General Insurance 

General Insurance is a non-life insurance policy. It is protecting the things that matter and have value.

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Below you can learn more about: 

Buildings Insurance 

Contents Insurance 

Inter Vivos Insurance 

Buildings Insurance 

Buildings insurance is an insurance policy that can cover the cost of repairing damage or even fully rebuilding the structure of your home if it is damaged by an event that you are insured for, such as a fire, flood, or storm. 

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Your insurance should cover the full cost of rebuilding your house. This also includes the costs of demolition, site clearance, and architects' fees. It is important to make sure you insure yourself for the amount it would cost to completely rebuild your home. This is called the sum insured. The cost of rebuilding your home is not the same as the price you paid for your home, or its current value if you were to sell it. Rebuild costs are usually less than the current market value as a lot of the cost of purchasing a property is the cost of purchasing the land as well as the building on that land.  

Buildings insurance usually covers loss or damage caused by: 

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a) fire, explosion, storms, floods, earthquakes;  

b) theft, attempted theft, and vandalism;  

c) frozen and burst pipes;  

d) fallen trees, lampposts, aerials or satellite dishes; and 

e) subsidence. 

There is no legal obligation per se to obtain buildings insurance but considering the vast amount of money we spend on purchasing our homes it would make sense to have buildings insurance to protect that expensive and vital asset - your home. This is even more so the case if you live somewhere at a high risk of flooding, crime, or subsidence.

In many cases, your mortgage lender might also require you to buy buildings insurance to protect their interest in your asset during the term of the mortgage. 

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It is very important that you do not over or under insure yourself and expert advice should be taken to ensure that the correct insurance and level of insurance is purchased.

Contents Insurance

Contents insurance is an insurance policy that covers the cost of replacing your damaged personal possessions in the event of theft, loss or damage, including natural disasters, fires or flooding. Different policies cover different risks so it is very important that you look at the actual wording of each specific policy. 

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Contents insurance is separate and distinct from buildings insurance which covers the building you live in itself and the fixtures and fittings. 

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​Often insurers ask you to estimate the total value of all your possessions, but insurers require you to notify them of any particularly high-value items, especially jewelry, computers, or expensive bicycles for example.

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Not everything is covered, the specific wording of your policy should be checked carefully. For example, contents insurance will not usually cover you against acts of terrorism or general wear and tear.

Please also be aware that many policies may also be invalidated if your home is unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days during the year.

Further, if you are away for a long time and a pipe bursts, for example, you again may not be insured in those circumstances. 

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If you run a business from home, or work from home, you should check your policy carefully to ensure that you qualify for liability protection and understand that business-related contents may not be covered under a personal contents policy. 

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It is also vital that you do not over or under insure yourself and expert advice should be taken to ensure that the correct insurance and level of insurance is purchased. 

Inter Vivos Insurance

Gifts to individuals during your lifetime that are not immediately tax-free will be considered as ‘potentially exempt transfers’ or PET’s. This means that they will only be tax-free if you survive for at least seven years after making the gift. If you die within seven years, the gift will be subject to Inheritance Tax. This is known as the seven-year rule. 

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If you die within seven years of making a potentially exempt transfer, the transfer becomes chargeable. Its value will either reduce or eliminate your Nil Rate Band which means that less of your assets will be passed on to your beneficiaries tax-free. 

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The rate of inheritance tax that the recipient will pay gradually reduces over the seven-year period – this is called taper relief. 

This is how tapering relief works: 

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If you die within 7 years of making gifts in excess of your nil-rate band, the onus is on the recipient of the gifts, not your estate, to pay the inheritance tax bill due on the gift. So if you do not want to leave your loved ones with a nasty surprise after you pass away then you may wish to take out a gift inter vivos insurance policy.  

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A gift inter vivos insurance policy is one that provides a lump sum to cover the potential IHT liability that could arise if the donor of a gift dies within seven years of making the gift. The lump sum provided is in line with the potential IHT liability and reduces in line with taper relief available (as shown above).