Home insurance providers have warned people to check their policies before carrying out a kitchen refit, as major DIY work might not be covered.Endsleigh and Sainsburys Finance said insurers must be informed of any work that is being carried out in excess of minor projects such as decorating.Rhiannon Harris, spokesperson for Endsleigh, said the insurer would not pay for loss or damage arising from, among other things, faulty design or workmanship or the use of faulty materials.Neil Laird, home insurance manager of Sainsburys Finance, added We want to make sure that homeowners are aware that they could be left underinsured or even invalidate their insurance entirely in the event of an incident during or after works if they have not informed their insurer.Research carried out by Zurich in April found that homeowners who overestimate their abilities pay out more than 1.5 billion to remedy their DIY work.Almost half (47 per cent) of all homeowners do not inform their insurance provider of major DIY work and nearly three quarters (73 per cent) do not know whether their policy would cover DIY mistakes.