House Insurance Northern Ireland: What It Covers, What It Costs and Who Sells It

Buildings insurance

Buildings insurance covers the structure of the property: walls, roof, floors, windows, fitted kitchens and bathrooms, and permanent fixtures such as boilers, garages and boundary walls. The listed perils are broadly the same across the market: fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, subsidence, falling trees, vehicle impact and malicious damage.

The sum insured should be the rebuild cost, not the market value, and every mortgage lender in Northern Ireland insists buildings cover is in place from the day of completion.

Contents insurance

Contents insurance covers the belongings you would take with you if you moved: furniture, carpets, appliances, clothing, electronics, jewellery, bicycles and, for a family, everything the children own. Standard policies pay new-for-old. Each insurer applies a single-article limit, commonly £1,000 to £2,500, and anything worth more must be listed separately or it is not fully covered.

Personal possessions cover, usually an optional extra, protects items carried away from home.

Combined buildings and contents

A combined house insurance contents and buildings policy is what most owner-occupiers actually buy. The combined premium is usually lower than two separate policies. AbbeyAutoline, Hughes Insurance and AXA NI all present buildings, contents and combined cover as three options at quote stage.

The trade-off is that a claim on either part counts against the whole policy's no claims discount.

What is normally included, and what is not

Alternative accommodation, property owners' liability of typically £1m to £2m, and replacement locks and keys are standard. Accidental damage, home emergency cover, legal protection and Keycare style products are optional extras that raise the premium.

Standard exclusions include wear and tear, poor maintenance, damp and condensation, frost damage to outside pipes, and losses while the property has been unoccupied for more than 30 to 60 consecutive days. The policy wording, not the sales page, decides whether something is covered.

Flood risk and the DfI Rivers flood maps

DfI Rivers, the Department for Infrastructure division still widely known as the Rivers Agency, is the flood risk management authority for Northern Ireland and publishes the Flood Maps NI service, showing river, coastal and surface water flood extents for any address. The DfI Rivers map is the official, free way to see roughly what insurers see before you request a quote.

Lough Erne, the Lagan, the Bann and the Foyle catchments and low-lying parts of Belfast carry the highest mapped risk. The November 2023 flooding in Newry and Downpatrick sits within the five-year claims window most insurers ask about.

Flood Re and what to do if cover is refused

Flood Re is the UK-wide reinsurance scheme that lets insurers offer affordable flood cover on high-risk homes. Flood Re applies in Northern Ireland exactly as in Great Britain, but only to homes built before 1 January 2009 and generally not to buy-to-let or commercial policies. Flood Re's Build Back Better scheme allows up to £10,000 on top of a flood repair for resilience measures such as raised sockets and flood doors.

If a comparison site cannot quote a previously flooded address, a broker who understands Flood Re can usually help.

Storms, subsidence and rebuild costs

Storm damage is the most common weather claim in Northern Ireland, and Storm Éowyn on 24 January 2025 brought the first red weather warning to cover the whole of NI, with widespread roof, fence and outbuilding claims. Subsidence is far less common in NI than in southern England because the clay soils that shrink in dry summers are rare here.

Set the rebuild cost using the ABI's free BCIS rebuild calculator or a surveyor's reinstatement figure. The capital value that Land and Property Services uses for domestic rates is a 2005 market valuation and has nothing to do with rebuild cost.