Flooding has been reported in Co Kilkenny, with a Status Yellow rainfall warning in effect for Carlow, Dublin, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow, and Waterford.
If you are in an emergency situation and need to make an urgent claims notification, please contact your insurer immediately.
Stay safe and take all necessary precautions during this time.
Tips on how to make a household insurance claim
1. Call your insurer or broker as soon as you discover a problem or damage. Ideally, check your insurance policy beforehand so you know if you’re covered for the damage, although your insurer or broker will be able to advise regardless.
2. Give details of the claim to your insurer or broker and request a claim form. You may not need to fill out a claim form – your insurer may instead take all the relevant details over the phone and appoint a loss adjuster to gather further information. (A loss adjuster is a professional appointed and paid for by your insurer to inspect the damage and discuss and agree a settlement with you.) Your insurer will advise if you need to complete a claim form.
3. Take photographs of any damaged goods and keep a list of these items as this will be helpful if you need to make a claim on your home insurance. Also keep any relevant receipts, brochures and manuals where possible.
4. Your insurer or broker will advise you on what to do next. It may recommend that some emergency repairs be done. Always check that your insurer will cover the cost of any repairs and be sure to follow your insurer’s procedure around repairs. Your insurer may have an approved network of builders to help with emergency repairs. Many home insurance policies come with home emergency assistance as standard.
5. Do not dispose of damaged contents, unless your insurer says it is okay to do so. Place destroyed items outside of the house. It is generally okay to dispose of fridge and freezer contents, but not before checking with your insurer and photographing and listing them.
6. If you are unhappy with the way a loss adjuster is handling your claim, you can either raise the matter with the loss adjusting firm or contact your insurer or broker.
7. For large or complex claims, such as a claim for substantial damage caused by burst pipes, floods, storm or fire, you may want to hire your own loss assessor. An assessor works on your behalf and will negotiate with your insurance company to settle your claim. Assessor’s fees are not covered by your policy, so you will have to pay for this service yourself. An assessor is not the same as a loss adjuster, who is employed by the insurance company and works on their behalf.
8. There are likely to be a number of documents which you will need to send to your insurer or loss adjuster to support your claim. If you need to post these documents, consider sending them via registered mail and take copies of the documents before posting.
9. Be sure to ask your insurer for any interim payment which may be available from it to cover immediate outlays such as alternative accommodation and the purchase of essential items that have been damaged such as medicines, clothing and food stuffs.
10. If you’re unhappy with a decision made by your insurer in relation to your claim, you should first make a formal complaint with the insurer itself. If you are still not satisfied with the response after raising an internal complaint with the insurer, you can refer a complaint to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman.