Home Contents Insurance

Yoda

How does Home Contents Insurance work? I ought to get some. Does one declare the value of everything with an invoice? I've no idea.

And I've no idea what companies are reputable either. (If any.)

Any advice?

ircoha

most people do it as a % of the value of the property and then just run with that.

Invoices will only be required for high value specific items itemized in the policy, such as rings/ jewelry/ false teeth:) etc: the insurer will tell u what the cut-in point is value wise.
The easiest way to do it is use a camera and do a detailed pic album of the house and put it in a safe place, eg store them on the web
HTH

ps on the reputability side when a claim is made the first question they ask of themselves is how can we void the policy and avoid paying out

Colonel Sanders

ircoha wrote: »

ps on the reputability side when a claim is made the first question they ask of themselves is how can we void the policy and avoid paying out

Well done, you win the award for the most nonsensical statement ever posted on an internet forum. It is also potentailly libellous.

If the policy holder has complied with the principle of Utmost good faith and the claim is covered by the policy wording then the claim is paid. There are even many instances on a daily basis of claims being paid uncontested when the policy holder has behaved illegally (provisional drivers claiming when they were in fact unaccompanied at the time of the accident and own damage claims being paid when the driver was in fact driving under the influence). If you (or any other policy holder with any company) think this is the case or have experience of it happening (or anything else untoward) feel free to contact the Financial Ombudsman

Colonel Sanders

In terms of answering the OP's question, the convention of declaring value of contents may be a straight monetary amount (eg 50k) or a % of the buildings sum assured. Different companies have different conventions. You may well be asked to provide receipts etc for high value items but not for everything.

A word of warning though, make sure that the value declared is accurate as if you declare a lower value than is in fact the case the insurance company may apply the principle of average in the event of you making a claim (do a search for the word 'average' in the document)

Yoda

By the way I didn't mean "invoice" but rather "catalogue". I don't really know how to value what I have (I have a large library of books) but I ought to catalogue them anyway. I really don't think I understand insurance... It looks as though (based on what I see on line) renters can only get contents insurance up to €125,000.

Colonel Sanders

In terms of a catalogue I don't think you'll be asked for one (I may be wrong) however this would obviously be a good way of keeping track of what you have in the house and would help both you and your insurance company assess the value of contents destroyed/stolen/etc if you do have to claim.

Some companies may only quote up to a certain value online but might quote for higher values if you ring them. For very large sums insured they might insist on having someone inspect your property/contents etc

Yoda

Well, I don't know how big a value my heap o' stuff has... ;-) I could guess by assigning a value to book pages and measuring the metres!

Of course the second part of my question is... what companies are trustworthy? There's no "Consumer Reports" or "Which?" for insurance companies, I warrant.

Colonel Sanders

All insurance companies operating in Ireland are regulated by the Financial Regulator and IMO are all trustworthy.

However the policies sold by different companies can vary enormously. When making a comparison between quotes ensire that the policies are similar with regard to excesses, policy conditioning etc. So the cheapest policy may not be the best policy for your individual circumstances. But do ensure to shop around and get the best deal possible

At the moment Bank Of Ireland are operating a 'Price Match' promise. They only sell the policies, Royal and Sun Alliance are the actual insurance company involved. Others you can try include Hibernian, Allianz, Zurich (formally Known as Eagle Star), 123, Axa, FBD, Chill (formally known as insureme and are a broker), AIG and Quinn.

The one thing I will say is, if you buy a Quinn Direct policy make sure you read the policy wording very carefully before you buy. They have a reputation for having very tight policy wording and being difficult to deal with in the event of a claim.

Colonel Sanders

Also just found this on the financial regulator's website, haven't read it but might answer a few more of your questions. A google search might give you more reports/price comparisons etc

Jo King

Most companies will only quote for contents cover if the building is insured with them. there are a myriad of policy types. If you get "new for old" you will not have to provide original receipts of purchase. Also getting non-accidental and accidental cover means the company will pay up in more situations. Some companies are more reasonable to deal with in the event of a claim than others. Ask an insurance loss assessor not a broker or loss adjuster for guidance.They process claims on behalf of insured people all the time and will be aware of the current behaviour of the different companies. A low quote may be all fine and dandy but may not look such a bargain in the event of a claim.

Carlow52

By Colonel Sanders

The one thing I will say is, if you buy a Quinn Direct policy make sure you read the policy wording very carefully before you buy. They have a reputation for having very tight policy wording and being difficult to deal with in the event of a claim.

How come you piss in on top of irocha with your

It is also potentailly libellous

whinge earlier on and then write

If the policy holder has complied with the principle of Utmost good faith and the claim is covered by the policy wording then the claim is paid.

