No matter what type of home renovation that you’re performing, you’ll need to look at more than just the cost of materials and installation. You’ll also need to consider the fact that the renovation could increase the cost of your home insurance premiums. Although some renovations may decrease your insurance premiums, this all depends on the type of renovation you’re performing.

As far as folding doors are concerned, installing a set of multi-fold doors in your home is almost always going to increase your insurance premiums. This is mainly due to the fact that the folding doors will increase the value of your home, thus increasing the amount for which your home will need to be insured.

In today’s post, we’re going to take a deeper look at why this is and examine some of the other reasons why folding doors could increase your home insurance premiums.

Why Would Folding Doors Increase My Home Insurance Premiums?

Now, your first question might be, “Do I have to tell my insurance company that I installed folding doors?”

While you don’t have to let your insurance company know about your renovations, it’s in your best interest to do so. If you don’t report the home upgrade to your home insurance company, then any damage sustained to your folding doors likely won’t be covered by your insurance policy.

This means that if a hurricane or tornado comes through and destroys your brand-new $10,000 set of folding doors, you won’t be covered for the cost of replacing them. Sure, you’ll get a check for damage sustained by the other parts of your home, just not the folding doors.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s take a minute to look at the top reasons why folding doors would increase your home insurance premiums.

1) The Cost Of The Folding Doors

The cost of the folding doors is the biggest factor in how much your home insurance premiums will increase. For example, if you’ve just installed a small $1,00 3-panel folding door set up in your home, then it probably won’t increase your insurance rates all that much.

However, if you just installed a massive set of $10,000+ doors, then it’s likely going to jack your insurance premiums up by a noticeable amount.

2) Reduced Structural Integrity

The second reason why folding doors may increase your home insurance premiums is that it can reduce the structural integrity of your home. Smaller systems that utilize existing doorways likely won’t affect your insurance rates. This is because you’re not significantly modifying or changing the way that your home leans on its structural supports.

However, if you’re planning on installing an extra-wide panoramic set of folding doors or a large L-shaped folding door system that spans across two perpendicular walls of your home, it changes things. To install these extra-large folding doors, your contractor will likely have to knock down large portions of your walls and change the way that the walls of your house are supported. They may also have to re-route electrical wiring and plumbing.

Even if you have the most skilled contractor in the world who’s an expert at what they do, the very act of changing your home’s structural supports represents a possible risk. As far as insurance companies are concerned, a risk is a risk; and risks almost always correlate to increased premiums.

3) Increased Chance Of Burglary

Last but not least, a set of glass folding doors may increase your risk of burglary. This is for two reasons:

• Folding doors are typically expensive and indicate that you may have money.
• Transparent folding doors allow burglars to see through and tell when somebody is or isn’t home.

So, what does this all have to do with insurance? Well, your home insurance typically covers any theft that may occur on your property. This is why home insurance is often a bit more expensive in areas that are prone to burglaries.

Now, this will largely depend on the neighborhood or city your home is located in. Insurers will charge a bit more for areas that are statistically more prone to burglary.

Final Thoughts

Overall, installing a set of folding doors shouldn’t increase your home insurance premiums by that much. So, don’t expect your rates to double or even increase by 50%. Realistically, you might have to pay an extra 1% to 5%, depending on your insurer, the area you live in, and whether or not the installation modified your home’s structural supports.