The short answer is no, you’re under no legal obligation to have home insurance. However, having adequate and up-to-date house insurance is likely to be a condition of your mortgage agreement. Financial institutions will often insist that houses, or buildings, are insured against damage from storms, fires, floods or other disasters.
Find out what your home insurance covers
If you decide to insure your home to protect it from loss or damage due to fire, theft, flood or storm, you should always check the details of your policy carefully so you know exactly what’s covered and what’s not.
Don’t underinsure your property
There are a number of useful online tools for calculating the cost of rebuilding your house, such as the calculator on the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland. It’s important to note that if any additions or changes were made to your house, like an extension, attic conversion, garage conversion or solar panel installation, these could increase the cost of rebuilding your property.
I’m renting, do I need home insurance?
As a tenant, it is your landlords responsibility to have buildings insurance to protect the property and any permanent fixtures. However, as a renter, you should consider taking out contents insurance to protect your personal belongings.
Take a look at our guide for landlords and our guide for renters for more information about what type of insurance that is relevant for both.
How to calculate contents insurance?
An easy, helpful way to estimate the value of your contents is to go around your house and make a list of how much it would cost to replace every single item – all the furniture, curtains, decorations, carpets, blankets, electrical appliances, computers, gadgets, your personal items, your clothes, your jewellery, your valuables and so on. Add these costs up together and that will be the amount you should insure your contents for.
It’s worth remembering contents insurance cover applies within your home, if you’re looking for specific items to be covered outside of your home, e.g. jewellery, this requires additional personal belongings cover.
When you value your items for contents insurance, remember that your items will be replaced new for old in the event of loss or damage. It's important to think about how much a newer version of the item would cost. A deduction for wear and tear would apply to carpets over 5 years, clothes, furs, linens and audio-visual equipment. You can read the full terms and conditions in your policy documents.
Most insurers, including AXA, offer home and contents coverage together. This kind of insurance package could mean a significant reduction in the premium you pay for insuring the things that make your house your home. The best advice is to check with your insurance provider to find out what is the best policy to suit your needs.
