request.
• Are there policy conditions about unoccupied periods or ongoing works? If the build affects how habitable or securable the property is at any point, check whether that changes anything under the policy.

During and after construction

Tell your insurer before work starts, not after it’s finished — a policy is a contract based on the risk as understood at the time, and an insurer that finds out about a significant, unreported structural change only when a claim is made may query the claim on that basis. Once the conservatory is complete, update the policy with the new details (floor area, construction type, any new external doors or locks) so the rebuild cost and description of the property are accurate going forward. If in doubt about any of this, your insurer or a regulated insurance broker is the right source for advice specific to your policy and property — this guide is general information, not a substitute for that conversation.

FAQs

Do I have to tell my insurer about a conservatory that didn’t need planning permission?

Whether planning permission was required is a separate question from what your insurance policy asks you to disclose. Check your policy wording or ask your insurer directly what counts as a notifiable change to the property, since this varies by insurer.

Could adding a conservatory reduce my premium?

It’s more likely to change the rebuild cost basis than to reduce a premium on its own, though features like improved door and window locks fitted as part of the work could be relevant to a security-related discount — ask your insurer rather than assuming either way.

Suggested component

A pre-build checklist generator that outputs the questions above as a document to send to an insurer or broker, with no attempt to estimate premiums or cover.

Related guides

Compare Conservatories is an independent guide. We may earn a fee from some links; this never affects what we write. This article is general information, not insurance advice on any specific policy — always confirm directly with your insurer or broker.