Am I covered to rent out a room?
Yes. All home insurance companies cover you for letting out a room and having paying guests.
Are Fire Brigade Charges Covered?
Yes, they are. However, what is covered ranges from €1500 to €3000 depending on your home insurance company. Give us a call and we will tell you straight away what your limit is.
Does my house insurance cover Workmen?
Your house insurance policy covers your liability to domestic employees e.g. a gardener. It is not designed to cover builders, electricians, plumbers etc. The workmen will have their own liability insurance policy.
What is an Excess?
An excess is the amount you must pay in respect of a home insurance claim. It is usually between €250 and €500. If your claim is in relation to liability, then no excess applies.
What is Sum Insured?
The Sum Insured is the maximum an insurance company will pay in the event of a loss and valid claim. If your home is insured for €200,000 and there is a total loss the maximum the insurance company will pay out in respect of this claim will be €200,000. Crucially, this is based on the assumption that the house was adequately insured for the correct cost of rebuilding or reinstatement.
What is Accidental Damage?
Say your children are playing in the front room and ‘someone’ smashes the Flattop TV with a bat or a ball. That’s accidental damage. Likewise, a toddler with an unattended paintbrush, deciding to imitate Dad or Mam by painting the walls and furniture in his own style! That’s accidental damage. In many cases, it involves children. But adults can drill though pipes and put their foot through the attic floor. That’s also accidental damage.
A final one - Say your ‘adult ‘children are practicing their chipping and putting in the hall and one of the golf balls accidentally hits and destroys an ornament, lamp, painting. This would be classed as accidental damage to your contents.
Am I insured for Garden Furniture stolen from the back garden?
Yes, up to certain limits, depending on your insurance company. Normally €500 to €750.
Can I insure a Household building owned by a limited company?
Yes. We have a special facility to insure buildings owned by limited companies.
Can I insure a Household building owned by my Pension?
Yes – this is no problem. We have a special facility underwritten by German Insurer Ergo, to cover buildings owned by pension funds.
My home is worth considerably more that the amount it is insured for. Why is this the case and should I change it?
The correct building sum insured for your home is based on the amount it would cost to reconstruct the building from the ground up. It does not take into consideration the value of your land—which in some areas is a big part of the total value of your property. If you’re unsure about your limits, we recommend that you call us on 0818 22 44 33 or check out the rebuilding calculator on Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). There is also a basic calculator included as part of our online quotation system.
Will my house insurance policy pay to replace a diamond if it falls out of its setting and gets lost?
If you specified the piece of jewellery on your home insurance policy, losing a piece of jewellery or part of it will be covered. This cover can help protect customers who own expensive jewellery, watches, or similar. Alternatively, many house insurance policies automatically include an amount for unspecified all risks. You will find the detail of this on your policy schedule. Alternatively you can ring us on 0818 22 44 33 and we will gladly help.
How can I save money on my home insurance policy?
QuoteMe.ie offers many discounts that can help you save on your insurance. These discounts, if they apply to you, can be added together and range from 10% up to 35%. Discounts are offered for a range of things such as alarms, monitored alarms, age of owner occupiers, and neighbourhood watch schemes. And, if you insure both your car and home, you can save on both.
If my home is damaged by a tree falling – can I claim on my home insurance?
If a tree falls in a windstorm or from the weight of snow or ice, and that fallen tree damages your home or other structures on your property, insurance companies will pay for reasonable expenses to have the tree removed—up to your policy’s limit for this coverage. However, if your house or other structures were not damaged by the fallen tree, then the tree removal is not covered under your policy. You will need to check your policy details to verify exactly what level of cover you have.
How do I figure out my “Building Sum Insured” and how much is enough?
We recommend that you use the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) home rebuilding guide as a starting point. It is updated at least every year and is region and/or city specific. It also reminds us to include outbuildings, fences and walls. You should also include any special features. Maybe you have an antique stained glass window or an Adams Fireplace. These are valuable items and you should add the replacement cost of any special, unique or antique fixtures and fittings to your building sum insured. The market value of your house is not your Building Sum Insured. It is the amount of money you would need to put it back the way it is now.
My home was burgled recently and I don’t have all the receipts for the stolen goods. What should I do to prove ownership?
If the actual receipts are not available, insurance companies generally will accept photos, owner manuals, credit card receipts, bills, as proof of ownership. It is a good idea however to create an inventory of your expensive belongings including expensive coats, handbags, laptops, screens etc.
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