Canadians are forgetting to tell their insurance companies when renovating their homes, a new survey suggests.

About 40 per cent of Canadians renovated their homes in the last year.

However, 67 per cent of them didn't alert their insurance broker or company before doing the upgrades, according to the survey done for insurer Royal & SunAlliance

Almost one in five people doing renovations were either unaware they should report upgrades to their insurance company or forgot to do so, the survey said.

The main reason those that were surveyed did not tell their insurance company was that they thought the work was minor, the survey of 1,504 adult Canadians said.

Royal & SunAlliance vice-president Irene Bianchi said people don't always consider the potential for water damage when considering upgrades such as backyard decks and hot tubs.

"Many people don't realize that it is necessary to report any renovations to your insurance broker or company to make sure that they have enough coverage should they experience a large loss such as a fire," Bianchi said.

Renovations range from backyard decks and hot tubs to redesigned kitchens, refurbished bathrooms and finished basements.

The price of improvements ranged from less than $5,000 to more than $20,000, according to the survey.

The survey is considered to be accurate within plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

© The Vancouver Province 2008