Building Insurance Ireland

Building insurance is designed to provide financial protection in the event that the structure of your home is damaged by an unexpected event such as a storm, flood, fire, or in a burglary.

Buildings Insurance Ireland

Buildings insurance covers the cost of rebuilding your home’s physical structure i.e. the roof, walls, windows, doors, and permanent fixtures such as fitted kitchens and bathrooms meaning that you won’t have to pay repair or rebuilding costs yourself.

This type of insurance can be purchased as a standalone policy, most often sold as landlord’s insurance, but is often combined with home contents insurance as a more cost effective package.

What Is Buildings Insurance?

Buildings insurance, sometimes referred to in the singular as building insurance, protects the physical fabric or structure of your home and provides financial protection in the event that your home is damaged by a peril such as:

  • Fire, lightning, and explosion.
  • Storm and flooding.
  • Subsidence or ground movement.
  • Escape of water or oil.
  • Burglary or vandalism
  • Impact e.g. a falling tree or a vehicle.

Although having buildings insurance is not always a legal requirement in Ireland, if you have a mortgage your lender will require you to have buildings insurance in place for the term of the mortgage and landlords are legally obliged to have insurance under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2004.

In any case, costs to repair and rebuild your property in an unexpected event can be significant, especially following a storm or fire, for example, so it makes sense to protect your biggest asset with buildings insurance.

What Does Buildings Insurance Cover?

Buildings insurance covers the main structure of your home and permanent fixtures and offers peace of mind that you will be financially protected if your home is damaged.

Buildings insurance typically covers:

  • The structure of your home i.e. roof, walls, floors, windows, and doors.
  • Permanent fixtures such as fitted kitchens, bathroom sanitary ware, and fitted wardrobes.

  • Outbuildings.

  • Paths, patios, driveways, boundaries, and gates.
  • Third party liability in case someone is injured while at your home (usually up to €3 million).

Optional Additional Benefits

Some of these benefits may come as standard and some are additional options, this depends on the insurer so always check your coverage.

Accidental Damage

This cover protects against damage caused accidentally such as a DIY mishap, a broken window, or putting your foot through the attic floor.

Home Emergency Assistance

This is usually a 24/7 helpline that you can access during an emergency, including emergency repair to ensure the security or safety of the home e.g. following a break in.

Legal Expenses

Also known as ‘family legal expenses’, this covers legal expenses in the event of, usually,  property related disputes such as boundary disputes with neighbours or in the event that someone is injured on the property.

Cost Of Buildings Insurance In Ireland

Average prices for buildings insurance in Ireland sit around the €400 to €500 mark but this varies significantly.

Your buildings insurance will be tailored to your home or property and there are many factors involved.

The location of your home matters, partly due to crime rates, but increasingly due to environmental risk. 

Flooding is more prevalent if you live in a low lying or coastal area or a location with a history of flooding, you may be limited to ex flood home insurance if this is the case. Subsidence is also a risk in certain areas due to geological factors and to soil type.

Standard buildings insurance may not be available if your home is a period property over 100 years old, or of non standard construction. 

This would include flat roofed or thatched homes or ‘eco’ homes, or if your property is a protected structure or listed building, meaning that they may be architecturally significant.

Having a home that is alarmed, especially with a monitored alarm, and that has good quality locks will often bring down your buildings insurance premium.

Your buildings insurance is largely based on the rebuild cost of your home which is the full price of totally rebuilding your home should that be necessary.

Beware Of Underinsurance

Underinsurance occurs where the sum in your buildings insurance is lower than the actual cost of rebuilding the property following an insured event.

Underinsurance means that any claim you make may be subject to the ‘average clause’ or ‘the rule of average’ which is a penalty for being underinsured.

This principle means that if your property is underinsured by 25%, e.g. €300,000 rebuild cost instead of a true rebuild cost of €400,000, then any claim that is paid out will only be 75% of the value of the claim.

So, for example, if a burst pipe in your home causes €4,000 worth of damage then you would be paid €3,000 in a claim even though this is much lower than your sum assured of €300,000.

Inflation

Underinsurance has been in the news in 2026 as, due to soaring costs for building materials and labour, many homeowners have unwittingly underinsured their homes, especially where homeowners have carried out renovations or extensions without updating the rebuild cost in their policy.

How To Avoid Underinsurance

Review your buildings cover and ensure that your home is fully insured for its up to date rebuild cost. This cost should also include demolition fees, architect fees, and VAT.

You can have a survey carried out on your property for the most accurate figure, or you can use the calculator on the Society of Chartered Surveyors (SCSI) website for guidance.

Combine Buildings And Contents Insurance

If you are a home owner, then it is often more cost effective to combine buildings and contents insurance in one tailored home insurance package, it is also more convenient as it will make the process much more straightforward if you have to make a claim on the policy.

Buildings Insurance Providers In Ireland

There are several leading buildings insurance and home insurance providers in Ireland. Here are some leading companies:

Allianz - Home Insurance
AXA - Home Insurance
Zurich - Home Insurance
FBD - Home Insurance
123 insurance provider
AIG - Home Insurance

Who Should Have Building Insurance?

1. Home or property owners will need building insurance as it protects you and your property from risks that would cause you significant unexpected expense to put right if your home property were damaged following a fire, storm, or burglary.

2. Landlords are required to have buildings insurance, usually sold as a landlord’s insurance package.

3. Apartment owners may not require buildings insurance as this cover may be provided by a management company’s insurance policy, although it’s important to check what’s covered.

4. Tenants will not usually require buildings insurance, and tenant’s insurance usually protects a tenant’s contents only.

Landlord Insurance

Landlord insurance is required under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2004. Landlords usually cannot insure their rental or buy to let properties with buildings insurance as their liability as landlords would not be covered.

Specific landlord’s insurance protects the physical structure of your property as well as covering landlord’s liability, loss of rent, and the landlord’s contents.

Buildings Insurance FAQ

Yes. It is possible to obtain buildings insurance for an unoccupied home, that is a property that is unoccupied for more than 30 -45 days stretch.

Specialist insurance, holiday home insurance or self build insurance may be available, depending on why your home is empty. You may also be able to cover your home with limited cover with your existing insurer if you inform them that the property is empty.

Your home’s contents are not covered, neither is damage due to wear and tear or lack of maintenance. Damage caused by pets or vermin/ pests will not be covered either.

Buildings insurance is intended to cover sudden, unforeseen events rather than dilapidation due to the above factors.

Yes, although the term ‘act of god’ is rarely used. Buildings insurance protects against specific perils such as storm, lightning, fire, flood etc.

If the damage is thought to have been caused by poor maintenance or wear and tear, even if it becomes apparent after a weather event, this may not be covered.

Yes. Your home may be a protected structure, a period home (over 100 years old), or in a conservation area.

As these properties will have a higher rebuild cost, it is likely that you will need non-standard home insurance that protects these properties.

This can vary, depending on the nature and complexity of the claim. A simpler claim with minimal damage, such a broken glass, can be settled within 2 to 4 weeks. 

A more complex claim, such as major fire or storm damage could take a year or more to settle, depending on the nature and extent of the damage and the time it can take to assess and repair the damage.