An insurance survey published by the Irish Financial Services Authority has revealed that consumers may be paying more than necessary to insure their homes.
The survey, which compared the cost of home insurance in Dublin and five smaller Irish cities, revealed that householders can save between E200 and E1,700 on their annual home insurance costs, while people in rented accommodation could save approximately E200 a year on contents-only insurance.
The largest saving shown in the survey was for a three-bedroom thatched cottage where the owner had no previous claims. Quotes in the survey ranged from over E790 to nearly E2,500.
Bernard Sheridan, Head of Consumer Information with the Financial Regulator, said, Many of the queries we receive about home insurance are from people who have difficulty in getting quotes for particular properties, such as holiday homes, or are finding that it is more difficult to get insurance when they have made previous claims. We have reflected their profiles in the survey to show that even where there are fewer quotations available, insurance costs can still vary significantly.
Mr Sheridan added that some people claimed to experience difficulties finding insurance when they are renting accommodation. The survey featured four tenants aged between 20 and 35, looking for contents-only insurance on a rented house in Cork City, only five of the eight insurers surveyed gave quotes for this profile.