House Insurance

patmac

Feel free to move this, just a thought.
I remember a few years back in the height of the boom how house Insurance companies were banging on about how people were seriously undervaluing there homes when it comes to house insurance thereby pushing premiums through the roof.
But as in last Friday's Independent prices have fallen dramatically by between 30 and 65% and funnily enough there is no campaign on at the moment reminding you to reduce the value of your home and subsequently your policy, so it is worth remembering when it comes to renewing.

Same could be said of car insurance as well.

the_pod

Nice idea but you insure the rebuild value of your home, not the resale. There may still be a saving there but I'd be careful and you might need to do some research or get a survey done. Better to be a bit over insured than if anything does happen.

Ian Whelan

the_pod wrote: »

Nice idea but you insure the rebuild value of your home, not the resale. There may still be a saving there but I'd be careful and you might need to do some research or get a survey done. Better to be a bit over insured than if anything does happen.

Yip, it's the cost of rebuilding it if burned down etc not the market value.

datk

There was a new RTE Consumer Rights programme on last night, I only saw a few minutes, they did a bit on house insurance and made savings for people. There was a site they recommended for assessing the rebuild cost - can't remember the actual www (it was short and sweet sii or sis.ie or something like that) - if you look on RTE Player you should be able to have a look at the piece.

dvpower

rebuilding costs - feb 2010

http://www.scs.ie/2010-SCS-House-Rebuilding-Insurance-Guide.pdf

Sgt Pepper 64

Well, def dont just accept the automatic renewal quote that comes through the post.
(This is how they really make their money, from people just auto renewing and not questioning it)

I paid 350 last year. This years automatic quote was for 450!

Nforce

You can get a better deal if you've car/life insurance with the same company too.

golfdiva

What companies are reasonale for houses these days? Just got my quote from Aviva and its nearly double :eek:

love porter

ulster bank took 200 off mine, it was with FBD

tombull82

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Well, def dont just accept the automatic renewal quote that comes through the post.
(This is how they really make their money, from people just auto renewing and not questioning it)

I paid 350 last year. This years automatic quote was for 450!

Yep same as. Mine was 360 upto 480

And even better still when I rang to cancel the auto renewal they hung up on me 4 times. :mad:

rebellad

I would be careful with this I recently renewed my house insurance and went with a lower rebuild cost on it. I promptly got a letter from my mortgage company informing me "It is a mortgage condition that the property is insured for the full reinstatement value as per the valuers report. The insurance value obtained at the inception of the loan indicates a reinstatement value of x." So basically I had to increase the rebuild cost to the value on the valuers report.

gaza m

Check out Permanent TSB http://www.permanenttsb.ie/ they are doing 6 months free on your house insurance. I signed up yesterday and got the first 6 months free on my insurance free.

newirishshogun

gaza m wrote: »

Check out Permanent TSB http://www.permanenttsb.ie/ they are doing 6 months free on your house insurance. I signed up yesterday and got the first 6 months free on my insurance free.

I do too last week save about 33% and dont have to pay till feb..sweet!

cynder

Got a renewal quote last monday of boi and it was nearly 600€ phoned around and got it off allianz for 250€ deligted. why oh why did i stay with the boi for the last 5 years?

m4r10

On another note, can one break off the contract in the middle of it to get insurance with somebody else?

Sgt Pepper 64

grindelwald wrote: »

Got a renewal quote last monday of boi and it was nearly 600€ phoned around and got it off allianz for 250€ deligted. why oh why did i stay with the boi for the last 5 years?

LOL, I'm with allianz!

As always, they do a great deal for new business and then try and get it back with repeat business

craftypaddy

got my renewel from irish permanant at 470 got a new quote from 123 for only 260, for the same cover thats a big difference.

Superfin

Good spot, must do a recalculation.

Thanks

BobMc

House insurance has gone crazy this year mine lept from e450 to nearly e700 with no claims, eventually managed to get a broker to get it for €570, so its on the up was with current insurer (AIB thru AXA for 11yrs) they didnt give a damn I was leaving

_Whimsical_

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

LOL, I'm with allianz!

