When it comes to home insurance, recent climate events from flooding episodes as a result of storms in Ireland to the wildfires in Los Angeles mean it’s time to read the small print and know exactly what your policy covers.
Mary Feely is grateful she did just that before she experienced an extensive fire in her Co Louth home two years ago. The fire and water damage meant her family had to vacate the property for 18 months in the run up to one of her daughters sitting her Leaving Cert.
Feely, her husband and two daughters live in a traditional-style cottage home in the townland of Dunany, near Clogherhead, and even her daughter’s schoolbooks and exam notes were destroyed.
As Feely had organised the home insurance policy for the household, she knew she was fully insured for rebuild costs following the fire.
Thankfully, she had previously boosted their contents cover from €50,000 to €100,000 after going through the house room by room to make a list of everything that would need to be replaced if disaster struck. She cannot recall how much the repayments increased by, but says it “wasn’t a lot”.
The best piece of advice she received on the day of the fire was to call a loss assessor. “They represent your best interests and deal with the insurer on your behalf,” she says. “He did all the talking, negotiating, everything, including a winter coat and new schoolbooks.”
The assessor also requested that an immediate payment be made to the family to cover everyday outlays so they would not be out of pocket. “We were suddenly homeless. We suffered a catastrophic loss and were out of the house from March 2023 to October 2024,” Feely says.
The four of them lived with neighbours, in a couple of Airbnbs and then in a second-hand mobile home, which they bought and installed in the garden.
The back of the house – comprising two bedrooms, a bathroom, a hot press and the hall – was written off entirely, she says.
“Everything stank of smoke. There was a lot of water damage. It needed a new roof, new attic, new ceilings, the internal walls had to be reslabbed, new floors, rewiring and new internal doors had to be installed throughout,” Feely says.
Householders should insure their home for its full value, she says. “Whatever savings you make are not worth it to take a risk on yourself. Houses can be rebuilt. You cannot replace a person.”
Is your home underinsured?
A large part of the market was systemically underinsured when the Central Bank issued an instruction to index-link values on construction rebuild costs at the end of 2022. As a result, insurance rates went up, Paul Walsh of Peopl Insurance says.
A home with a rebuild cost of €300,000 in 2020 would cost €400,000 to be rebuilt at the end of 2023 due to the 30 per cent increase in inflation of materials, he says. If in that time you modified the attic, for example, to accommodate a home office then the cost of the rebuild would be €475,000.
Be sure to factor in any extension work, energy upgrades through SEAI grants and the installation of solar panels to those sums, John Ryan of Allianz Ireland says.
Insurance types
There are 1.85 million occupied dwellings in Ireland, according to the 2022 Census. These homes, of which about 30 per cent are occupied by renters, are covered by the two main types of home insurance: standard and non-standard options.
“The insurance industry likely knows more about your home than you do,” Walsh says, explaining that it works off a database that has digitally flood-mapped every Eircode using the OPW’s floodinfo.ie website.
“This data set knows which homes are within 50m of water, be it subterranean, a lake, a river, stream, tidal or the sea,” he says. The larger household-name insurers, who he says have about 90 per cent of the standard residential insurance market in Ireland, use this in conjunction with their claim experience.
The database also factors in soil composition and speeds of drainage as concerns, he says, adding that “in Ireland consumers do not have access to this data”.
To find out about your own home you could ring around several insurance companies to see if you can get insurance on your Eircode and at what sort of price, Lynch says, especially if you are only at the house-hunting stage.
In general terms, standard insurance covers homes that are less than 100 years old against fire, storm damage and theft, Walsh says. The specific year of construction should be on the deeds of the property. It may also be on its Ber cert. If in doubt declare that your home is “at least X number of years old”, he says.
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The insurance market will usually clarify that a building of 100 years old or older is considered a heritage building, says Mark Hewlett, of specialist brokerage Castleacre Insurance Ireland, which insures about 35 per cent of the residential period housing stock and is endorsed by the Georgian Society and Historic Houses of Ireland.
He suggests this approach if your home is listed or within an architectural conservation area (ACA) as homes more than 100-years-old will cost more to rebuild.
Flooding
Flood is a heightened issue in Ireland, Ryan says. “There is the effect of rising water table,” Walsh says. “What we thought was a 50-year risk is now a lot shorter – 10 years. When you look at residential conurbations such as Galway, Dublin, Sligo, Dundalk, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, all are exposed.”
A number of efforts to safeguard hazardous areas have been made by the OPW and local councils. One small protection homeowners in these areas should do is ask a plumber to install drainage flap valves. These can protect rooms on lower levels against flooding caused by the backflow of storm water and sewage.
If you occupy an Eircode that has previously been flooded or is within 50m of a body of water, there are options the nation needs to explore, Walsh says.
He is a fan of reinsurance, as yet unavailable in Ireland. “In the UK, Flood Re is a reinsurance company created by the State. For all of the people who live in flooded towns, the state is covering their flood risk.
It is something he believes the industry will be looking at in the next 10 years given the more volatile weather and the risk of rising water levels. In Ireland, since it is the State and local councils which are already managing the run-off aspect of flooding then should they not also manage reinsurance? Lynch asks.
Allianz Ireland has drafted a different approach, Ryan says. The insurer presented a proposal to the Department of Finance late last year that suggested an SEAI-type state-run grant system where homeowners could apply for flood protection measures and take outcomes into their own hands, citing dry-flood-proofing measures to exterior walls and portable flood barriers for front or back doors as examples.
