Insuring your home and belongings could save you thousands of euro if you had to claim. Get help picking the right buildings and contents cover to protect your home and compare quotes.
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Home insurance protects your home and belongings should the worst happen. Here’s what you need to know about home insurance and getting the right cover.
Home insurance isn’t a legal requirement in the same way as car insurance, but it can offer valuable financial protection.
Some mortgage lenders also make it a condition of your mortgage offer to ensure you have appropriate house insurance in place.
Home insurance protects the value of your property and belongings. A good policy will protect you against:
For example, if there was a fire in your home a home insurance policy would pay to repair the damage to your property and replace your damaged belongings.
However, home insurance doesn’t protect you against every eventuality, it won’t usually cover:
You may also need to pay extra for insurance against flood, subsidence and other natural disasters.
There are two main types of home insurance cover, these are:
You can choose whether to get a quote for buildings or contents insurance separately or for a combined home insurance policy that covers both.
If you own your property you’ll probably need buildings cover, if you rent then this is something your landlord should have in place.
There are lots of extras you can add to your home insurance policy, but each could make your premium more expensive. Extras you could consider include:
Some policies include emergency home assistance which covers out of hours repairs. For example, if your boiler broke down, the call out fee and labour would be covered.
If you need a general boiler care plan, our guide to boiler servicing plans explains all.
The cost of your home insurance depends on many factors including:
There are plenty of insurers who offer home insurance in Ireland, but you could use a broker to help you compare quotes to save time. Some home insurance brokers you could try include:
To get the best deal, try to use more than one broker. That way, you can be confident you’re not missing out on the cheapest home insurance quote.
To get the right cover for the cheapest possible price, follow these three steps:
If you want to save even more money on insuring your home, read our 7 ways to save money on your home insurance which is packed with tips and ideas to protect your home for less.
Never just accept your renewal quote from your existing insurer, because it is likely you will save money by shopping around for cheaper cover.
Damage caused by pets may not automatically be covered by your standard insurance policy.
It is likely you will need to opt into accidental damage to cover mishaps and damage because it won’t be covered by pet insurance either.
If you are renting a property and you want to protect your belongings against theft or damage it’s a good idea to get contents or tenants insurance cover which is designed specifically for renters.
Yes you’ll need landlord’s insurance, which covers properties that are going to be rented out to paying tenants.
Yes, if you choose to have a lodger you should notify your insurer and they may need to adjust your policy, making your cover more expensive.
A policy or insurance excess is the amount of money you contribute towards the cost of a claim. For example, if your excess is €50, you will pay the first €50 towards the cost of the claim.
If you choose to pay a higher policy excess, your monthly or annual premium will be cheaper. If you opt to pay a lower voluntary excess, your premiums will be higher but you won’t have to pay so much upfront if you need to claim.
Find out other ways to keep the cost of your home insurance down in our guide 7 ways to to save on your home insurance.
Accidental damage is normally defined as an unintentional, unexpected one-off incident that harms your property or its contents.
With many insurers, accidental damage is an optional extra, but some home insurance providers may include accidental damage cover as standard. Check your policy schedule carefully because there may be exclusions.
Many accidental damage claims come from people with young children or pets so it’s worth thinking about your living arrangement when deciding whether to opt-in.
