How much home insurance cover required?

Sheep Shagger

Apologies of I missed this elsewhere in the forum.

Shopping around for home and contents insurance before we move into a new build. How much buildings cover do you typically need as a percentage of purchase price (the purchase price included the land).

Or does it even matter in terms of the premium ?

Eggs For Dinner

Your sum insure for buildings is not related to market value or purchase price, it should reflect rebuilding and associated costs (removing debris, surveyors fees etc.) There is a good guide on www.scs.ie

Contents should reflect the cost of replacing your belongings at today's prices. Most insurers offer contents as a percentage of the buildings sum insured you choose, usually 40% or 50%

Jim2007

In a nutshell if you under insure then you will loose out on the claim side should something go wrong. So if you insured for say 50k, but actual value was 100k and the damage was 25k, you end up with about 50 * (25/100) = 12.5K.

Also pay close attention to what is actually being covered and the restrictions. Remember insurance companies are not in the habit for taking on risk on the cheap.

Sheep Shagger

Thanks lads, between the website quoted above and the rebuild value quoted on the valuation done by the bank (plus a margin) we have a good number.

Eggs For Dinner

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Thanks lads, between the website quoted above and the rebuild value quoted on the valuation done by the bank (plus a margin) we have a good number.

This is a separate issue worth noting. Your bank will but a valuation on your house for insurance purposes, but it will invariably be a figure related to the amount of the mortgage you are taking out with them. In my opinion (over many decades) banks know nothing about the principles of insurance and you will have no option but to insure for their assessment. Hopefully in your case, the figures for rebuilding (reinstatement) are not too fare from their figure

Jim2007

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Thanks lads, between the website quoted above and the rebuild value quoted on the valuation done by the bank (plus a margin) we have a good number.

The bank is looking after their interests not yours. They are only concerned with making sure they can recover their loan. Whether or not you are in a position to deal with the fallout is not their concern.

Sheep Shagger

Jim2007 wrote: »

The bank is looking after their interests not yours. They are only concerned with making sure they can recover their loan. Whether or not you are in a position to deal with the fallout is not their concern.

Yeah I get that- thanks.

gogo

Eggs For Dinner wrote: »

This is a separate issue worth noting. Your bank will but a valuation on your house for insurance purposes, but it will invariably be a figure related to the amount of the mortgage you are taking out with them. In my opinion (over many decades) banks know nothing about the principles of insurance and you will have no option but to insure for their assessment. Hopefully in your case, the figures for rebuilding (reinstatement) are not too fare from their figure

For mortgage purposes banks use the reinstatement figure as provided by the independent valuer for home insurance purposes. They have done this for years.. they don’t just place a ‘valuation’ on anyone’s property to cover the mortgage for insurance purposes. Not to sure where you heard opposite.