Household Insurance provides insurance against accidental loss or damage or destruction that may occur to you house or apartment, furniture or personal belongings, from a certain number of perils which are defined in your insurance policy.

Household insurance is provided under various insurance policies names such as, fire policy, comprehensive policy and certain other types, which provide various covers.

1. For which perils can I be insured against?
The perils which insurance policies usually cover are fire, lighting and boiler or gas explosion. Certain other perils can be added along with other covers depending on your insurance needs. You may also select an insurance policy in the Form of a package with a number of perils and other covers. In both cases you policy may include some of most of the following perils:

• Earthquake

• Storm, tempest, flood

• Bursting of pipes, tank overflow water of fuel leakage

• Vehicle of aircraft impact

• Riot, civil commotion or strikes

• Malicious damage

• Explosion

• Burglary

2. Which additional covers can I have?
A household policy may additionally include:

• Theft which is not necessarily due to forcible entry

• Breakage of glass and mirrors

• Accidental damage to wires and basement utilities

• Fall of antennae and satellite systems

• Cost of debris removal

• Architect and civil engineer expenses

• Loss of rent

• Expenses of moving to new premises

• Accidental loss or damage or cover of all perils

• Replacement value

• Automatic insured value adjustment

• Loss or damage to the property of a household maid/staff

• Civil liability of the owner or tenant and his family members

• Compensation for the death of the insured and / or his family members due to an accident

• Technical support.

Ask for information regarding the extent of each cover and its cost.

3. Will the insurance company indemnify me for the repair of pipes in case my pipes burst along with the cost of locating the cause of the damage?
In case your policy included cover against damage due to bursting of pipes you should know that the cover does not include the pipes themselves nor the cost of locating the points of leakages. What is covered is the damage due to leakage in the insured property under certain preconditions. Ask your insurance agent to inform you for the extent of the cover, which differ from company to company.

4. In case I’m robbed using copy of the entrance door key or through a window which I had left open, am I covered if I have a burglary policy?
The answer is negative. The usual cover offered by insurance companies is that of burglary by forcible entry. That implies employed causing visible sign of using the bulgur of the house. If you wish to have a wider cover, you should ask for that and be willing to pay extra premium.

5. If my house remains uninhabited for a certain period of time, am I covered?
Insurance policies usually terminate the cover if the house remains uninhabited for more than 30 days. What you can do is to inform your insurance company in writing when you are about to be absent for a long period of time, so that you are covered or you may also seek to delete the relevant excusing by paying additional premium so as to avoid this procedure every time your home is empty (especially important for holiday homes).

6. Am I covered in case my house is ruined of damaged by fire which was initiated from a forest of bushed around it?
Usually not. Enquire whether the above perils are included in the cover and in case they aren’t ask for their inclusion by paying additional premium.

7. In case the boiler, the antenna, tents of fences are damaged by storm, flood or tempest, am I covered?
Usually not. Enquire whether the above are include the cover and if not ask for their inclusion by paying additional premium.

8. For which amount should I insure my property?
This depends on the way you choose to be insured. You should be aware that the manner of calculating your compensation in case you sustain a damage would be proportionate, when you subunit a claim. If you select to be compensated on the basis of the actual value of your property, this means that the amount insured must represent the value of the reconstruction the house or replacement of the contents, minus wear and tear. Age, wear and tear very frequently result in a considerable reduction of the amount of compensation on the bases of replacement value or value for new for old, this implies that the insured amount must represent the reconstruction value or replacement with new, without reduction for age, wear and fear. This calls for higher insured amount higher premiums and of course higher compensation. The amount insured should be the result of careful study and decision so as not to be exposed. Bear in mind that the reinstatement cost should include also architect/consultant fees, VAT, removal of debris of damaged part etc.

9. What additional factors should I pay attention to regarding the amount insured?
Make sure that the amount insured for objects to be insured (building, content, valuables) represents the actual value/cost thus ensuring you are neither under insurer nor over insured. For instance, the amount insured of an apartment you have purchased must represent its construction value, without taking into construction the value of the plot or its value due to its location. Do not rush to determine an amount without careful consideration. We suggest that you seek the advice of experts civil engineers/valuers.

10. Is the value of my property calculated by me or the insurance company?
You determine the amount for which you wish to insure your property and the insurance co bears no responsibility even if the co agent suggests to you the figure.

