Q I received a gift of a nice piece of jewellery and the giver mentioned that I should put it on my home insurance. But I rent my home so I don’t have home insurance. Should I get contents insurance for all my personal belongings and what should I look out for?
Catherine, Co Roscommon
A While a landlord will insure the building itself, including the fixed items they own such as kitchen fittings and built-in wardrobes, you would have to insure any contents you own. If there was a theft, leak or fire damage, for instance, any of your personal belongings – like jewellery, furniture or a laptop – would not be covered.
Contents insurance generally covers any moveable objects -- essentially anything you might bring with you if you moved to a new home. It will usually cover the loss of, or damage to, these items, including cash stolen from your home.
A little research before you choose a contents insurance policy can save you money and help you out if you ever need to make a claim. Don’t just look at the annual cost of a policy; make sure you know exactly what items are covered and to what value, and what exceptions apply. For instance, are you still covered if you take the items out of your home? Are you covered for accidental damage?
Before you choose the policy, calculate the total value of your possessions. There’s a contents insurance checklist on our site, Ccpc.ie, that will help you with the room-by-room calculations and estimate the value of each category of item. This will help ensure you have full coverage if the worst happens and you lose all your possessions due to fire or flooding.
You should insure your items – including your new jewellery – for the amount it would cost you to replace them if they were stolen or damaged. Don’t be tempted to undervalue items to reduce your policy costs; this will result in underinsurance and could limit the amount you can claim. For example, if you insured an item for 75pc of its replacement value and then made a claim for €1,000 worth of damage to it, you would only receive €750 of that claim.
You also need to be aware that there is often a limit on the amount you can claim for any individual object unless it’s listed separately as a specified item on your policy. Contents insurance may not cover the personal belongings you carry around with you (like your phone and possibly this piece of jewellery) unless you have taken out all-risks cover, which insures items that are brought outside the home. You might have to pay extra for this, so double-check your policy’s terms and conditions to make sure your new piece of jewellery is fully covered.
Q I bought a blender in a supermarket in the January sales. It worked fine for a couple of weeks but then I started to notice a smell of burning plastic every time I used it for more than a few seconds. I brought it back to the shop, but they said there was nothing they could do for me and that I’d have to contact the manufacturer. I’d rather deal with someone in person and I can’t even find an Irish phone number for the manufacturer. What are my rights?
Tadhg, Co Wicklow
A You were right to go back to the shop: when you purchase an item, your contract is with the business that sold it to you – not the company that made it.
But it’s important to act quickly in situations like this. When you notice a fault or issue with a product, you should contact the retailer as soon as possible because your right to redress is strongest in the first 30 days after purchase. Indeed, the short-term right to cancel means you can return a faulty item for an automatic full refund within that period.
Of course, outside that you still have rights, including to a repair, a replacement, or a refund for faulty goods. Within the first year after purchase, the law is on your side and presumes that the fault was there at the time of sale, but you generally have up to six years to take a case against a business under the statute of limitations. Goods must be fit for purpose and work for a reasonable amount of time, and it’s important to remember that consumer rights law means the retailer has obligations to you regardless of any guarantee or warranty.
You should go back and inform them that under the Consumer Rights Act they are responsible for any issues with the product. You’ve mentioned you would rather address this problem in person, but if the retailer still refuses to engage, consider sending a formal written complaint. In that, include the date of purchase, the date you initially complained, outline the fault, and say how you would like the retailer to resolve the issue.
If the retailer fails to respond to your satisfaction, you can lodge a claim through the Small Claims Procedure via your local district court or at CSOL.ie. There is a fee of €25, so depending on the original cost you may or may not consider this step. Hopefully the retailer will honour their legal obligations.