“This is different from reinsurance, this is about prevention and protecting asset values,” he explains.
Renters
Less than 10 per cent of those in rented accommodation have home insurance specific to their status, Ryan says.
“If the property is unfurnished, the contents will need to include furniture. If it’s already furnished [then] laptops, jewellery, TVs and bikes should all be factored in. If a visitor to your rented home trips over something belonging to you, or your pet bites them, you are legally liable if that person takes a claim against you,” he says.
Renters may wrongly assume that their valuables are covered by their landlord’s insurance
“If you own a bike and you injure someone while cycling, you are on the hook. If a fire damages the property, any fire damage to your contents isn’t covered if you don’t have contents insurance. If a renter calls the fire brigade it is the person who calls the emergency services who receives the bill. Costs of up to €3,000 are charged by the fire brigade.
Mick Comerford, Axa retail director, says many renters are unaware that their landlord’s building insurance will not cover their contents. “Renters may wrongly assume that their valuables are covered by their landlord’s insurance in the event of water damage, theft, fire, or accidental damage. However, this is not usually the case,” he says.
Advice on insuring your home
How best to pay your premium
Pay your home insurance premium annually in full and upfront. Instalment payments may be liable to a surcharge.
Discounts
Having a monitored security alarm and smoke and carbon dioxide detectors, adequate locks on all windows and mortice locks on outside doors may qualify you for a discount on your policy.
Ask what discounts you are eligible for. These could include a loyalty discount if you have an additional insurance policy such as motor or travel with your home insurer, a discount for buying the policy online, or a discount for increasing the excess – the first part of a claim which you pay yourself – on your policy.
Cost
It’s imperative to shop around. Not all home insurance, even on the same kind of home, is equal. Insurers fear concentration risk, so if you hear a neighbour talking about getting great value in their home insurance, you may find the same company will present you with a more expensive premium.
Contents
Anything under €3,000 is covered by an all-risk policy. Take a photo of anything that is valuable. Proof of purchase is needed to demonstrate value on items up to three years old.
What to do in an emergency
Dig out your home insurance policy as you read this. Most have a domestic emergency clause detailing who to call in an emergency. If not, call your insurer to find out the number. The insurer will send a relevant tradesperson to your home, such as a plumber if it is a leak or a locksmith if you have been burgled.
This is a free service that will not affect your no-claims bonus. Stick the number on a notice board or on the fridge so you can find it if you need to. Some policies appear to limit this service to up to four call-outs per year. Read the small print. Keep digital and paper formats lest your device is damaged.
Rebuild costs
The Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland has a rebuild calculator on its website. You can amend the square metrage of the property within it. Its rebuilding rates are for speculatively built homes such as estate-type homes and should not be used for other house styles such as one-off homes in the countryside or period properties.
If your home fits the criteria then Lynch advises taking a screengrab of the calculation that is dated and keep it as a copy in case you need to argue rebuild costs suggested by your insurer.
Flood counsel
If you live in an area that is prone to flooding but your property has never been flooded then make your insurer aware of anything that can demonstrate that your property is not a big flood risk – if this is the case. Your insurer may consider things such improved flood defences, work carried out by local authorities or if your property is above ground level.
Remember if you are refused flood cover then you can get home insurance without flood cover. This would be prudent given the range of other risks covered by home insurance. If home buying properties in flood-risk areas can be notoriously difficult to insure. Check floodinfo.ie for predictive surveys and Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management.
Smoke alarms
Mary Feely’s smoke alarms did not go off until the fire brigade had arrived. Now every room in her house has a wired-in smoke alarm so she does not have to replace batteries.
Loss assessor
If your home suffers a serious episode then it is advisable to hire a loss assessor who can act on your behalf regarding your claim. Assessors can be found on the Central Bank website.
Home upgrades
Tell your insurer that you are getting building works done. It is a requirement of your policy. If you leave the home while the works are being undertaken then standard insurance policies have a clause that will change the nature of the policy when you are not in the home.
What if I short-let my home?
If you rent out your home on a short-let basis it is no longer covered under a residential home policy. You will have to modify your policy to ensure cover.
What if I go on a trip of 60 days or more?
You will need to notify your insurer. Beyond that period the property is deemed to be uninhabited.
If you do a house swap?
In a house-swap situation many insurers will require a switch to occupancy. Inform the insurer you are no longer using as a primary residence for that period, Ryan says.
What if I’m uninsurable?
In Ireland, individuals or properties deemed uninsurable through standard insurers often turn to specialist insurance brokers or non-standard insurance providers that focus on high-risk or unusual cases. The Irish Insurance Federation or specific community initiatives may offer guidance for finding coverage.
Red flags for insurers
On homeowners:
- Poor maintenance, visible damage or property in disrepair.
- A history of frequent or high-value claims.
- Properties in high-risk location such as flood zones, areas prone to subsidence or high levels of crime.
- Homes built with non-standard materials including those with timber frames, flat roofs or thatched roofs.
- Properties left vacant for extended periods.
- Unusual use such as business activities or high traffic unrelated to residential purposes.
- If there had been significant discrepancies between property value and declared insurance cover.
- Listed or historical status as these would require higher restoration costs due to preservation requirements.
On renters:
- Shared or sublet accommodation.
- High-value belongings such as jewellery or electronics not disclosed or covered.
- Lack of security infrastructure such as locks and alarms.
- Lack of clarity in lease agreements or unauthorised tenancy arrangements.
- Denial or non-renewal of previous renter’s insurance policies.
*Article was amended at 9.20am on January 27th
