Home Insurance in Ireland

Buildings cover and contents cover are different things

Most home insurance confusion starts with treating "home insurance" as one product. It is usually two, and which you need depends on whether you own or rent.

• Buildings insurance. Covers the structure of your home and anything you would not take with you if you moved out: walls, roof, floors, fitted kitchens and bathrooms, and permanent outbuildings. This is what a mortgage lender requires cover for.
• Contents insurance. Covers what you would take with you: furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing and personal belongings. A tenant typically only needs contents cover, since a landlord is responsible for insuring the building itself.
• Combined policies. Most owner-occupiers buy buildings and contents together as a single combined policy, but the two sums insured are still calculated separately and each needs to be realistic on its own terms.

Underinsurance and the average clause

If your buildings sum insured is lower than the true rebuild cost, most Irish policies apply what is known as an average clause. Rather than simply running out of cover once the shortfall is reached, the clause reduces every claim payout by the same proportion as the underinsurance, including on a partial claim.

The way to avoid this is straightforward: use a proper rebuild cost estimate, not a guess or a market value figure, and review it again after any extension or major renovation. If a claim is ever disputed on underinsurance grounds, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman can examine whether the insurer's question was clear and your answer reasonable at the time.

Accidental damage, excesses and exclusions to check

Two policies with a similar price can differ significantly in what they actually pay out. These are the terms worth comparing line by line rather than assuming they are the same.

Security conditions, unoccupied homes and working from home

Several common circumstances change what a policy requires, and missing one can affect a claim even where the underlying event would otherwise be covered.

• Security conditions. Some policies require an approved lock standard or a monitored alarm to be active, particularly for higher-value contents. Keeping a listed condition in place matters for any theft claim, not just for a premium discount.
• Unoccupied homes. Most policies restrict cover once a home has been left empty beyond a set number of days. That threshold varies by policy, so check your wording, and tell your insurer in advance of an extended absence, such as a long stay abroad.
• Working from home. Standard contents cover usually includes a limited amount for home office equipment, but a business run from home or client visits can fall outside a standard policy. Tell your insurer so they can confirm what is covered.

Claims history and answering insurer questions accurately

Under the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019, an insurer must ask clear, specific questions, and you must answer them honestly and with reasonable care. You are not required to volunteer information beyond what you are actually asked, but an inaccurate or incomplete answer to a question that was asked can affect a later claim or, in serious cases, the validity of the policy itself.

This applies to renewals as well as new policies: an insurer that wants updated information at renewal, such as recent claims, a change of occupancy, or work done on the property, needs to ask for it specifically. Keep a simple record of any claims made, even ones your previous insurer settled quickly, since you will usually be asked about claims history directly when comparing or renewing cover.