SEVEN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT INSURANCE AND COVID-19
You could struggle to get a pay-out from insurer due to issues thrown up by virus, writes Louise McBride
COVID-19 has forced us to grapple with financial issues we have never encountered before and insurance was one of the first of these. When the crisis first emerged, there was huge concern around whether travel insurance would cover a holiday cancelled on foot of
the coronavirus.
However, the insurance conundrums thrown up by the pandemic go far beyond worries around travel insurance. Here are the things you should know about insurance and your day-to-day life.
YOUR HOME MIGHT NOT BE COVERED FOR BREAK-INS IF VACANT DURING LOCKDOWN
From tomorrow, it will be possible to travel anywhere around Ireland for the first time since lockdown began in March. For some, the end of domestic travel restrictions will be the first chance in months they have had to return home.
These people could run into problems with home insurance if, on their return, they discover it has been broken into or that there has been other damage to the property while it was vacant.
This is due to the unoccupancy limit in place on most home insurance policies, where there is a limit on the amount of time you can leave your home unoccupied for before cover expires. This limit is typically between 30 and 60 days in a row, depending on the insurer. For example, Aviva’s unoccupancy limit is 60 consecutive days, FBD’s is 45, while Liberty and Zurich have a 30-day limit. Lockdown, or indeed any extended period you may have been stuck abroad for due to the crisis, could mean your home has been vacant for longer than your insurer’s unoccupancy limit allows.
A number of insurers have extended or removed unoccupancy limits if properties were vacant as a result of the emergency, although such extensions or waivers aren’t always automatic so it is important you notify your insurer very soon if you haven’t yet been able to return home.
“The onus is on the customer to contact the insurer if the home has been vacant due to lockdown,” said Jonathan Hehir, managing director of online broker coverinaclick.ie.
Some home insurers, including Aviva and Zurich, are taking a case-by-case approach to unoccupancy limits where customers have been unable to stay in their home during the crisis.
“Where the customer was able to provide us with a definitive return date, we agreed to maintain full cover,” said a spokeswoman for Aviva. “Where they were unsure of the return date pending the easing of government restrictions, we switched the cover to holiday home cover.”
FBD increased the number of days in a row for which a home can be unoccupied from 45 to 90 — if the home became vacant due to the Covid-19 emergency. A spokesman for Liberty Insurance said: “All home insurance customers who have notified Liberty of their home being unoccupied for more than 30 days in a row as a result of Covid-19 are still covered.”
YOUR HOLIDAY HOME MAY NOT BE COVERED IF YOU HAVEN’T CALLED INSURER
By their nature, holiday homes are typically vacant for a number of months during the year. So to be covered by your holiday home insurance, you must usually check your property — or have someone check it on your behalf — regularly, particularly during the winter months.
Some insurers, including Aviva, have waived this requirement for those prevented from going to their holiday homes due to travel restrictions. Remember, however, such waivers are usually not automatic and you may need to have already notified your insurer you needed one.
“All customers who have been restricted from travelling to their holiday homes during the Covid-19 pandemic, and have notified us of such, are still covered,” said a spokesman for Liberty.
COVID-19 IS UNLIKELY TO DRIVE DOWN THE COST OF YOUR HOME INSURANCE
There has been a big drop in the number of burglaries in recent months, likely as a result of the increased time people have been spending at home. Some home insurers, including FBD, have noticed a fall in home theft claims.
Don’t expect to get money back on your home insurance, or a cheaper premium on renewal, as a result though. None of the main home insurers have indicated they will be doing so.
Indeed, a number of home insurers have noticed an increase in claims for accidental, water or fire damage in recent months as a result of more people being at home. So you may find your home insurance premium is more expensive when you renew it if you made such a claim.
YOU SHOULD BE COVERED IF WORKING FROM HOME — BUT THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS
Many people have been working from home in recent months due to the pandemic, and many will continue to do so in the coming months.
You don’t usually have to notify your home insurer you are working from home — unless you’re running your own business from home, in which case you may need to upgrade or get additional cover. Be aware, too, that if the work you are carrying out at home is not sedentary in nature, you may not be covered.
Public liability cover, which protects you in the event a member of the public such as the postman or a neighbour injures themselves when visiting your home, could also be an issue. Most home insurance policies include public liability cover, but it doesn’t usually extend to public liability arising from a business, trade or profession.
“Your home insurance usually excludes public liability cover for a client coming to your home for a business meeting,” said Hehir. “So if a client slipped and injured themselves when attending a business meeting in your home, your insurer may not cover that.”
Your home insurance will usually cover damage — up to certain limits — to your laptop or other office equipment which you, or any family member permanently living in the house, owns.
Any office equipment you’re using which belongs to your employer should be covered under your boss’s business insurance.
YOUR CAR INSURANCE SHOULD COVER YOU IF DELIVERING TO COCOONERS
Should you be in a car accident when delivering groceries or other items to cocooners, you should be covered by your car insurance — but usually only if you are acting as an unpaid volunteer.
“Contact your insurer and make sure you’ve cover for deliveries,” said Hehir. “Your cover should be OK if deliveries are local but if you’re delivering nationwide you could have an issue.”
FAILURE TO REACTIVATE CAR INSURANCE AFTER COCOONING COULD COST YOU
Be sure to call your insurer and reactivate your car insurance before you start driving again if you opted to suspend your insurance for a number of months during lockdown.
“It does happen that people forget they’ve suspended their cover,” said Hehir. Failure to reactivate your car insurance before you start driving again will mean you won’t be covered if you’re in an accident.
One surefire way to drive up the cost of your car insurance is to be in an accident — particularly if you are liable.
“You may find it unusual to be driving again so from a road safety point of view, take your time when out on the roads again,” said Hehir. “Be aware that pedestrian behaviour has changed — pedestrians may step onto the road to socially distance themselves from other walkers.”
YOU SHOULD STILL BE COVERED BY YOUR CAR INSURANCE IF YOUR NCT CERT EXPIRED
You must have a valid NCT (National Car Test) cert to be covered by your car insurance.
The Government extended the validity of NCT certs by four months for owners of vehicles due an NCT test on or after March 28, 2020, due to the suspension of NCTs throughout the pandemic.
So your car insurance should still cover you if your NCT cert expired because you were unable to get an NCT, as long as your cert is covered by the four-month extension. Your insurer may even give you a few weeks’ grace beyond the four month extension to get your NCT in order. A spokesman for Zurich said: “We will treat [the NCT cert of ] any policyholder whose NCT expires between the beginning of March and the end of July as valid for six months after the expiration date.”
As always with insurance, if in doubt on any issue, check directly with your insurer. Otherwise, you could discover a shortfall in cover when you need your insurance most.