Given that my insurer has never once stepped foot in any property of mine they've ever insured, the idea that I have to tell them when I replace the tiles in the bathroom seems a little ... crazy.

Obviously, if I add rooms or extend vertically, they need to know. But "remodel" covers a lot.

Ok, “remodel” was maybe not the right word here. Projects large enough to generate a sizable pile of junk, but not ones that materially altered the structure of the house. Replacing built-in shelves with a built-in desk, replacing a non-elevated deck without altering the footprint, etc.

My point is more that a totally reasonable and brief occurrence becomes permanent and without context in satellite imagery.