House rebuild cost for insurance help

blahblah06

Hi guys I own a 3 bed mid terraced house in lusk and the time for insurance renewals has came up and I reckon the rebuild cost of 280,000 is way to high. Also the house interior is 42000 which tbh I ony have basic things in the house. How can I determine what it should be at to reduce the cost of insurance

muffler

blahblah06 wrote: »

Hi guys I own a 3 bed mid terraced house in lusk and the time for insurance renewals has came up and I reckon the rebuild cost of 280,000 is way to high. Also the house interior is 42000 which tbh I ony have basic things in the house. How can I determine what it should be at to reduce the cost of insurance

sq. inches?

I think you may have got that part wrong

blahblah06

lol no the contents ha. one sec ill figure out what the square inches

blahblah06

ok guys the main house ie when i bought it is 1,050sq ft

I got the attic converted cheaply for 10 k last year so its just a 3rd floor will this add the sq footage

heres an idea of a house in the estate that was for sale

Entance hall
17`10`` x 3`9``

Sitting room
14`8`` x 9`10``

Kitchen
11`9`` x 16`9

Upstairs :
Master bedroom
13`11`` x 11`3``

Bedroom two
11`2`` x 9`2

Bedroom three
11`2`` x 9`2``

RKQ

Check out Society of Chartered Surveyors website, www.scs.ie.
They publish Annual Rebuilding costs for all areas of Ireland, based on floor area.

Home insurance is based on floor area. The larger the area the bigger the rebuild cost the higher the quote. You could see if you need €42,000 contents cover. Check if less contents insurance will actually lessen your quote.

If your attic provides "Habital" rooms (bedrooms with escape windows & proper ceiling heights) accessed via a proper staircase then the area should be included. Its best to inform yor Insurer of any changes to your dwelling. Especially if it is now a three storey dwelling.

blahblah06

RKQ,

Thanks.

The third floor is just used as open space however does have a stairs and flooring two velux windows with proper celing heights. Tbh its bloody freezing up there wasnt insulated properly so normally just keep the door closed.

So when it comes to the floor area woud I add on another 500 sq ft for the attic?

I could get the house rebuilt and just ad on say 10k to the insurance cover to get the attic done.
Do I simply ring the insurance company to tell them the attic is converted. I didnt think it was needed to do this once your insured to the right value.

According to the scs site the house should be insured in dublin area mind you im in county dublin for 192000 so I have it covered for 280000 but they want 550 euro renewal this year compared to 418 last year if I still leave it at 280000.

I need to get the cost down and tbh Im not clued into all this.

muffler

blahblah06 wrote: »

I could get the house rebuilt and just ad on say 10k to the insurance cover to get the attic done.
Do I simply ring the insurance company to tell them the attic is converted. I didnt think it was needed to do this once your insured to the right value.

If you base your cover on the rebuilding costs (and associated fees and charges) and add the 10K then that should just about do it. But for the sake of another 20 or 30 euro I wouldnt skimp on the level of cover. You can ring the company and advise them that the house layout has changed with regards the attic so as they have it on record - better still put it to them in writing. Needless to say that the actual value will have dropped from this time last year so you will be able to reduce the cover.

Like anything else shop around first for other quotes.

blahblah06

Muff I'm just awfully worried that dropping the house rebuild by 60 - 70 k will leave me short but I suppose lots of builders would jump at a rebuild n I can hire it when house value rises. Is that the basic logic involved?

Poor Uncle Tom

Also remember that your re-build costs for insurance purposes should also include full site clearance in the event of partial demolition. For a mid terraced house, hoarding and weatherproofing party walls should be taken into account while the necessary planning permissions and rebuilding is taking place. The professional fees should also include contribution costs payable to the LA.

Jo King

Under insuring may mean you get stuck with an averaging clause in the event of a claim. Also, in some policies the alternative accommodation sum is limited to 10% of the sum insured. There is aalso an argument fro insuring for the higher of market value or rebuilding. If the site was damaged and you could not rebuild eg. because of a chemical spill then a claim based on market value would be the way to go.