Home Insurance Ireland: Buildings vs Contents Cover Explained

What is the difference between buildings and contents insurance in Ireland?

Buildings insurance covers the structure of your home and everything fixed to it, so the walls, roof, floors, fitted kitchen, bathroom suite and usually outbuildings, gates and boundary walls. Contents insurance covers the things you would take with you if you moved out, such as furniture, clothes, electronics, jewellery and carpets. Most Irish home insurance policies bundle the two together, but they are priced separately, they carry separate sums insured, and getting either figure wrong can cut what you are paid after a claim.

What does buildings insurance cover?

Buildings cover pays to repair or rebuild the physical structure of your property after insured damage. On a standard Irish household policy that normally includes:

• The main structure of the house, including walls, roof, floors and windows
• Permanent fixtures such as the fitted kitchen, wardrobes, bathroom suite and central heating system
• Garages, sheds, garden walls, fences, gates, paths and driveways, often with their own inner limit
• Underground services such as pipes and cables that you are responsible for
• Professional fees and site clearance costs after a serious loss
• Alternative accommodation if the damage makes the house uninhabitable

The perils insured are typically fire, storm, flood, escape of water, impact, theft or attempted theft, and malicious damage. Flood cover is not automatic in every case. Insurers in Ireland assess flood risk by location, and cover can be restricted, loaded or declined for properties in areas with a history of flooding.

If you own your home, buildings cover is effectively compulsory in practice. A lender will require it as a condition of a mortgage, and it stays a condition for as long as the loan is outstanding.

What does contents insurance cover?

Contents cover pays to repair or replace your possessions. A useful test is the removal van test. If you tipped the house upside down, whatever fell out is contents, and whatever stayed put is buildings. Carpets are usually treated as contents in Ireland, while fitted flooring such as tiles or laminate is normally buildings.

Typical contents cover includes furniture, white goods, televisions and computers, clothing, tools, sports equipment, and a limited amount for money and credit cards. Most policies settle on a new for old basis, meaning you are paid the cost of an equivalent new item rather than the second hand value of the one you lost. Clothing and household linen are often the exception and may be settled with a deduction for wear and tear.

Two limits catch people out. The first is the single article limit, which caps what the insurer will pay for any one item unless you have specified it on the policy. The second is the away from home limit for possessions taken outside the property. High value jewellery, watches, bicycles, laptops and musical instruments usually need to be listed individually with a value, and some insurers ask for a valuation above a certain figure.

Buildings or contents: which covers what?

Item	Buildings	Contents
Roof, walls, floors, windows	Yes	No
Fitted kitchen and bathroom suite	Yes	No
Central heating and boiler	Yes	No
Garden walls, gates, driveway	Yes, often with an inner limit	No
Free standing furniture and appliances	No	Yes
Carpets and curtains	No	Yes
Jewellery, watches and laptops	No	Yes, often needs to be specified
Solar panels	Usually yes, tell your insurer	No
Sum insured is based on	Cost to rebuild	Cost to replace as new

How do you work out your buildings sum insured?

Your buildings sum insured is the cost of rebuilding your home, not what it would sell for. Market value includes the site, the location and the demand for housing in your area. Rebuild cost is a construction figure, covering demolition, site clearance, materials, labour, professional fees and compliance with current building regulations. In some parts of Ireland the rebuild cost is well below market value. In others, particularly for older or unusual properties, it can be higher.

The standard reference point in Ireland is the house rebuilding cost guide published by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, which gives indicative rebuild costs per square metre by region and property type. It is a guide rather than a valuation. If your home is a period property, a listed building, a converted barn, a thatched cottage or anything of non standard construction, the guide will not reflect it and a chartered surveyor should assess the figure properly.

Building costs in Ireland have risen substantially in recent years, and a sum insured set when you bought the house may now be well short. Review the figure at every renewal, and again after any extension, attic conversion, garage build or major refit.

How much contents cover do you need?

Work it out room by room rather than guessing. Walk through the house with your phone, list what is in each room, and put a replacement cost beside each item. People routinely underestimate the total, because the value sits in the accumulation of ordinary things rather than in a few expensive ones. The contents of an average family home add up quickly once you count beds, sofas, wardrobes, white goods, televisions, tools, clothes, toys and the garage.

