Home insurance

The level of cover you choose will depend on your situation. For example, if you own your home or if you rent. You can choose to cover just the physical structure of your home, just your belongings, or both.

If you need to ensure the physical structure of your home as part of your home insurance policy (if you own your own home or if you’re a landlord), use the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland’s (SCSI) guide and calculator to estimate how much it would cost to replace your home and any outbuildings (sheds, garages, workshops, greenhouses) if they were damaged.

Please note: Bank of Ireland is not responsible for the information on third party websites.

When you’ve chosen the level of cover you need, it’s time to get a quote. You’ll need to answer a few questions about you and your property.

Both FBD Insurance and Intact Insurance underwrite our home insurance policies. This means you’ll get two competitive quotes to choose from when you contact us.

Decide which of the two home insurance quotes works best for you. It’s good to compare the offerings under each quote before making a decision.

Top Tip: If you already have a home insurance policy in place, make sure you cancel it before taking out a new one to avoid paying for overlapping cover.

You can choose to pay for your cover in one go or you can choose to pay for it in monthly instalments by direct debit or credit/debit card. There’s no extra charge for choosing the monthly option.

Remember to use one of our discount codes. If you’re a Bank of Ireland mortgage customer, you’ll get 15% off with code ‘MORTGAGE’, and if your home has a Building Energy Rating (BER) of A or B, you can increase that to 20% off your home insurance with code ‘ENERGY’. If you don’t have a Bank of Ireland mortgage, use code ‘Online10’ to get 10% for buying online. Discount applies to new policies and for the first year only. Only one discount code can be used per purchase.

When you’ve made your payment, your policy documents will appear in The Insurance Wallet ready to access whenever you need them.

Your renewal quote will also appear in The Insurance Wallet when your current insurance period is up.

You should insure your home for the amount it will cost to rebuild it should something happen to it. If you do need to rebuild your home and you've underestimated the cost, you'll end up having to pay the balance.

The rebuild cost is the cost of replacing your home and outbuildings. Estimating your home’s rebuild cost helps make sure you have the right level of home insurance. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) has created a useful guide and calculator to help you calculate your home’s rebuild cost for insurance purposes.

To use it, you’ll need to consider:

1. The size of your home

2. The materials used to build your home

3. The fittings inside your home

Please note: Bank of Ireland is not responsible for the information on third party websites.

Underinsurance means your home or contents are insured for less than it would cost to rebuild or replace them. If this happens, you may not get the full amount you need if you make a claim.

The cost of building materials, energy, labour, and household items has gone up in recent years. Events like inflation, supply issues, and labour shortages have increased the price of repairs and replacements.

Because of this, Intact and FBD advise Bank of Ireland Insurance customers to check the current cost to rebuild your home and the current cost to replace your contents regularly. If these costs have increased, you should update your home insurance policy.

Your cover is based on the amount you told us your home and contents are worth when you bought or renewed your policy. If this amount is too low, your payout will also be reduced. This means you may have to pay some of the cost yourself to repair your home or replace items after damage.

Yes, we offer our mortgage customers up to 20% off your home insurance quote.

If you’re a Bank of Ireland mortgage customer and your home has a Building Energy Rating (BER) of A or B, use code ‘ENERGY’ for 20% off. If your home has a BER of C or below, use code ‘MORTGAGE’ to get 15% off.

If you’re not a Bank of Ireland mortgage customer, you can still get 10% off when you buy online using code ‘Online10’.

You can pay for your home insurance policy upfront, all in one go or you can pay for it in monthly instalments by direct debit (at no extra cost).

During your 14-day cooling off period, you have the right to cancel the contract. The 14 days begin from the day you get your policy documents or the day the policy starts (whichever day is later). You can cancel the contract within the 14 days. Simply email us at insurance@boi.com or write to Bank of Ireland Insurance Services, P.O. Box 13474, Business Reply, Dublin 17. You can also cancel the policy online at boi.com/withdrawal. You will need to enter your name, email, phone number, and policy number / policy code when you contact us. The email address you enter must be the same as the email address on your policy.

An excess is the amount of money you have to pay yourself if you make a claim on your home insurance. We then cover the rest of the approved cost.

For a main private home, the standard excess is €500. For a rented property or holiday home, the excess is €500.

If your policy has any other excess amounts, you’ll find them in your policy booklet.

Yes. However, we automatically increase the amount your contents are insured for by 20% at no extra cost during December and January to cover Christmas gifts, and for the month before and after any wedding in your household. Underwriting, terms and conditions apply.

The maximum period is 45 days at any one time. If your property is going to be unoccupied for more than 45 days, please call us on 01 290 1958.

After you buy a Bank of Ireland Insurance policy, we’ll send you a link to register for The Insurance Wallet. Just follow the link to verify your email address and create a password. Once that’s done, your account will be ready to use. Visit our insurance wallet.

Remember, if you increase your cover before your renewal date, your premium may go up. You will be charged the extra amount from the day you make the change until renewal.

At renewal, Intact Insurance will also increase your cover based on national cost and price updates. These changes will be shown in your renewal documents.

These increases will still happen even if you make changes now, so please check your renewal documents to make sure the cover matches the real cost of rebuilding your home and replacing your contents.

Remember, if you increase your cover before your renewal date, FBD will not charge extra if the added cost is €50 or less. If the cost is more than €50, you will be charged.

At renewal, FBD will also increase your cover based on national cost and price updates. These changes will be shown in your renewal documents.

These increases will still apply even if you make changes now, so please check your renewal documents to make sure your cover matches the real cost of rebuilding your home and replacing your contents.

1. Review your renewal documents

Your renewal pack outlines your premium, cover details, and available payment options. Please take a moment to read through it.

2. If you pay by direct debit

3. Consider other options in the market

It’s good practice to regularly review your insurance. Visit the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission website for more guidance on comparing insurance quotes.

Please note: Bank of Ireland is not responsible for the information on third party websites.

4. Need help?

If you'd like to discuss your renewal or explore your options, please call us on 01 488 4062.

Dual insurance, or double insurance, is when you accidentally have two or more policies covering the same person, property or risk at the same time. For home insurance, this means your home, contents or liability are insured twice for the same period, so you are paying for cover you do not need.

When this happens, insurers usually split the cost of a claim instead of both paying out in full, which can make things a bit more complicated.

We offer 24/7, 365 emergency home assistance (provided by MAWDY Assistance Agency) as standard.

For policies underwritten by Intact Insurance call: 1800 213 111

For policies underwritten by FBD call: 0818 432 323

Our 24-hour emergency assistance service is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and gives you access to a wide range of qualified and approved tradespeople.

Subsidence is when a building’s foundation loses support and sinks into the ground.