You may have heard in the last few days that Dublin City Council have put into effect the new fire brigade call-out charge.

I think many of us can agree that this could put people in danger when it may be unclear to home owners who covers these charges. This could result in a delay when calling the fire brigade should anything fire related happen to our homes. Do we personally have to cover these charges? Does the charge apply to large or small cases?

Shockingly, the truth is, a charge of €500 will apply to the first hour the fire brigade spend with domestic fires, including false alarms and chimney fires. So, no matter how big or small the fire is or how serious it may be, this charge applies.

Our biggest fear is that people will be worried about the cost implications which will delay calling for help. Luckily for everyone with house insurance, these charges will be covered under their buildings policy. However with policy excesses now running at an average of €500 across the board you will still end up paying this €500 charge if there is no direct damage caused to the house, e.g. a chimney fire.

We think it’s so important that people know this if and when it ever happens and to always think of the safety of their family and homes first. Residents should know that Dublin Fire Brigade will respond to all calls, regardless to the fees that may incur afterwards.

Being the premier insurance based property repair and loss assessment company in Ireland, we at insuranceworks.ie are often faced with many questions from clients and policy holders so they can get to know us better. So, this is a quick blogpost that covers most of these questions. We hope that it will be a lot of help to you when you need it most.

Primarily based in Dublin, the company was formed after it was established that there was no convenient and efficient way for the average property insurance policy holder to deal with the insurance provider, the builder and also have the claim processed immediately. We are currently developing offices in Cork and Waterford.

What other services does insuranceworks.ie provide?

Insuranceworks.ie offer a complete property repair, claim handling and assessment service. This is broken into three separate areas:

-property repairs and maintenance which is having your property repaired by a professional fully qualified team of tradesmen.

-loss assessment, whereby an individual qualified assessor talks directly to your insurance provider and negotiates the best possible settlement for your claim.

-claim handling service, whereby our property repair department provides detailed quotations and reports on your proposed work and repairs to furnish to your insurance company and also where we have our customer care team to keep you informed of your claims progress, who are also on standby should you have any queries.

Are insuranceworks.ie associated with or working for any insurance companies?

No. insuranceworks.ie are only employable by the policy holder and not the insurance companies. We only represent the policy holder, therefore only act in your best interests.

Is my damage too small to claim?

No. You can claim for any amount on your policy. However you will have an excess on your policy which will mean you will have to pay the first part of the payment if your claim is extremely minor. Policy excesses vary with each provider, however it is normally between 100 and 350 euros.

Will my premium go up next year?

Unlike car insurance your premium is not likely to go up, as you’re not more likely to have another claim in the near future.

Would I be able to process the claim myself?

Yes you would. However insuranceworks.ie are entitled to charge professional fees on your claim. This is added to your settlement as opposed to deducted from it so you would not be gaining financially. Insuranceworks.ie guarantee that you will obtain a substantial settlement by going through us.

How would I go about reporting a claim normally, what would I have to do?

To report a claim normally you call your insurance provider and report the damages. The insurance provider will then ask for you to get two or possibly three quotations for the damages. You then have to arrange and meet contractors individually yourself. You have to agree a figure with the insurance provider or its agent, wait for the settlement cheque to arrive, engage the contractor and supervise the works yourself.

In the meantime your problem may have gotten worse, and you are required by your policy to mitigate your loss to prevent it becoming, otherwise you may not receive full payment.

What do I have to do to engage insuranceworks.ie to handle my claim?

To engage insuranceworks.ie all you have to do is call our lo-call number, give your details to the customer care representative, meet our specialist at the property at a time of your convenience and let us handle the rest. Once your insurance provider has acknowledged you are covered we will begin work immediately. Its that simple!

So, never hesitate to get in touch with us for any job, no matter the size and we’ll do the rest.

Have a great weekend!

There are a number of tactics that insurance companies may use when you contact them and make your claim. One of the most popular is to tell you over the phone that you are not covered, however it can be extremely difficult to determine if cover is in place or not before they review your policy in detail and see the exact cause of the damage. If you accept this as truth, you may never know for sure if you were supposed to be covered

Another tactic that they employ is to tell you that if you do not accept a settlement proposal that has been offered they will send out their own builder to do the work at that figure. However, more often than not, the amount they offer is much lower than the realistic cost of repairs.

This can almost be seen as a threat that insurance companies can hold over people’s heads, hoping that the homeowner will just accept the initial quote to avoid hassle and further debate.

