No. We are an insurance adviser and do not act as an intermediary for mortgages. For that we refer you to a specialist adviser. What we do is assess what consequences the release has for your buildings, contents and risk cover, and adjust those so that when you claim there is no gap between the new situation and the policy schedule.

Yes. A refurbishment changes the risk for the duration of the works and the value afterwards. Many policies have limited cover or a higher excess during the building work. Report the nature of the work, the building period and whether there is a builder or an element of DIY. The latter is a separate section for the construction cover.

In the first instance the builder is liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and its liability insurance has to bear the loss. In practice that goes wrong with small firms without cover or where there is argument about the cause. A construction insurance then pays the loss anyway and handles the recovery. Always ask for valid evidence of insurance before the work starts.

An arrangement under which the insurer waives any reliance on underinsurance, provided you have established the rebuild value with an approved tool or a valuation and the details are correct. That guarantee applies for a limited period and lapses on a substantial refurbishment you do not report. Article 7:960 of the Dutch Civil Code continues to apply as well: no more than the actual loss is paid.