Owner-Builder Renovation of a 1900s Queenslander

A Queensland owner-builder came to us to insure the renovation of a relocated Queenslander, a timber home originally built around 1902. They held an owner-builder licence with the QBCC and were carrying out a full renovation - bathroom, toilet, kitchen and stairs - with a plumber and electrician engaged for the trade work.

The project was valued at around $200,000 and expected to run about 18 months. Because this was a renovation of a house that was already standing, the existing structure needed to be protected as well as the new work.

We worked through the project with the owner-builder over the phone to get the scope right, then took it to specialist construction markets.

• We approached three markets for single-project contract works cover suited to a renovation.
• We made existing structures cover a priority, since the home that was already on site could be damaged during the works.
• We confirmed the trades and duration so the cover reflected the real shape of the project.

For a renovation, the existing structure can sit outside cover unless it is specifically added, so we made sure that was addressed from the start.

Renovations are more involved to insure than a new build because of the existing structure. The house already on the site carries its own value, and damaging it during the works is a real exposure that a standard new-build approach would not capture.

The age and timber construction of an early-1900s Queenslander also feed into how a market views the risk, so getting the right underwriter for this type of project mattered.

We placed single-project contract works cover through CGU, with the existing structure protected alongside the renovation works.

The owner-builder could carry out the renovation knowing both the new work and the existing Queenslander were covered for the duration.

This case shows why existing structures cover is the detail that counts on a renovation. For an owner-builder working on a standing home, it is exactly the protection that can be easy to overlook.