As always, they do a great deal for new business and then try and get it back with repeat business

Yup where once loyalty was rewarded now it pays to be a promiscuous customer!

You have to beware when you're shopping around that the policy you pick is up to scratch. Last year when we were shopping around for ours I found one insurer,can't remember which unfortunately, was quite cheap but did not cover burst pipes or damage resulting from them! After the frost last year that would have been a massive problem.

Also last year when my mum got her renewal from 123.ie it was very expensive so she rang to cancel it. When she did their best offer to keep her custom was that they would "throw in flood and storm damage" for the same price. They had never informed her that these had been removed from her policy and as she's never been flooded or ever had any insurance claim she had no reason to think they would be. She doesn't live in an area that's ever been flooded either as it's on a hill.

Anyway, moral of the story is read the small print!

deadl0ck

House insurance has gone crazy this year mine lept from e450 to nearly e700 with no claims, eventually managed to get a broker to get it for €570, so its on the up was with current insurer (AIB thru AXA for 11yrs) they didnt give a damn I was leaving

Same with us. We were with AXA Through AIB and it doubled this year. We rang them and queried it and they would do nothing, so we went to Zurich where we got it less that what we were paying last year

BobMc

deadl0ck wrote: »

Same with us. We were with AXA Through AIB and it doubled this year. We rang them and queried it and they would do nothing, so we went to Zurich where we got it less that what we were paying last year

think we're with zurich this year now after switching, let see if it stays cheap next year, I used a broker this year and let him to the running around

Sgt Pepper 64

gaza m wrote: »

Check out Permanent TSB http://www.permanenttsb.ie/ they are doing 6 months free on your house insurance. I signed up yesterday and got the first 6 months free on my insurance free.

Nice one Gaza.

Just changed to them and down from 450 to 290!
Funny thing is I am still insured with Allianz! Perm TSB are just the brokers and Allianz couldnt match it directly themselves.
Plus no credit costs like the 12% Allianz charged me for paying DD over the year.

Best BA yet!

Keith C

Don't forget All risks cover & specify any high value jewellery otherwise it won't be covered if lost outside the home.

patmac

BobMc wrote: »

House insurance has gone crazy this year mine lept from e450 to nearly e700 with no claims, eventually managed to get a broker to get it for €570, so its on the up was with current insurer (AIB thru AXA for 11yrs) they didnt give a damn I was leaving

You see that makes no sense to me as house prices have fallen up to 60% also rebuild prices have reduced dramatically, the only way they can justify it is for flooding but only a small percentage of people would be affected by this. Rip off Ireland at it's finest.

stryker mcqueen

m4r10 wrote: »

On another note, can one break off the contract in the middle of it to get insurance with somebody else?

Yes you can , rates have skyrocketed in the last 12 months , people laugh but it is really to do with the flooding earlier in the year , companies paid out millions and therefore rates have increased , its the pooling of risks so everyone takes the hit

Sgt Pepper 64

stryker mcqueen wrote: »

Yes you can , rates have skyrocketed in the last 12 months , people laugh but it is really to do with the flooding earlier in the year , companies paid out millions and therefore rates have increased , its the pooling of risks so everyone takes the hit

Yep, that makes sense as when I changed my cover, the agent was very careful to ask me twice if i was in a flood risk area, and actually ran somesort of background check to see where my house was and if it was on their "list"

Slunk

AA sent out renewal last week. Saved €193 shopping around and it covers the exact same stuff, I made sure about that. Rang AA back and asked them what was the story that I was after getting the same insurance an awful lot cheaper than they quoted me and they guy just said go with them so.

The Guvnor

I was with AA but gave quotedevil.ie a go and saved €300.00 or about 25%.

clancger

According to the SCS calculator, the reinstatement cost comes in at about €229k for a 4 bed semi in Dublin. Calculating a bit less based on being in Navan, I'm currently insured for €200k.

Anyway, the same house as mine is currently selling for about €190k, so I'm wondering if I'm actually hopelessly overinsured?

Cheers
Clanc

TM

clancger wrote: »

Anyway, the same house as mine is currently selling for about €190k, so I'm wondering if I'm actually hopelessly overinsured?

