Home Insurance
How To Save On Your Home Insurance
Competitive Quotations
Just4u.ie deals with a range of house insurance companies who
provide competitive home insurance quotations.
Reduce the risk on your home and contents insurance
The lower the risk associated with your property the lower your premium will be:
- Install burglar alarms - a burglar alarm that is monitored by a central station
can help lower a homeowner's annual premiums by up to 25%.
- Install Smoke alarms - while these are standard in most new houses, installing them
in older homes can save the homeowner 10% or more in annual premiums.
- Fit window and door locks and consider installing sensor lights at the front and
back of your home to deter intruders.
- Install a safe and ensure valuable items are kept locked in it when they are not
in use. Also consider using security fittings for any valuable pieces of art.
- Prevent thieves reaching a hand or instrument through the letterbox to reach the
release mechanism on your front door by installing a security cover or a cage inside
the letterbox to catch post.
Increase the payable excess on a policy
The Excess under your Policy (the initial amount payable by the home owner in the
The Excess under your Policy (the initial amount payable by the home owner in the
event of a claim) can be increased which will secure a further discount.
For example increasing your excess to €500 can result in a discount of 10% with
some insurance companies. Use our sliding scale to see how changing your excess
affects your premium.
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Review Buildings Sums Insured
This figure should represent the cost of rebuilding your home along with all permanent
fixtures and fittings and not the current market value of your property.
Review your current sum insured on the structure to ensure it reflects the current
rebuilding cost (including professional fees such as architects, surveyors and legal
fees).
For more information on this please visit the Society of Chartered Surveyors website
at www.scs.ie to obtain the latest house re-building insurance guide or contact
them on (01) 676 5500 to obtain a copy.
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Review Contents Sums Insured
To ensure you are not over insuring your contents you should go through every
room in the house including the attic, garage and shed and make an inventory of
all your contents. The value of your contents is the cost to replace all the items
at today's prices.
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Review Unspecified All Risks
Review the level of unspecified all risks you really need and you consider amending
this figure.
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Accidental damage cover
Consider whether you actually need accidental damage cover. This can increase
premiums by 20 per cent.
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Always review your situation as to whether to claim or not
Don't claim unless you need to. The fewer the claims, the higher your no claims
discount. A consumer with a history of 'no claims' is more likely to be offered
lower premiums than one who has made many claims. It might be worth covering lesser
damages yourself when they occur in order to maintain your 'no claims' status as
this can have a dramatic effect on premiums. The no claims bonus can be as high
as 40% with some insurer’s which could increase your premium significantly at next
renewal.
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Make Regular Policy Reviews
It is a good idea to review your insurance policy at least once a year. Your
buildings sum insured should be amended for any renovations carried out or extensions
added during the year and for any changes in the current rebuilding costs. Any additional
contents should be added to your policy. You should also inform us of any changes
that have occurred that could lower your premium, including the addition of a burglar
alarm or smoke alarms.
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Never underinsure your property
Unless your property is insured adequately, you may be penalised under your
policy by having to pay a certain proportion of the reinstatement costs. This is
known as “Average Clause”.
It is therefore extremely important to have the property sufficiently insured. Where,
for example, the insured sum is only 60% of the total reinstatement cost, you will
only receive 60% of the agreed cost of reinstatement, whether the claim is made
for partial replacement or total loss.
For example, in the case of a house insured for €240,000, where the total reinstatement
cost was €400,000, the insured party would receive only €144,000 to reinstate the
house in the event of the total loss. The insured party would thus be obliged to
provide the balance of €96,000
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