Recently, we had a situation in Tallaght where the insurance company offered a very low amount, an amount that would in no way cover the cost of the repairs builder. After taking our advice, when the homeowner refused to accept this amount, the company then threatened to send in their builder- which we encouraged. As it turned out, the builder priced the cost of the damage correctly and fairly and it resulted in being twice the amount in comparison to what the insurance company was initially offering.

As in any walk of life, if you allow yourself to be pushed around, you will be. That’s why it is so important to have professional representation on your side. The outcome will be much more positive for you and will reduce the stress of handling the different aspects of your claim.

So, if it ever happens to you, don’t get caught in this trap. Insuranceworks.ie is here to handle your claim and is the only company in Ireland to have combined both Loss Assessment and Claims handling with the actual repairs. You only need to deal with us and nobody else, it really is an ideal solution for any repairs to your home be it a leaking tap or a hole in the roof.

Call 1890 25 25 42 to talk further about having an experienced and qualified loss assessor visit your property to advise you.

Hello and welcome back after a busy and eventful holiday season. Firstly, we’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, all the best for 2012 and we hope you had a lovely Christmas with family and friends.

As we are well aware, many people may have left their homes during the festive season only to return to damages that were beyond their control. Burst pipes can be a common problem, an absolute pain and that’s why it’s always important to do something about them straight away. No heating or running water is surely something you don’t want to be faced with for too long at the beginning of 2012. A burst pipe is always considered to be water emergency with the capability to cause serious damage to your home’s structure and electrical wiring. So here’s our handy little guide to D.I.Y. steps you should take if this happens to your property. You can do these things while you wait for professional help.

1. To start, it’s important to turn off the water supply and then drain the system by turning on all cold taps.

2. Likewise, you should turn off any water heating systems, central heating, immersion heater etc…Once this is done, drain the system by letting the hot water taps run.

3. Always be careful when entering rooms that appear to have a large amount of water in the ceiling the extent of the water damage may not be fully visible and you may not know how long it has been left unseen, Catch any dripping water and leaks in buckets to prevent further damage to the floors below.

4. It’s so important to call in the professionals to repair the damage and this is why Insuranceworks.ie is here to help you gain the best outcome.

Insuranceworks.ie deal with burst pipe claims regularly and our team is here to help you with your property insurance claim. Our highly qualified professionals will have a qualified tradesman and or loss assessor call to your property immediately to look at the damage and contact your insurance company for you, meaning that you do not need to speak with anybody else. Don’t hesitate to call us 1890 25 25 42 to talk further about having an experienced and highly qualified loss assessor visit your property to advise you.

When it comes to a boundary or a party wall in between two residential properties, many people can get confused about their legal rights. This confusion can only be heightened when damage and insurance claims are involved. Our aim with this post is to make things clear for you so any work to your boundary can be done in a quick and effective way, leaving minimum impact on you and your neighbours lives.

The bad weather we were faced with in October of this year, saw a lot of storm damage to peoples’ boundary walls, party walls and other types of property. First things first, it is absolutely essential for anyone who needs property repair to call on professionals and get the area looked at by a regulated loss assessor.

Secondly, it is so important that neighbours agree to work together on the issue for the best possible outcome. We know that in a perfect world, we would all get on well with our neighbours; have them over for Sunday lunch and let our children play together. However, in truth, this is not always the case and disputing neighbours can put a strain on day to day lives as well as on legal and insurance issues.
There can be a lot of myths surrounding whose insurance company should cover the damage. Many may think that it depends on where on the legal boundary line the wall lies; therefore is may be the sole responsibility of one person. In Ireland, however, laws surrounding boundary and party walls differ greatly from those in the UK or other countries. The way it works is that each party is partly responsible for their boundary walls and therefore their insurance policy should cover the damage 50/50, no matter who built the wall or who maintains their side more regularly, the insurance policy of each neighbouring side should cover this evenly. Disputes and past issues aside, an agreement has to be in place for the best possible results so work can be carried out quickly and be paid for fairly by each insurer.

If an agreement among both neighbours is not reached, your claim will not be covered in full and your insurance provider may allow both sides to disagree for as long as possible.

Where the law and planning is involved, a relatively new piece of legislation, “The Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009” can help neighbours resolve any disputes about works on or near the boundary line between two properties if they themselves cannot come to an agreement.

As always, advice from a professional is essential; disputes and unclarity about boundary walls are cases Insuranceworks.ie deal with regularly and our team is here to help you gain a good outcome and to look after both you and your neighbour’s claim. Don’t hesitate to call us on 1890 25 25 42 to talk further about having an experienced and highly qualified assessor visit your property to help you.