When it comes to insurance, transparency is vital. This is to ensure that your policy does not become null and void.

When taking out insurance, your provider will ask you a series of questions. This is for them to understand your circumstances and offer you a quote based on what you have told them.

If you give false information, or fail to tell them about a recent change in your circumstances then this can result in the following:

  • Any claim you make subsequently could be rejected or reduced
  • Your policy could become redundant altogether

With this in mind, once you’ve set up insurance always remember to tell your provider about any changes that may affect your insurance cover. These may include, for example:

  1. Change of address

If you move house you will need to let your insurer know – your new address could have an impact on your home insurance premium, as well as other insurances. In addition, your provider will need your correct address to send through any insurance correspondence via post.

  1. Decline in your health/condition

It’s likely that you’ll be asked about your physical and mental condition. If your circumstances have altered since you took out your policy then your provider will need to know what has changed and how you’ve been affected.

Illness and injury can make a difference to the overall cost of your premium, so make sure you get in contact with your insurance company to check if your circumstances will make a difference.

  1. Modifications to insured items

If you are making any sort of modification, for example adding rooms or extensions to your home, this will need to be declared too.

Premiums can be affected if the items you have insured have changed or altered. In some cases, this won’t necessarily impact your premiums, but you still need to check first.

The worst case scenario would be if you made a change to your home without notifying your insurer. If this was to happen and you made a future claim, you may discover that your insurer can’t pay out. Avoid this by being transparent with your insurance provider.

  1. Adding valuable items to your contents insurance

If you purchase a new expensive possession, such as a bicycle or a sparkling necklace, then you’ll want to protect these should the worst happen and they get damaged or are stolen.

If it’s possible to include them under your home contents insurance policy then your insurer will need to know their value first.

In some cases, further details will be required for items that are over a certain amount and classified as “valuable”. This can be determined by calling or emailing your insurer and making them aware of the new items you wish to insure.

  1.  New occupation

As your circumstances have a direct impact on your insurance premiums, the same applies if you change occupation.

As a result, you need to declare this too. The principles apply if you change your job, if you move to a new role within the same company, and even if you are retired and you start part-time work.

  1. Change in marital status

As some policies will apply to couples, you should also declare if your marital status ever changes. If you’ve recently got married, or you are soon to be divorced your insurer will need to know.

If you’re enjoying your marriage, or going through a difficult time with divorce, telling your insurer about your circumstances might not feel like a priority. However, make sure they know so that the relevant circumstances can be reflected in your insurance.

  1. Leaving your property

In most cases your provider will need to know if you are leaving your property unoccupied for a specific amount of time.

This will vary for each insurer, although with Inusre4Retirement the unoccupied time frame is in an event where you are leaving your home for longer than 60 days.

The insurer needs to know this because they may need to impose specific terms on your policy. For example, if you are going away for the winter, you might be required to leave your heating on to avoid frozen and burst pipes.

Failure to notify your insurer could invalidate your insurance altogether.


In any instance there is no harm in checking if your insurer needs to know specific information when your circumstances change.

If you have an existing policy with I4R and you would like to speak to us about amendments to your insurance, please call our friendly team on 0845 6 500 500.
