Reviewing your home and contents insurance policy after a kitchen renovation

James McCay

Jun 8, 2021

When you add value to your home by way of a kitchen renovation or similar, it’s a good idea to consider updating your home and contents insurance policy. By revising the updated rebuilding value of your home, you could reduce your risk of underinsurance, which is what happens when the amount you are insured for is not enough to pay for the cost of a replacement, repair or rebuild.

To better understand any particular policy, including what it covers and what limits, restrictions and exclusions it could be subject to, check the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) issued by your insurer.

As home insurance experts, we wanted to get a better understanding of how much kitchen renovations can cost, to help you better gauge how much sale value you could be adding to your home by completing one. As it turns out, it can be quite a lot!

Renovating your kitchen can make cooking more fun, comfortable, and efficient; plus it can also add some serious value to your home as well.

But what’s the average cost of renovating a kitchen, and how does it compare to other parts of the world? In this article, we’ll examine some average costs for kitchen renovations in several countries, and how they compare to the average income in each country.

What dictates the cost of a kitchen renovation?

We looked at kitchen renovation costs from across the globe, sourcing data from professional construction associations, government agencies and renovation experts. All of them agree on one thing: the cost of remodelling your kitchen will differ for everybody.

A simple kitchen renovation may involve a new paintjob and a cheap countertop, which could cost you between a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars, such as USD$900 to USD$5,000.

Lavish kitchen renovations, however, are much move involved and could include brand new cabinets, tile splashbacks, sinks and basins, state-of-the-art appliances and new flooring. Large-scale renovations will cost a lot more, and prices can reach over USD$30,000.32

It all depends on what you want to do. Generally, the cost of a kitchen renovation can be affected by factors such as:

    • the size of your kitchen;
    • which appliances are being added or replaced;
    • whether you do it yourself or hire professionals;
    • what materials you use; and
    • whether any additional plumbing or electrical work is required.

Recently renovated your kitchen? You may need to adjust your level of home and contents insurance to ensure you’re covered.

Methodology

Prices from different currencies and previous years were converted into USD$ and Euro€ on 02/11/20 to provide a clearer comparison. Where a range of prices was given, these figures were used to calculate an average.

Wages are based on figures from before the COVID-19 pandemic and are rounded up to the nearest dollar.

The table below shows the average kitchen renovation costs and average annual income figures which were used in the currency conversions above.

Local currency figures
CountryAverage kitchen renovation costAverage annual income
AustraliaAUD$26,280AUD$84,845
USAUSD$25,000USD$68,703
UKUK£10,000UK£29,600
New ZealandNZ$32,500NZ$102,613
CanadaCAD$22,145CAD$48,000
Hong KongHK$29,050HK$218,400
SingaporeSGD$10,216SGD$54,756
South AfricaR$84,000R$270,000
Italy€6,500€19,287
Portugal€3,500€14,640
France€7,000€36,887
Germany€5,000€47,928
Ireland€9,000€40,889
DenmarkDKK275,000DKK326,048
SwitzerlandCHf32,500CHf78,456
Sources
  1. Study of Kitchen Trends 2017. Houzz. 2018.
  2. The Average Dane. Statistics Denmark, Government of Denmark. 2020.
  3. Successful renovation work. Cardis Sotheby’s International Realty. 2019.
  4. Wages, income from employment and labour costs. Federal Statistical Office, Government of Switzerland. 2020.
  5. Cost to Remodel a Kitchen. Houzz. 2018.
  6. Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019. The United States Census Bureau, Government of the United States of America. 2020.
  7. How much does a basic kitchen renovation cost in New Zealand? Refresh Renovations. 2020.
  8. How much does a mid range kitchen renovation cost in New Zealand? Refresh Renovations. 2020.
  9. Household income and housing-cost statistics: Year ending June 2019. Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, New Zealand Government. 2020.
  10. Kitchens and Bathrooms Report: Past Growth and Future Prospects 2018/19. Housing Industry Association. 2019.
  11. Average Weekly Earnings, Australia. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Government. 2020.
  12. 2019 Reno Report. Kishawna Peck, HomeStars. 2019.
  13. Income of individuals by age group, sex and income source, Canada, provinces and selected census metropolitan areas. Statistics Canada, Canadian Government. 2020.
  14. 2019 UK Houzz & Home Renovation Trends Survey. Houzz. 2019.
  15. Average household income, UK: financial year ending 2019. Office for National Statistics, Government of the United Kingdom. 2020.
  16. The Complete Guide to Home Renovation Costs. Irish League of Credit Unions. 2019.
  17. Earnings and Labour Costs Quarterly: Q4 2019 (Final) and Q1 2020 (Preliminary Estimates). Central Statistics Office, Government of Ireland. 2020.
  18. 2019 Houzz France study: Renovation trends. Houzz. 2019.
  19. OECD Better Life Index: France. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2020.
  20. Houzz & Home 2019: Expenditure on kitchen renovation is growing. Houzz. 2019.
  21. Regular, irregular employment and education. Istat, Italian National Institute of Statistics, Italian Government. 2020.
  22. Renovation Calculator: Renovation Cost Singapore. HomeRenoGuru. 2020.
  23. Summary Table: Income. Ministry of Manpower, Government of Singapore. 2020.
  24. Price Estimation. KitchenAdvisor. 2020.
  25. 2019 earnings: average 3,994 euros gross per month. Statistisches Bundesamt, Government of Germany. 2020.
  26. Kitchen Renovation Costs. Kandua. 2020.
  27. Quarterly Employment Statistics: December 2019. Statistics South Africa, Government of the Republic of South Africa. 2020.
  28. How much does it cost to remodel a kitchen? A step-by-step guide to home improvements in Portugal. Idealista. 2019.
  29. Gross monthly earnings per employee have increased by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter of 2019, to €1220. Instituto Nacional de Estatística, Government of Portugal. 2019.
  30. Hong Kong Home Renovation Costs: Complete Breakdown 2020. Rachel Green, Archiparti. 2019.
  31. Wages and Labor Earnings. Census and Statistics Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. 2020.
  32. Cost to Remodel a Kitchen. Houzz. 2018.