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This is part two of a two part podcast on home and building insurance. The podcasts are based on an interview I had with Jim Power from Power Insurances on the subject of building insurance and home insurance. In part 1 we looked at what building insurance was needed when extending or renovating your home. Today we look at general insurance for the home. You can see a sample of the questions I asked Jim below. Please listen to the podcast to hear the answers. If you have any questions or comments feel free to add them below in the comments section:-
General Home Insurance, what to look out for?
While we have you here Jim can you answer some questions for us in relation to general home insurance?
- We talked already about what home insurance would typically cover. Why is it important for home owners or indeed anyone who owns a property of any kind to have their property insured?
- So while we might worry about a tradesman or service provider of any kind having an accident in our home, is it fair to say that we should have insurance to cover any visitor to our home whether it be our family, friends or our kids friends from next door?
- So would it be accurate to say that we should be just as vigilant that our home insurance covers the neighbour dropping in for a cup of tea than as it does the handyman who hangs the picture on the wall?
- In relation to fire or theft, is there anything we need to be extra careful about when disclosing information to our insurance broker?
- For example if you don’t have a proper alarm system could that mean your insurance could be useless in the event of a break in although you have paid the premiums year after year.
- What type of alarm system is required to make sure you are adequately covered in the event of a break in?
- If you forget to turn on the alarm are you still covered in the event of a break in?
- In the event of a theft and if you don’t have locks that have been approved by the insurance company, is there a risk that you may not be covered?
- Similarly if you don’t have one or more smoke alarms in your home is there a possibility that you may not be covered in the event of a fire?
- If a house is built with wood instead of concrete blocks and it hasn’t been specified on the insurance policy, could that affect their claim in the event of a fire?
- If your home is in an area prone to flooding is it possible to get insurance or is it impossible?
- Is it possible to get an insurance advisor to come out and assess your home? If so is there a cost associated with this and what are the advantages and disadvantages of getting a survey carried out of your home for insurance purposes?
- What is the risk of under declaring the value of your home or its contents? How can you estimate the value of your home and contents, does the home owner have to work out this themselves or can they have it done professionally?
- Is there anything else a home owner should know about in relation to home insurance?
This was part two of a two part podcast. In the first podcast we were talking to Jim about what type of insurance was needed when extending or renovating your home. You can listen to part 1 of the podcast here
Thanks to Jim for taking the time to help us with this podcast. You can contact Jim for more information on home and building insurance at www.powerinsurances.ie or by phone at 061 226722.
Cheers
Oliver Dempsey
Tradesmen.ie
P.S. Please note that the information provided in these podcasts is for general guidance only and you should seek the advice of an insurance broker before deciding on the appropriate insurance for your own home or building project.
Here are some other articles that you might be interested in below:-
http://blog.tradesmen.ie/2013/12/building-insurance-insurance-tips-podcast
http://blog.tradesmen.ie/2012/04/do-i-need-planning-permission
http://blog.tradesmen.ie/2012/04/certifying-my-building-or-renovation
http://blog.tradesmen.ie/2013/01/construction-contracts-why-are-they-needed