While you are doing it, take photographs and keep receipts for anything significant. A room by room photo record makes a claim far faster to settle, and it is the most useful thing you can do before you ever need to claim.

What happens if you are underinsured?

This is where the two sums insured really matter. Most Irish household policies contain an average clause, sometimes called the condition of average. If your sum insured is materially lower than the true rebuild or replacement cost, the insurer can reduce the settlement in the same proportion, and it applies to partial claims as well as total losses.

Put simply, if you are insured for roughly half of what the property or the contents are actually worth, the insurer can pay roughly half of a claim. Underinsurance is one of the most common reasons an Irish home claim disappoints, and it is entirely avoidable.

The opposite is also worth knowing. Insuring for far more than the rebuild cost does not get you a bigger payout, because the policy pays the cost of reinstatement. It just raises your premium. The aim is an accurate figure, not a high one.

Do you need both buildings and contents cover?

It depends on your situation:

• Owner occupier: you generally want both. Buildings will be required by your lender, and contents protects everything inside.
• Tenant: the landlord insures the building. You need contents only cover for your own belongings, and it is usually inexpensive.
• Apartment owner: the block is normally insured under a management company block policy, so you typically need contents cover plus any improvements you have made to your own unit. Check the block policy before you buy buildings cover you do not need.
• Landlord: you need a landlord policy rather than a standard household one, with property owners liability and cover for any furniture you supply. Our guide to landlord insurance in Ireland covers this in more detail.

What is usually not covered?

Wear and tear, gradual deterioration, poor maintenance, faulty workmanship and general lack of upkeep are excluded on every standard policy. So are damage from vermin or insects, and in most cases subsidence unless you have specifically arranged that cover. Accidental damage is often an optional extra rather than a standard feature, and it is the section that pays for the television knocked off the wall or the paint spilled on the stairs. Homes left unoccupied for an extended period may also have cover restricted, so tell your insurer before a long trip.

The bottom line

Buildings cover protects the structure and is based on the cost to rebuild. Contents cover protects your possessions and is based on the cost to replace them as new. Both need their own honest sum insured, because the average clause means an understated figure quietly reduces every claim you make, not just a total loss. Review both figures at each renewal, specify your valuables, and check whether accidental damage is included or optional on your policy.

If you are not sure whether your figures still stack up, talk it through with a broker. Breeze Insurance works with a panel of leading Irish insurers and can review your existing home cover, explain what your policy actually pays for, and tell you plainly if your current arrangement is already right for you. Call us on 0818 700 300 or request a free quote, and you can read more about our home insurance options.

Frequently asked questions

Is buildings insurance compulsory in Ireland?

It is not required by law, but it is required in practice if you have a mortgage. Irish lenders make buildings cover a condition of the loan and will look for evidence that it is in place. Even without a mortgage, the structure is usually the largest asset you own, so leaving it uninsured is a significant risk.

Should my buildings sum insured be the market value of my house?

No. It should be the cost to rebuild the property from the ground up, including demolition, professional fees and current building regulations. Market value includes the site and location, which you do not need to rebuild. The two figures are often quite different.

Does contents insurance cover items outside the home?

Only if your policy includes personal possessions cover, which is often optional. This extends cover to items you take out with you, such as a phone, laptop, handbag or bicycle. Check the away from home limit and whether individual items need to be specified.

Do I need buildings insurance if I live in an apartment?

Usually not separately. The block is typically insured under a policy arranged by the owners management company and paid for through your service charge. You normally need contents cover, and it is worth confirming what the block policy covers so there is no gap around fittings and improvements inside your own unit.

What is the average clause on an Irish home policy?

It is the condition that lets an insurer reduce a settlement proportionally if your sum insured is materially below the true rebuild or replacement value. It applies to partial claims too, which is why a modest kitchen fire can produce a shortfall for a household that thought it was fully covered.

Can I insure contents only?

Yes. Contents only policies are widely available in Ireland and are the normal choice for tenants and for many apartment owners. You insure your own belongings while the building itself is covered by the landlord or the management company.

Breeze Insurance Ltd. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.