Step 1. Get in touch with our team as soon as possible via our 24-hour emergency numbers. Don’t remove any damaged property and don’t start your clean-up because this could affect your claim. Our team will check your insurance policy to establish whether you have cover for the damage or loss you have experienced and whether a policy excess is applicable.

Step 2. Take photographs of the damage and obtain detailed estimates that individually list all the repairs required including any temporary repairs that you need to arrange to prevent further damage.

Step 3. If you don’t want to handle the claim yourself, you could appoint an independent loss assessor to help you prepare and negotiate your claim with your insurer and their loss adjustor. The team at Sheridan Insurances can provide support and advice at this stage to help you make an informed decision.

During the claims process, the Consumer Protection Code is designed to protect you and help you deal with claims in a professional manner. You will find our support, service and advice is in accordance with this code.

Maybe we can find you a better offer…

Rather than simply renewing your insurance policy each year, why not let the team at Sheridan Insurances search the market on your behalf? We may be able to save you moneyor add value to your cover with additional features. If you have a renewal quote from your existing home insurance provider, take a photograph of the quote and email it to us at home@sheridaninsurances.com. We will get working on your review straight away!

MultiYear Home Insurance offers a range of benefits including:

• Long-term certainty and security: your home is insured for up to two or three years under the same policy.
• Better choice: you decide whether you want the policy cover for two or three years.
• Money savings: no premium increases over the chosen policy duration; regardless of whether there’s a claim within the first, second or third year, your premium won’t be subject to change until the policy ends.
• Time and energy savings: no need to review your policy year on year when your MultiYear Home Insurance provides cover for two or three years.
• Extra benefits: fatal accident benefit (up to €10,000 for the loss of a loved one); all risks single article limit up to €3,500 and business equipment limit up to €2,500.
• Easy payment options: with a low deposit/APR rate, payments can be made over 30 months with the final six months payment free or alternatively a single up-front payment.

Above all, MultiYear Home Insurance provides you with peace-of-mind that you are covered when you need it most.

It might not be a legal requirement, but considering the amount of money we spend on our homes, insurance could be seen as a good idea – especially if you live somewhere at a high risk of flooding, crime or subsidence. Your lender may also make it a condition of your mortgage.

Bear in mind that you should only take out insurance for your property if you own it (or have a mortgage on it) – and only then if your home isn’t part of a block of flats. If you are a tenant, your landlord or the property owner is the one responsible for buying insurance for the building.

While your mortgage lender will almost certainly require you to take out insurance to protect the building structure of your home, you aren’t obliged to buy it from their preferred insurer. In fact, you’ll probably be able to find better cover and value for money by checking out the market.

Property insurance covers the structure of your home and other buildings like a garage if they sustain damage from a natural event such as a storm or flood, or if it is damaged through vandalism. Contents insurance protects your belongings such as  carpets, curtains and light fittings to white goods, furniture and your clothing.

Insuring your home for the right amount is really important. While you don’t want to over value the cost of rebuilding your home and incur higher premiums, you also don’t want to face the consequences of being underinsured. You should calculate the total of what it would cost to rebuild your home completely – in the event it was totally destroyed by a fire or gas explosion, for example. Your calculations should not include the value of the land or its location – that would be taken into account for the property’s market value, which is not required for your building value at risk calculation.

The cost of rebuilding your house today is likely to be different to what it cost when it was first built. That’s why it is important to calculate the cost of rebuilding your house in the same way with the same materials and labour at today’s prices. To determine the cost of rebuilding your home, the Chartered Surveyors of Ireland have produced a handy “Cost of rebuilding a house calculator” which is ideal for insurance purposes. https://scsi.ie/

You can submit your information about your home to obtain a quote in the online quotation section of the Sheridan Insurances website.

Home insurance is designed to cover you for the unexpected, such as damaged caused by a fire, flood or storm. It will not normally provide cover for wear and tear or issues that occur with ageing and deterioration, such as rising damp.

Talk to your Sheridan Insurances broker about home insurance if you live in a flood risk area. We can arrange tailored insurance that suits your home, its location and the specific flood risk.

Your title deed should state the year your home was built. However, if you are unsure, you can check the Property Registration Service at landdirect.ie for further information. Alternatively if you bought your house via an auctioneer the property brochure may have this information.

Home Insurance can be tailored to suit just about any building type, including those with thatched roofs through to heritage buildings. It is important to determine a reasonably accurate rebuild cost though to ensure you have the right amount of cover. 

Speak to your Sheridan Insurances broker about updating your policy to cover any work you are undertaking to your home. You should always speak to your broker before you start work to ensure your home insurance cover remains operative.

Contents insurance is as good as the value you place on your belongings; if you underestimate their worth, you may not be able to replace everything. Similarly, if you place a higher value on your possessions than their actual worth, you will pay more for your insurance premium than you need to. Perhaps the most helpful advice when calculating the worth of your contents is to work room by room and identify all the items you would want to replace if they were stolen, damaged or destroyed. Make a separate list that notes your valuables.

• homeowners who already have insurance for their building structure
• people renting a property who need to protect the personal items they have at their rented home
• lodgers who can access specialist insurance for their personal contents, and students
• people who share a flat or apartment and want to protect their own personal belongings
• students who live in halls of residence or off campus accommodation
• buy-to-let landlords, where a specialist policy is required for the property’s contents.

• accidental damage for unintended breakage of personal items,
• cover for belongings lost, stolen or damaged while out of the house
• cover for emergency call outs and repairs such as a water leak
• cover when you are away from home, including students who take their electronic equipment to college.

Contents insurance is designed to cover your belongings and the personal items you have in your home. The general rule is that if it can be easily removed, for example if you were moving house, then it would be covered by contents insurance. This includes:

• carpets, rugs and light fittings
• electronicssuch as computers, smart devices and gaming consoles
• entertainment equipment such as televisions and other audio and visual gear
• furniture and white goods
• money and financial documents
• clothing, shoes, jewellery and accessories
• sporting gear
• artworks
• musical instruments

If you have items of high value, such as sculptures, designer handbags or an engagement ring, these should be specified separately on your contents policy.