It's the rebuild cost and not the market price that matters for insurance purposes. They are generally not directly related and not the same. Bear in mind that the SCS guide is useful but is still only a guideline figure. Better to be slightly overinsured than underinsured due to the averaging clause applicable to most or all policies.

patmac

TM wrote: »

It's the rebuild cost and not the market price that matters for insurance purposes. They are generally not directly related and not the same. Bear in mind that the SCS guide is useful but is still only a guideline figure. Better to be slightly overinsured than underinsured due to the averaging clause applicable to most or all policies.

Surely with all the builders out there the rebuild costs have dropped dramatically?

TM

patmac wrote: »

Surely with all the builders out there the rebuild costs have dropped dramatically?

I presume so but I'm just pointing out that the original poster's reference to the market value/asking price for a house nearby is largely irrelevant for insurance purposes. Anyway - the SCS guide is a good place to start when estimating your rebuilding costs for insurance purposes.

Bozacke

Just a warning to anyone who is thinking of reducing their insurance coverage, check with the bank on what the minimum coverage is before getting a new policy. I just recently re-insured my house which was bought at the height of the boom. The rebuild price was previously 450K, which was probably even excessive at the peak. To save some money I decided to reduce it to 350K, 100K less than my outstanding mortgage and slightly more than the current market price of the house. After sending the indemnity letter to the bank they replied back that I under insured the house since they said according to their records the rebuild cost was 400K and if I wanted to reduce that I'd need to have a new appraisal and I'd have to pay for that. I argued that presently I could buy a nicer house than mine in the same area for less than 350K and my outstanding mortgage was more than 100K less than 350K, but they wouldn't budge. I don't know how much an appraisal would cost, but I couldn't be bothered with the hassles so I went to my new insurance company and had to up the coverage.

johndaman66

m4r10 wrote: »

On another note, can one break off the contract in the middle of it to get insurance with somebody else?

Just to answer your question as I don't believe it has being adequately answered already. You could break the contract part way through the year but all the same it is unlikely that they will rebate you pro rata. Most would probably hold back a sizeable chunk too.

Seen Eddie Hobbs on the Late late show about maybe 18 months back urging people to recheck the rebuild costs of their houses before they renew their house insurance. His point was that insurance companies were urging people to increase their rebuild costs during the boom years as rebuild costs were increasing. Now as rebuild costs were falling or at least were falling at the time, the insurance companies were keeping stum. Don't like the guy, in fact his squeeky voice drives me bananas and the fact that he is lecturing people on budgeting and knocking around the motorways in a passenger landcruiser but he has got a point there.

Aglomerado

gaza m wrote: »

Check out Permanent TSB http://www.permanenttsb.ie/ they are doing 6 months free on your house insurance. I signed up yesterday and got the first 6 months free on my insurance free.

Brilliant deal! I've signed up for that too. Thanks!

Auvers

gaza m wrote: »

Check out Permanent TSB http://www.permanenttsb.ie/ they are doing 6 months free on your house insurance. I signed up yesterday and got the first 6 months free on my insurance free.

me to thanks

saved me €200

Barney Magoo

gaza m wrote: »

Check out Permanent TSB http://www.permanenttsb.ie/ they are doing 6 months free on your house insurance. I signed up yesterday and got the first 6 months free on my insurance free.

This is not six months free, it is the first six months without payments. All the payments are loaded into equal payments in the second six months.
My quote was €294.31 for a year. No payments for first six months then €49.05 per month for months 7-12.

cylor

Barney Magoo wrote: »

This is not six months free, it is the first six months without payments. All the payments are loaded into equal payments in the second six months.
My quote was €294.31 for a year. No payments for first six months then €49.05 per month for months 7-12.

Can you cancel after 6 months...and get a new policy with somebody else?

gaza m

It is 6 months free, I was currently paying €53.00 per month with BOI so I've just saved myself 6 months payments, after the 6 months my monthly dd with be €43.00, i've saved myself over €200.00

Barney Magoo

gaza m wrote: »

It is 6 months free, I was currently paying €53.00 per month with BOI so I've just saved myself 6 months payments, after the 6 months my monthly dd with be €43.00, i've saved myself over €200.00

It is obviously a saving for you in comparison to your previous supplier when you look at your monthly outgoings. But it is not six months free.
My point is that the terminology used by PTSB implies half price rather than deferred payments.
If I pay the full premium up front, would I then have more than 11 months free after that?

m4r10

Thanks OP, I just saved myself almost €300.

