Buildings and Contents Insurance

T

Trebledigit

Guest
I've just received my renewal notice for house insurance and I am anxious to take my Tanaiste's advice and shop around for a better price. Any suggestions out there. My broker has kindly advised me that he is taking a 25% commission on my premium.
 
Used this crowd recently and found them cheapest for my personal circumstances. If you do, make sure you don't miss the link at the bottom of the quotation page for EUR50 off, I nearly did. It is unlikely everyone will get the best deal from the same place, but this is as good as any to start.
Also take a look here:


I have no connection with the site mentioned above.
 
Make sure that you have adequate but not too much cover for both buildings and contents. Make sure that you insure for the rebuilding cost and not the market value. See the SCS guide below for assistance on estimating this. Always read the terms & conditions of the policy document and don't choose a policy on price alone. Happy shopping! :)

www.scs.ie/publication/hri.asp
 
broker commission?

Did you say your broker is taking 25% in commission in brokerage fees for arranging your house insurance?

This is an extraordinary amount!

My brokers (Marsh Ireland) send me letters every year stating they have researched the market, but I now very much doubt it since this year, they told me my existing insurers (Royal and Sun Alliance) were the cheapest.

I went on the internet and got quotes which were about euro 500 cheaper! I insisted my broker got me another quote, and they then told me that they would have got more quotes for me even if I had not asked.

I never realised they could be getting such a high commission. Surely there is no incentive for them to obtain cheaper quotes on our behalf???

Bubbles
 
Re: broker commission?

Yep. 25% commission to the broker which is approx. E125 for my business. I believe this is pretty standard for non internet quotations for home insurance (You are entitled to ask your broker). You will see that some internet brokers(e.g. 123.ie) quote a 20% discount which obliterates the 25% commission but must give them some other margin.

I tried insure.ie but got nothing cheaper than my present renewal quote. I then tried 123.ie and got a lower figure for the same cover provided I accepted a E500 excess. Not sure its worth changing for though.
 
Try FBD Insurance. They seem to be very competitive at the moment probably due to having exceptional year end results over the past couple of years.

When I renewed my policy in October 2003 they were €70 cheaper than the next most competitive quote!!

Note there was also a difference of €300 between the cheapest/dearest quotation!

Others I would try are:Hibernian, One Direct, AA Ireland and a broker in Clare called Phillip O'Reilly & Co ( I am from Clare myself and their quote was the next most competitive!)

Watch out for the slight differences in detail though. They all may not exactly match the criteria you have laid down.
 
House Insurance

The Standard Commission on House Insurance is between 10% & 25%. The higher end of the scale would be paid for volume business(which I don't agree with) or where the broker takes most of the work away from the Insurer in setting up the policy. 10% would normally be for a fire & perils policy.

10%,12.5%,15%,20% & 25% are the various rates available depending on the type of risk and type of policy and Insurer. The average house premium in my area is €400 approx.

The Insurers are the ones who set the premium rates which dictate what you are going to be paying irrespective on the mode of distribution.

There is no obligation on Brokers to disclose rates of commissions on Motor, Household Insurance etc.

Depending on the Broker product mix, the normal small to medium sized broker would probably be working of an average of 8/9% of Insurance Premiums.
 
Re: House Insurance

Sorry - my post above applied to domestic insurance while this seems to be a commercial/business insurance query...
 
Foundation.

What would be the rebuilding cost per square foot on an average house nowadays. I generally insure for about €120 per square foot. When calculating should I exclude the cost of the foundation as presumably this part of the house will be re used when rebuilding.
 
Re: Foundation.

For domestic properties see the SCS guide I posted the link to above for a ready reckoner.
 
euro 500 excess on 123.ie - you can change that

if you look again at 123.ie website, you will see that next to the excess, there is an arrow which can you click and say No (e.g. you don't want to avail of the reduced premium if you choose the 500 excess)

Bubbles
 
Re: euro 500 excess on 123.ie - you can change that

Ah yes Bubbles, but your premium goes up by 10% if you opt for a E125 excess instead.
 
yes, but

do you not think it's worth paying an extra 10% to avail of a lower excess?

I suppose it depends on future expected claims and you'd need a crystal ball for that!

Bubbles
 
Yes, But

Does this mean that Bubbles statement that they got a better quote on the internet was not for a similar policy and that there could be other factors that would have made the premium cheaper?
 
insurance

i'm seeking quotes at moment; FBD are coming in 300euro cheaper than my current renewal ( and that is by no means the lowest quote )
watch out for excess, fire brigade cover etc
 
Exhausted but saved €120 by shopping around.

Ulster Bank are the cheapest today after an exhaustive trawl. However their online quotation system is very poor.
It was noticeable how poor the quality of service was from the various companies.
One Direct- I thought I was speaking to one of the living dead.
FBD- spoke with 5 staff, not one of them knew whether their website could offer me a direct quote. Kept passing me on to another department..... Although I never got talking to the janitor.
Most of the online websites appear to be working off the same type of quotation system.
One last rant. Why do most companies insist on quotating contents insurance as a percentage of buildings insurance. They are completely separate.
 
Re: Exhausted but saved €120 by shopping around.

One Direct- I thought I was speaking to one of the living dead
Click to expand...

A new way for employers to cut costs by avoiding pension contributions on behalf of employees perhaps?
 
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