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Home insurance
I recently bought an apartment. The bank asked for the fire insurance certificate which the syndic sent to them.
I'm guessing that this covers if the apartment or building burns down, but I'm just wondering if apartment owners typically have a second individual insurance policy for break-ins / other types of damage etc?
What does your rental contract say? I suspect that you have (seriously) misunderstood the situation.
If you are the owner of a property, it is entirely up to you whether you take out insurance beyond that which your mortgage lender will require you to have.
However, if you get burgled and are uninsured, you will have lost everything. It's a personal thing; I'm sure many property owners take the risk though I would never do so.
Yes, you can (and should) take a separate insurance for the content of the apartment and third party responsibility if for example you cause damage to the neighbors. There are different formulas. Check with several insurance companies to find the best offer.
No Rupert, Becasse just recognises you as clueless and was being polite.
Go and see an insurance broker, show them what you've got, and they will tell you what you need, what it will cost, and what risks it insures.
You need your own insurance. Their fire insurance doesn't cover anything that is your liability. For example, if you accidentally burn the building down by allowing a candle to fall over and set fire to your curtains, you will be liable. However, If the boiler in the basement blows up and burns the building down, it's the buidlings (i.e. the Syndic) liability.
For theft etc, again, it's your choice, but the anything inside your apartment that belongs to you is your liability, so if it's stolen, it's up to you to replace it, or have an insurance to replace it.
FInally, many people will also insure against accidental damage. So for example, if you damage the parquet flooring, by accidentally spilling bleach all over it, your insurance will pay the hundreds of euro's it will cost to replace / repair.
You should speak to your bank and ask them. They will have what you need.
RUPERT, I suggested that you started by reading your rental contract, always sound advice. Does that contract not require you to take out insurance to cover certain eventualities, such as fire and flood, which originate from your apartment - it's normal practice for obvious reasons.
ANON has provided some excellent detailed advice about taking out insurance but that insurance won't cover past events, also for obvious reasons, so it is beginning to look as if the costs of this repair job are going to fall to you, quite possibly because you failed to take out a required insurance policy. Even in the unlikely event that it wasn't required by your contract, having a policy would have helped you in this instance.
Becasse, are you by any chance trying to answer this thread and question: http://www.xpats.com/who-has-pay
Your reply really does not make much sense in the context of this thread.
OK for "rental contract" read "lease". In this context it is much the same thing. You still have obligations to the other occupiers of the building - and to the owners if the ownership isn't shared among the occupiers.
