Questions To Ask Your Home Insurance Provider/Broker

Home insurance isn't a legal requirement in Ireland (although some mortage providers require do it as a condition of the loan). However, it is extremely important that you get even a basic level of insurance for your home. In the event of a serious fire, for example, not having adequate insurance (or any at all) can result in you being homeless. And, while it's very tempting to simply buy the cheapest insurance available, you should still ask the following basic questions, before handing over any money to anyone:

1. What exactly is included on your policy, and what is not included? It is imperative that you are fully aware of what your insurance policy will and will not cover you for. If you aren't covered for something that you should be (or think you are), it will be too late to do anything about it when trying to make a claim for loss/damage to whatever that “something” is.
2. Does the insurance policy specifically list any high-value items you have in your home? While you can obtain general cover for all the content in your home up to a certain amount, any very high value items should be specifically mentioned and insured separate to the "general" category. This is especially true of the items aren't easily replaceable (such as an expensive book or art collection). To do otherwise almost guarantees you'll lose out in the event of a claim.
3. If one part of a collection of items is damaged or destroyed, will your insurance policy cover the cost of the complete collection, or just the damaged item, even if the damaged item can't be replaced without purchasing the entire collection? For example, if you have a 3-piece suite of furniture, and one is damaged, but a replacement can't be bought individually – you have to buy the whole suite.
4. Is your insurance premium higher because of where you live? In some areas with a higher crime rate than elsewhere (Dublin City, for example), home insurance rates are generally higher regardless, even if you yourself have never made any claim for burglary or vandalism. However, different insurance companies increase premiums by different amounts. This is another aspect that needs to be taken into consideration when shopping around.
5. Is there anything specific you can do to lower the cost of your insurance? For example, will your insurance company offer you a discount if you have smoke alarms fitted, or if a member of your family is usually at home during the daytime? Or if you install a monitored alarm, will that drive down the cost of your premium?