I rang the previous insurers a few days ago to ask them to match TSB quote and they were able to bring it down with €120. Curious how they didn't say anything like that when they sent the renewal forms a few months ago!

Zell

I got my renewal notice from Aviva, looking for €508, up from €380 last year. Went to various comparative web sites and AA and best I got was €468. Read suggestion here to try Ulster Bank and got renewal for €380!!! Happy days!!! Rang back AA to check cover was comparable and it is. Thanks Boards, Bargain Alerts. It sure pays to shop around.

deelite

Does anybody have a car insurance deal - I'm at 500 this year up 120 - no claims made.

stryker mcqueen

clancger wrote: »

According to the SCS calculator, the reinstatement cost comes in at about €229k for a 4 bed semi in Dublin. Calculating a bit less based on being in Navan, I'm currently insured for €200k.

Anyway, the same house as mine is currently selling for about €190k, so I'm wondering if I'm actually hopelessly overinsured?

Cheers
Clanc

The SCS calculator gives the shell of the house , it doesnt consider fitted kitchens , wardrobes , bathrooms et etc so generally add an xtra 50k to the re-build just to be safe

stryker mcqueen

johndaman66 wrote: »

Just to answer your question as I don't believe it has being adequately answered already. You could break the contract part way through the year but all the same it is unlikely that they will rebate you pro rata. Most would probably hold back a sizeable chunk too.

Seen Eddie Hobbs on the Late late show about maybe 18 months back urging people to recheck the rebuild costs of their houses before they renew their house insurance. His point was that insurance companies were urging people to increase their rebuild costs during the boom years as rebuild costs were increasing. Now as rebuild costs were falling or at least were falling at the time, the insurance companies were keeping stum. Don't like the guy, in fact his squeeky voice drives me bananas and the fact that he is lecturing people on budgeting and knocking around the motorways in a passenger landcruiser but he has got a point there.

They might charge a cancellation fee but they legally cant refuse a pro rata refund

stryker mcqueen

Slunk wrote: »

AA sent out renewal last week. Saved €193 shopping around and it covers the exact same stuff, I made sure about that. Rang AA back and asked them what was the story that I was after getting the same insurance an awful lot cheaper than they quoted me and they guy just said go with them so.

Just finished in the AA on Friday , when it comes to home insurance they only use 3 companies ,RSA AVIVA & ZURICH , so although they are a broker there isint much shopping around going on

deelite

stryker mcqueen wrote: »

The SCS calculator gives the shell of the house , it doesnt consider fitted kitchens , wardrobes , bathrooms et etc so generally add an xtra 50k to the re-build just to be safe

I wish somebody could clarify this - I've been told that yes the kitchen and bathroom, wooden floors, etc., is covered in the rebuild cost - and the contents is for anything that isn't screwed down - I'm baffled.

stryker mcqueen

Slunk wrote: »

AA sent out renewal last week. Saved €193 shopping around and it covers the exact same stuff, I made sure about that. Rang AA back and asked them what was the story that I was after getting the same insurance an awful lot cheaper than they quoted me and they guy just said go with them so.

Could have been me ! ...I never understand why people get quotes 200 e cheaper and try to get discounts from their current company and if they cant wanna speak to a manager etc ...just go with the cheaper one if the cover is the same ??

stryker mcqueen

deelite wrote: »

I wish somebody could clarify this - I've been told that yes the kitchen and bathroom, wooden floors, etc., is covered in the rebuild cost - and the contents is for anything that isn't screwed down - I'm baffled.

yea its not considered contents , it is buildings you would cover them under , but the calculator doesnt consider bathrooms kitchens etc .....100% sure of this

Barr

Anybody with 123.ie - they seem so much cheaper than the rest.

Is there some catch or something they exclude over standard policies ?