A House Insurance Broker Can Greatly Help With Policy Renewal

Even if you have previously made a claim on your house insurance, renewing your policy with a different provider shouldn't be a problem in most cases, according to the National Consumer Agency.

Most people will only encounter problems if they have made a very recent claim for more than €10,000.00, if they have made 2 (or more) insurance claims in the last 5 years in excess of €5,000.00 each, or if they have made more than 1 claim in the previous three years. Outside of that, most people won't have any difficulties.

However, anyone that does, or anyone who simply can't find the time (or the patience!) to shop around for other quotes, would do well to employ the services of a house insurance broker. (That said, remember that changing your house insurance provider is FAR easier than pretty much any other type of insurance; your property can be covered immediately after you agree a deal over the phone.)

A good broker will know which insurance companies accept greater levels of risk according to various criteria, will be aware of to what extent additional risk will be acceptable, and, for want of a better description, will know "the right things to say" to greatly increase the chances that you'll be offered a competitive quote (or, if you are in a very high-risk category, any quote at all!).

Before you choose a particular broker, make sure they work with as many insurance companies as possible. The Irish home insurance market is pretty small anyway, so most brokers should be working with most, if not all, companies that offer insurance services in Ireland anyway. But, if you choose one that only deals with one or two different companies, you aren't going to receive a particularly competitive range of quotations.

If you have encountered problems renewing your house insurance policy, or getting a quote from an alternative provider, make sure you attend to the basics such as improving security on your property. Seemingly simply things like having more secure locks fitted to your doors and windows can push your insurance quote in a favourable direction.

As can installing an alarm, which certainly is a 'biggie' in terms of pushing down the cost of your quotation (especially if it is a monitored alarm). Of course, make sure you actually turn the alarm on when you go out! Many insurers will refuse to pay out on a claim if your house is burgled while you were out, but the alarm was switched off.