11. Is the amount insured related in any way with my bank loan?
The amount insured is determined by the value of the property, not by the bank loan you have obtained. Make sure that you insure your property on the basis of its actual replacement cost, not the amount of your bank loan.

12. What are the consequences of insuring my house or its contents for an amount lower than their actual value?
In case of a claim, for any amount, small or big and if you are underinsured, you will get a proportion of the damage. For instance if your house is worth €200.000 and you insure it for €100.000 and you suffer a loss of €50.000, you will be indemnified or only €25.000 (you will always be liable for the 50% of any damage). In other words, under insurance means partial insurance, and partial insurance means partial indemnity.

13. What does it mean to me if I insure my house or its contents for an amount higher than their value?
Over insurance means only wasted premium because under no circumstance will you receive more that the value of your property.

14. How can I insure valuable objects that I posses?
Insurance policies provide cover for valuables by limiting the amount by item as well as in total. You should therefore seek cover on an item by item basis as well as the total sum your policy offers and ensure that you obtain cover for the full amount by paying additional premium. If you wish you can ask for a wider cover, known as “all risks policy”.

If you insure jewellery of high value watches, paintings, furs and other similar items we suggest, if the insurance company hasn’t done it already, that you prepare a detailed list with the description of which are verified by expert valuation. In case of loss or damage it would make things easier both for the insurance company and you, as there would be no doubt as to their value. A useful suggestion is to have the valuable items photographed and provide copies to the insurance company. This will be very useful in case of the theft.

15. Can I insure my home with another insurance company?
You had better not to, because the perils covered or the policy terms might not be identical, therefore you could not be fully indemnified at a given time. If you insure your home with a second insurance company it is imperatives that you inform both insurance cos, bear in mind that in case of a claim you will be indemnified for the actual damage and each company will pay the amount it is liable to based on the amount insured (you will not get double compensation).

16. In case I use my house for the purposes of my business can I insure it?
Certainly, as long as you declare so in the insurance proposal. As expected, the premiums in this case will be higher than those the insurance company offers for household insurance, unless the nature of your business doesn’t entail any further risk.

17. How can I reduce the cost of my insurance?
If you don’t have any system of fire protection or theft alarm, it’s high time you consider it this seriously, as not only you secure lower premiums but you also protect your property more efficiently. Another option would be to undertake higher excess amount than those the insurance company provides. Additionally the same applies if you remain insured for a period of three to five years with the same insurance company. Pricing differs form company to company so it is best if you see details on discounts available in each case.

18. Is there something in particular that I should take particular notice of during the insurance period?
Among others you should inform your insurance company for any increase of contents, change of use of your home, extensions or repairs made on the building which may increase the risk

19. What should I do in case of damage?
Contact your insurance company immediately and ask for guidance. In case this is not possible, follow the instructions of your policy, bearing in mind also the following.

• In case of fire notify the fire service.

• In case of malicious damage of theft notify the police

• Don’t proceed to the repair of any damage and don’t throw away any item which has sustained damage before the insurance company inspects after it has been arranged with them. If it’s needed to carry out any temporary repairs to prevent further damage, keep the relative receipts.

• Your cooperation with the insurance company representative or the expert appointed for the inspection of the damage is imperative

20. If I seek payment from the insurance co, are the insurance fees affected in any way?
Your insurance policy is usually in force for a year. The insurance company undertakes to indemnify you, during this year, up to the amount insured. Therefore, from the moment you submit a claim, the insured amount is reduced for the rest of the time period the policy is in force by the amount of the compensation paid. You should reinstate the initial amount the property was insured in order to maintain the level or the amount insured at the actual value of your property for the remaining period of your insurance policy by paying the relevant premium.

Take into account that there are insurance policies, which provide for an automatic reinstatement of the insured amount after the payment of any compensation and others that don’t. Study your insurance policy and if the latter applies, you should ask for the reinstatement of the amount insured to the level it was before the damage occurred.

21. Value V Replacement Cost
We suggest that you insure your property in terms of replacement cost and not its value. There is confusion on this, so clarify this with your insurance co. If your property is built on a valuable building plot and you insure a small/aged house on, if your cover refers to the value, it might preclude you from seeking damage, since the value of the property is found on the land. Similarly low cost aged apartments etc may have a replacement cost higher than the value (or even the purchase price).

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