Home Insurance Hints & Tips

How can I reduce the cost of my home insurance quote or premium?

There are some easy ways to reduce your risk that will help to reduce your home insurance quote and your home insurance premium...

Make sure your home is as secure as possible!

• Fit a smoke alarm
• Fit window locks
• Fit a burglar alarm
• Fit the best quality door locks

All of these simple measures will help reduce the cost of your premium. Be honest with them and don't pretend you have these fitted when you don't, for if you make a claim, and they aren't fitted, you can invalidate your claim.

Possible Home Insurance Savings:

1. Check to see if you are being charged interest on your direct debit payments. Some insurers charge extra to have your payments spread over the year. The good news is that there are INTEREST FREE direct debit payment options so you can spread the cost of your home insurance over 12 months at no extra cost to you!
2. Insurers offer multiple product discounts - it often makes sound financial sense to check if you can avail of discounts for having other financial products with the company. For example, AIB Bank offers its customers a 15% discount if you have any of the following products with them; Personal Loan, Car Loan or Credit Card.
3. Do you have a no claims discount? You could have up to 30% discount on your premium if you are 3 years claims free.
4. Are you over 50 and looking for home insurance? If you are, insurers have further discounts available to you as a valued customer. Be sure to ask about these when contacting your insurer.
5. Some insurers will also provide up to 10% mortgage discount regardless of who you hold the mortgage with.

There are other features that you should also check to see if your provider covers:

• Are fire brigade charges covered
• Are replacement of locks and keys covered
• Is accidental damage to the building covered

There are many things to consider when insuring your home - this savings checklist will help you to make sure you get the best value home insurance policy for you.

A Home Insurance Savings Checklist:

• Is the rebuild cost of your property correct - Outbuildings, fixtures & fittings etc. are part of the rebuild cost
• Have you adequate contents cover - Don't be over insured. Itemise your contents
• Do you understand your All Risk cover - Specified high value items on all risks should not be included in your normal contents, otherwise you are paying twice for cover on the same item
• Did you ask your insurer if you are benefiting from all discounts available to you?

A beginner's guide to home insurance.

What is home insurance and why do I need it?

Home insurance, house insurance, buildings insurance and contents insurance are all types of insurance that you may wish to consider for your property. Whether you are a homeowner, a tenant, someone who is building their own house or a landlord, there are a variety of products on the market that suit your specific needs and circumstances.

Your insurance provider will have a range of products to suit every one of these possible insurance types. So which one is right for you?

Buildings insurance covers the structure of your property. Your mortgage provider will request that you have this from the outset to protect the investment that your home represents. It is vital, as we have seen all too often recently, with worsening weather conditions to have this type of insurance to rebuild damage to the structural fabric of your house.

Buildings insurance should also cover more than the bricks and mortar. Items such as permanent fixtures in your home need cover as well. Your fitted kitchen, bath, toilet also need to be part of your buildings insurance premium. Outbuildings, such as a brick built garage in your back garden, also needs to be included.

There are times when you do not need to have buildings insurance though - if you are a tenant, you should check that the landlord or the freeholder has a policy in place to cover every eventuality. A tenant can take out a contents only policy to cover his/her own belongings in a rented property.

Things to consider:

• Insure for the REBUILD cost, not the market value. Remember you have the plot of land it is built on and will not need to include the full market price. Do not guess at this critical figure! Ask a surveyor or other building professional to help you if you are unsure
• Read the proposal and/or quotation thoroughly. You do not wish to be let down later. What exactly is covered, other people in the house, Fire, Storm and Flood, Subsidence, Always check for exclusions, for example if you buy in an area known for flooding it may not be possible to get flood insurance for something that is as predictable as spring tides. Know what your policy includes and excludes
• What about outbuildings, Does your insurance cover your shed and its contents
• What is your house made from. If your home is made from non-standard materials you may not be able to get cover - for example for a prefabricated structure.

Contents insurance covers the things that you can move from one home to the next - those items that are not covered in buildings insurance. Furniture, clothes, books, kitchen appliances are all house and home contents that would be covered under contents insurance.

Things to consider:

• Does your insurer replace your old items with new ones, Or does the contents insurance replace your items on a 'like-with-like' basis
• Do you know how much your contents are worth, Do not take a wild guess at the figure to insure - sit down and make a list - consider how many DVDs, CDs or books you have. How much would it cost you to replace each of them
• Make a list of everything you wish to include in your cover, pictures on your walls, gifts from friends, treasured inherited pieces from loved ones.
• If you have high value items such as jewellery you may need additional cover. Standard home insurance will have a maximum limit that may well be exceeded by for example, an expensive engagement ring and eternity ring set.
• Does the policy cover outdoors. What about your garden, furniture and plants, are they covered by your insurance policy
• What about wedding and Christmas presents - are they covered by your contents insurance policy.

Most people opt to have both buildings and contents insurance as part of the house or home insurance policy. Your insurer will offer a policy that combines both as an efficient, cost effective way of meeting your home insurance needs.

Always check the paperwork carefully and make sure you have everything you need, outdoors and in as part of your insurance policy!

Important/Regulatory Wording

Some of the links above bring you to external websites. Your use of an external website is subject to the terms of that site.

Terms and Conditions apply. AIB Insurance Services recommends that all customers ensure they take out adequate Home Insurance. AIB Insurance Services considers this product suitable for customers' Home Insurance needs. This information is intended for residents of the Republic of Ireland. AIB Smart Home Insurance is underwritten by AXA Insurance Ltd. AIB Insurance Services Ltd is a tied agent AXA Insurance Ltd for Home Insurance.

AIB Insurance Services Ltd and AXA Insurance Ltd are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Back to Top