How much should I insure my house for? How much is my house worth? What is the difference?

A common mistake when insuring your home, is to insure for the market value. test
The correct sum insured is of course, the rebuild value.

Example: You purchase a site for €150,000. You then build a house for €200,000. The market value of this property is in excess of €350,000 but the value for insurance purposes is €200,000. You should also allow an additional amount for removal of debris.

My house will never be totally destroyed, so why should I insure it for the full amount?
THE AVERAGE CLAUSE. When it comes to calculating a claim for even a small amount of €1000, insurers will apply the average clause. What does this mean?
The claim surveyor calculates that you should have insured your house for €100,000 rebuild cost.
You only insured it for €75,000.
As a result, the insurer will only pay €75,000/€100,000 or 3/4 of any claim against the property.
So if your claim is for €1000, you will only get €750 less the policy excess.

How do I calculate the correct rebuilding cost for insurance purposes?
The Society of Chartered Surveyors produce a guide on house rebuilding costs.
To download a copy of this guide click here:
http://www.scs.ie/digital_publications/get_lob?id=22&field=publication.

What value should I insure my contents for?
When it comes to contents, every home is different. One person may have a plasma TV in every room and another person may not have any TVs at all.
It is a good idea to walk through your house and calculate the value of your contents in that way. This should include all contents including clothes.

For a household quotation, log on to www.easyquote.ie.
This information is intended as a guide only. Every insurance policy has detailed terms and conditions, please refer to your policy document for full policy terms and conditions.

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