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Builders Renovation Insurance in California

Renovating an existing building, covered in days not weeks. Start a quote in minutes and a licensed California broker shops the renovation markets for you.

We shop the market for you, no broker fees

  • Green Shield

    Structural renovation of existing buildings, to $4M

  • Alchemy

    Renovation and remodel projects

  • Zurich

    Renovation builders risk via US Assure

  • Builders Mutual

    Renovation and builders risk

  • Kinsale

    Hard to place renovation risks

  • Starr

    Renovation property risks

  • Markel

    Specialty renovation

  • Great American

    Specialty property programs

What the renovation market writes in California

Existing buildings under renovation

Residential and commercial buildings undergoing structural or non structural renovation, for the building owner or the contractor performing the work.

Projects to $4 million with 18 month terms

Terms of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, extendable to 18 for extensive projects, with the declared renovation project cost scheduled alongside the existing building limit.

The structure's condition decides eligibility

Condemned or scheduled-for-demolition buildings are outside the program, and structural work by an unlicensed performer ends most quotes. The broker checks who performs the work first.

Renovation-specific coverages

Replacement cost option on the existing building, theft of building materials, vandalism and malicious mischief, second story additions, post loss repair work, and project starts.

How it works

  1. 10 minute form

    A few questions about your business or home.

  2. We shop the market

    We compare carriers and read the forms line by line.

  3. Pick the best policy

    We explain what is covered, what is not, and what it costs.

A renovation is not a builders risk new build

A building under renovation is two risks in one: the existing structure and the work. Insuring them as one number, or on the wrong form, is how a mid-renovation loss turns into a coverage dispute.

Two values, one policy

The existing building and the renovation work are scheduled separately because they settle differently at claim time. The split is the quote.

Materials theft is the common claim

Job sites get stripped, and standard property policies exclude materials waiting to be installed. Renovation forms schedule theft of building materials as its own coverage.

The term has to outlast the job

Renovation terms run 3 to 12 months and extend to 18. A policy that lapses before the certificate of occupancy is a gap the lender and the contractor both notice.

Written for California renovation projects, including:

  • Structural renovations of existing buildings
  • Non structural remodeling and repair
  • Residential and commercial properties
  • Second story additions
  • Repair of existing damage after a loss
  • Modular homes by review

What changes your premium

There is no flat rate for this coverage. These are the inputs a carrier prices against, and they are the same things the quote form asks you for.

  • Existing building value and declared project cost
  • Whether work is structural and who performs it
  • Construction type and age of the building
  • Roof age bands and protection class
  • Term in months, extendable to 18

Text us. We're by your side.

13:19
506

Menlo Agent

  1. Today, 9:41 AM
  2. Our lease for a second location starts September 1. Does our current policy cover it?
  3. Not automatically. Send me the address, square footage, operations, contents value, and move in date. I will ask the carrier to add it before you take possession.
  4. Sending the lease details now.

  5. Received. The location was added effective September 1. Your updated policy is ready.

    View updated policy

    menloinsurance.com

Questions we get asked

Is renovation insurance different from builders risk?

It is builders risk written for an existing building rather than a new build. The existing structure and the work are scheduled separately because they are covered differently, where a new build has only the one value.

Who buys it, the owner or the contractor?

Either can, and the program asks whether work is performed by a licensed contractor and whether it is structural, because those two answers drive eligibility more than anything else.

How long can the policy run?

Terms of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, and the policy can be extended up to 18 months for extensive projects.

Are building materials covered against theft?

Yes, theft of building materials is a scheduled coverage on the renovation form, which is the most common mid-project loss.

Can a second story be added under this policy?

Yes, second story additions are explicitly written, along with repair of existing damage and projects that have already started.

Can you write this where my business is?

We are licensed in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and New York, and applications in Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan are with those states now. We do not quote a state before its license is issued. Start a quote and we will tell you where you stand before you spend time on it.

What actually happens after I start a quote?

You answer a short set of questions, and a licensed broker at Menlo reads them, maps your operation to a class, and shops it with the carriers we are appointed with. There is no instant bind and no black box. You talk to a person before anything is quoted.

Get it placed by someone who reads the fine print

Start a quote and a licensed broker takes it from there, or talk to one now.

Talk to a licensed broker