What I read from what ircoha wrote

when a claim is made the first question they ask of themselves is how can we void the policy and avoid paying out

is the same goal

Colonel Sanders

Carlow52 wrote: »

By Colonel Sanders

How come you piss in on top of irocha with your whinge earlier on and then write


What I read from what ircoha wrote
is the same goal

Difficult to deal with does not mean they will refuse to pay valid claims.

the question asked by insurance companies is not 'how can we void the policy' but 'is the claim within the scope of the policy'. if the claim within the scope then fine and dandy, if not the policyholder will not get paid, pretty simple.

Tighter policy wording just means that you will not get the same level of cover within your policy, one of the reasons they can quote seemingly cheap premiums. Absolutely nothing wrong with that practise, they are simply selling a different product to their competitors. its just that a lot of comapnies have certain covers as standard within their polices which quinn either don't offer or charge seperately for. Again nothing worng with this, its just that if you have had a policy with another company for 10 years and switch to Quinn without reading policy documentation you might assume the cover is identical, it rarely is.

I was stating facts:

I said they have a reputation for:
(a) being difficult to deal with in the event of a claim (ask a lot of their customers and ex customers, thats what I'm basing this fact on. its a customer service issue not a repubility issue. Its a bit like saying Air france have a reputation for bad customer service, i am not suggesting they will charge for a booking and then refuse to fly you to your destination)
(b)having very tight policy wording (nothing in the slightest worng with this, they publish their policy wording for any prospective policy holder to read before they purchase)

he was making a frivolous claim with absolutely nothing to back it up.

BC

I have contents insurance with FBD. All they wanted was a value of the total contents. The minimum they insure is 20,000. So really you need to think about how much it would cost to replace EVERYTHING in your home.

As far as I remember i had to list any individual items over a particular value (something like 2000 euro)

Cailin Maith

Hi Yoda,

You seem to have started a debate here, but to give you some advice on your original query, I would definately recommed you get some home content insurance asap.

With regard to deciding on a sum to insure I would personally recommend you sit down one evening and make a list of every room in your home. Then go sit in each room and decide how much it would cost you to replace absolutely everything that you own in that room as brand new. Once you have finished add up your total and then round it up (always up ) or add on a couple of thousand just in case.

Once you have decide on a figure you can then shop around which is definately the best policy, try direct insurers and brokers too. When looking for a broker make sure they are Authorised Advisors (they have the widest scope when giving insurance advice) and check they are members of a professional body such as the IBA or PIBA. All insurance companies operating in Ireland fall under the scope of the Financial Regulator and as such have to obey strict operating rules and if all else fails they also fall under the jurisdiction of the Fincial Services Ombudsman. Hopefully it will never have to come to that

Speak to people on the phone, check out how knowledgeable they are on their products and make sure you don't compromise your cover for a cheap price. Also consider something called Accidental Damage cover (which pretty much does exactly what it says on the tin) and All Risks Cover (for items taken outside the home - jewellery / cameras).

Depending on whom you eventually take your policy out with you will have to comply with certain terms and conditions, these should be outlined to you at the very beginning of the policy and once you comply with these you should never have a problem making a claim.

Best of luck with your search, pm me if you have any other questions and let me know how you get on.

bestinwest90

Anyone Know The Deal With Insuring Laptops Or LCD TVS Under Contents Insurance?

Toots

What I was told when I was getting my contents insured was, 'Imagine you took your house, turned it upside down and shook it; whatever would fall out needs to be insured.' Literally, imagine your house burned down tomorrow, and you needed to replace every bit of furniture in it, how much do you reckon it'd cost? Then add another 5 or 10k on to that, as you will never get a payout for the full amount insured, so you'll still have enough to replace your stuff. (I'm not just pulling this out of thin air, this is what we were told by the insurance section of the bank I work in). My insurance is with BOI, and they said anything valuable should be specifically noted down, along with it's value. We put in the TV 1k, PS3 700, PC 1300, and also some items of jewellery. Any individual item over 1.5k needed to have a cert of value, although this would probably differ depending on the insurance provider.

Also, don't always automatically go for the cheapest cover, the cover mithg be cheap, but the excess might be huge! It would be worth spending a few euro extra per month for a small excess like €150 rather than €900 or more. Colnel Sanders has given a good list, get in touch with a few of them and compare policies, see which one works out best for you, and most importantly READ THE FINE PRINT!!

Cailin Maith

"What I was told when I was getting my contents insured was, 'Imagine you took your house, turned it upside down and shook it; whatever would fall out needs to be insured.' Literally, imagine your house burned down tomorrow, and you needed to replace every bit of furniture in it, how much do you reckon it'd cost? Then add another 5 or 10k on to that, as you will never get a payout for the full amount insured, so you'll still have enough to replace your stuff."

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

I've heard more than a few people use the upside down house speech, not one I use myself but it always gets a smile.