Buildings insurance

Buildings insurance compensates for damage to the home, the infrastructure and what is permanently attached to it, and contents insurance compensates for damage to the contents of the home.

With buildings insurance, the house is always insured at the rebuilding value. The rebuilding value is always lower than the free sale value because it does not take into account the value of the land. Changes to the house, for example by installing solar panels, can increase the rebuilding value. If there is under-insurance at a later stage, the determined rebuilding value is lower than the actual damage, the insurer will in principle reimburse a maximum of the determined rebuilding value. In the case of a guarantee against underinsurance, the insurer will still pay for the actual damage, provided that everything was properly specified when taking out and renovations were always reported correctly.

Buildings insurance must be taken out by the landlord. As a tenant, it is recommended that you take out home contents insurance yourself.

Fire insurance only pays for fire damage, while home insurance also covers damage in other cases. Examples are storm damage, lightning strike and burglary.

Buildings insurance will never compensate for intent or recklessness or damage due to overdue maintenance. In addition, home insurance policies often have a number of exclusions. The exact exclusions differ from insurer to insurer. Floods, earthquakes, riots, uprisings, wars, terrorist attacks and nuclear reactions are usually excluded.

If the buildings insurance with one insurer has already expired while the other home insurer still has to assess the application, the home insurer can grant provisional cover. This means that the house is temporarily already insured until the application has been fully assessed. Not all home insurers grant such provisional cover.

Most insurers include a special clause in the policy that gives them the right to unilaterally change the policy conditions. They are then obliged to inform the policyholder of this. If this is a deterioration for the insured, the insured has the right to cancel the insurance contract. This is also possible if cancellation would not be possible under normal circumstances.

No, but the insurer must be notified of the change of address. The rebuilding value and the risk will also change as a result, and the premium adjusted accordingly.

Switching to the building insurer of the VvE is not mandatory, but it is often interesting. The building insurer of the VvE knows where the risks lie and can ensure that the apartment is properly insured. This is especially the case if the insurer of the VvE also arranges the contents insurance. This provides benefits in the event of a claim for damages.

No additional costs are charged when an insured person switches after being referred by a comparison website. Such comparison websites are paid by the insurers themselves and this is not passed on to the insured. It therefore makes no difference to the insured whether they contact the insurer directly or visit a comparison website.

When taking out insurance, there is a legal cooling-off period of 14 days. Within 14 days after taking out home insurance, it is therefore still possible not to do business with the new home insurer. In principle, the termination is a unilateral legal act that cannot be reversed. It is therefore recommended to first contact the previous insurer to reverse the cancellation.

An extra comprehensive insurance only covers the situation that is explicitly stated in the policy conditions. An all-risk insurance policy covers all claims, except when they are expressly stated in the policy conditions. In theory, an all-risk home insurance policy can therefore be less favourable than an extra comprehensive home insurance policy, but in practice this is not the case.

That is of course a personal choice. A general rule says that insurance is there for risks that you cannot easily bear yourself. For example, some people also want to insure the windows of their home and add extra coverage for this, but that is not equally useful for everyone.

Personal details about the entire household and the address of the house (prices sometimes differ from municipality to municipality) are always necessary. In addition, include all information about the home. All house characteristics, such as the type of roof or age, play a role. The foundation in particular is an important factor in determining the premium. In addition, a number of insurers also want to know the WOZ value of the home.

The question here again is whether or not the insured person is willing and able to bear the risk of damage to the contents himself. If that is not the case, a combined buildings and contents insurance has both advantages and disadvantages. With a combined home contents and buildings insurance, the insured often enjoys a package discount, there are no gaps in the cover and the claims settlement is usually smoother. Nevertheless, it is sometimes financially more interesting to take out insurance with two different insurers without the package discount.

With many insurers it is indeed possible to adjust the deductible, sometimes even between 0 and 1,000 Euro. The impact on the premium can be significant. However, there are also insurers where the deductible is not adjustable or where the deductible can be increased in the event of a second claim in the same year.

Often a one-time administration fee is charged, but it is rarely a high fee. In addition, there are costs when an appraisal company is engaged, but that is not mandatory.

When determining the risk, the insurer takes into account the location of the home. The insurer usually asks for the post code, which indicates in which district the house is located. Based on this, the system calculates the risk of damage in that district. For example, if burglaries happen more often, the cost of home insurance will be higher. Some insurers go so far as to even take the house number into account. A specific approach can be both to the advantage and to the disadvantage of the insured. That is why comparing home insurance policies is a good idea.

Some insurers also insure the foundations, other insurers do not. The chance that something will happen to the foundations is small, especially since earthquakes are often excluded. When the foundations are co-insured, it often does not cost much extra. The cost of the buildings insurance will depend on the type of foundation.

The glass of a home is not always insured by the buildings insurance policy. If this is the case, it concerns glass damage in the event of fire, burglary and explosion. It is often possible to have this insured additionally, for example in case of glass damage due to vandalism. Usually there is a fairly high deductible, but on the other hand the additional cover only costs 3 to 6 Euro extra per month.

Not with regard to the basic cover, such as fire or thunderstorm cover. There are often some differences with additional coverage however. For example, some insurers limit the maximum payment in the event of garden damage. There are also often differences with regards to the deductible. Fortunately, more and more insurers offer a guarantee against underinsurance.

Always consider first what the greatest risks are and what deductible is desirable. Then request different quotes and only make the choice once you are certain of your preferred policy.

All of the above insurers also offer contents insurance. With many insurers, customers even get a discount if they combine buildings and contents together under an overall home insurance policy.

Yes. On the one hand, this is because the policy conditions differ greatly, but on the other hand, the free market naturally plays a role, with each insurer choosing its own rates. Precisely because prices often differ, it is recommended to compare home insurance policies carefully.

All insurers listed above are supervised by the AFM (Authority for the Financial Markets). With the above home insurers, they comply with all regulatory and legal rules.

In many cases, taking out both buildings and contents insurance with one insurer is the best case as you can receive a package discount. It also helps any claims to be handled smoothly. It can sometimes be cheaper to use two different insurers though, so always be careful that you make the correct choice for your circumstances.

The most important factor is basically the rebuilding value or the amount needed to rebuild the building. The rebuilding value is determined by means of a questionnaire or by a report from an appraiser. In addition, the risk also plays a role, as does the place of residence. Every insurer estimates the risk in a different way, which means that price differences are possible.

Yes, but that's not the point. With underinsurance, the insured always runs extra risk, even when there is limited damage. If the rebuilding value is underestimated by 20%, the insurer will only pay 80% of the damage, even in the event of a smaller claim, excluding any excess.

Always compare which is the better option for your circumstances. Sometimes it is cheaper to take out separate glass insurance, other times it makes sense to add glass cover to your existing buildings insurance policy, though this will result in a higher premium. Additional glass coverage may make more sense for buildings with a limited rebuilding value, while the reverse is often the case for buildings with a high rebuilding value.