The Financial Regulator today publishes a new home insurance cost survey, which shows that householders can save between €80 and €230 on their annual home insurance costs.

The survey compares the cost of insurance for six homes in Dublin, Carlow, Laois, Limerick, Mayo and Offaly from the main providers in the market.  The largest saving shown in the survey is for a new three-bedroom semi-detached timber frame house in Offaly. Quotes on the property range from over €260 to nearly €500.

Contents-only insurance for a rented apartment in Dublin is also included in this survey.  Consumer Director, Mary O’Dea, commented, “Many people do not get home insurance when they are renting and can be surprised when they find that their landlord’s insurance does not cover their personal possessions. It is important to make sure that you could replace your possessions if you had a fire or burglary, so check to see whether you need your own insurance and look at our survey to see where you can get the best value. The lowest quote for this apartment in the survey is €71 per year, so contents-only insurance can be very affordable.”

She added, “The survey also shows that where householders have made previous claims on their home insurance, the choice of insurers is more limited. If you have made a previous claim on your home insurance, you may find that some insurers will not give you a quotation. But even where you have a more limited choice of insurers, you can still save money. For example, in the survey, we show a house in Mayo where there was a previous claim for flood damage. While four out of eight insurers would not quote for this house, the difference between the highest and lowest quote is €105.”