This article is from page 55 of the 2011-06-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 55 JPG
HOUSEHOLDERS who had to claimed for repai rs on thei r home insurance after the big freeze last December are in some cases facing a 300 per cent hi ke in t hei r insurance costs.
One householder who made a claim after pipes burst and flooded her West Clare home is now facing a bil l of € 1, 200 to insure her home for the comi ng year.
“Our insurance last year was less than € 400 for the year. I was ab- solutely st unned when they told me how much the renewal would be. And we can’t even shop around because the company still hasn’t paid for all t he work t hat was done,” t he woman, who asked not to be named, told The Clare People .
Having never made a claim on her home insurance before, the householder said she feels it is “ a ver y severe hi ke. They have you over a bar rel because you can’t not insure t he house in case somet hing happens. But I really feel this is excessive when there has never been a clai m before.”
Another home-owner who had to clai m after pipes burst on Christmas Day and flooded his home in East Clare has had a jump in the cost of his renewal to € 1,100.
“There was a lot of damage to put right as there was water flowing for a long ti me because of the day that it was. It was hard to get anyone out. But this just r ubs salt i n the wound. Our yearly premiums were around € 350 before this. They were quick about paying for t he work done but they were quick to put the price of renewal up as well,” he told The Clare People .
Household insurance rates increased by an average of 10 per cent last year and a similar amount the year before.
The last two years had been “heavily loss-making” for the indust r y, a spokesman for the Insurance Federation of Ireland said.
Insurance companies paid out a massive € 10. 573 million in compensation to householders and businesses in Clare whose proper ty was damaged in December’s big freeze.
The Banner count y received the four t h highest amount of insurance money in t he count r y, behind Limerick Galway and Ker r y.
The cost per 1, 000 head of population in the count y was € 95, 295.
And whi le the Munster area accounts for 28 per cent of t he national population, 40 per cent of the claims which insurers paid out were from Munster.
The December severe weather cost insurance companies € 224 million national ly.