New to it all

Rasp Rppl wrote:

Hello

My family and I have bought a property in Hungary and are looking at the usual set up stuff.

Any advice or recommendations on home and contents insurers please?

Many thanks

Raz

Usual suspects are Generali, Aegon etc.

Home insurance is quite cheap relatively speaking.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Home insurance is quite cheap relatively speaking.

I have never had to get a payout, but I know others who have. And it was quite variable. Some were deigned for the most silly reasons. One example on a house robbery, they were denied payment because did not have a fence around their property -- as if that little barrier would magically prevent the follow-up house break-in.....

I would be curious to read other accounts of payouts here. Was compensation adequate? Timely? Trouble free? Or none of the above?

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Home insurance is quite cheap relatively speaking.

I have never had to get a payout, but I know others who have. And it was quite variable. Some were deigned for the most silly reasons. One example on a house robbery, they were denied payment because did not have a fence around their property -- as if that little barrier would magically prevent the follow-up house break-in.....

I would be curious to read other accounts of payouts here. Was compensation adequate? Timely? Trouble free? Or none of the above?

Yes, we were paid out after we were burgled.   They sent some who fixed the door that somebody had levered open with a metal bar/screwdriver but it was only minor damage  and we were renting that place so we didn't care much.  They also refunded 1000Ft in coins which a Fluffyette had in a tin in their bedroom.  Didn't get anything else from us.  Interestingly they put an aluminium step ladder against the main door so anyone opening it would knock it over and therefore they would have an "alarm" to warn them of the householder.  Damage was probably under 30K HUF. After being burgled, we felt violated so in our new house we've gone crazy on security now - alarm, very visible cameras, shutters, special locking security doors, bars on windows etc.    Apparently if you have shutters the chances of being burgled here is close to zero

Not house stuff but car was also repaired after someone reversed into Mrs Fluffy and smashed in the rear panel - quite an expensive job which took over a month to sort out - over 600K HUF.

One of our cars is old and the premium for all risks is high - more than the current value of the car and the excess (US: deductible?) is also ludicrously high. No risk for the insurers.  We're still weighing up if we go for it or not as I hardly use the car - I use it so little (once every say. 2-3 weeks), I sometimes have to charge up the battery.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Yes, we were paid out after we were burgled.   They sent some who fixed the door that somebody had levered open with a metal bar/screwdriver but it was only minor damage  and we were renting that place so we didn't care much.  They also refunded 1000Ft in coins which a Fluffyette had in a tin in their bedroom.  Didn't get anything else from us.

If I read that right, you did not have much loss.

If that is correct, that matches what others have told me. Small claims are paid, but large ones are often not (they find some reason to not pay).

I was once a major investor in a music event here. And I wanted to get insurance for anyone getting injured (someone trips and breaks their leg for example *) or having a loss (theft) at the event . I could not find an insurer willing to give me really compressive insurance. At any price. The best I could do was 200,000 HUF liability insurance. Sure, it was cheap. But if anyone at the event had more than a trivial 800 Euro in claims, I could have been liable. That is complete, total and utter BS in my opinion. Which has left me feeling insurance in Hungary is an overall waste of time and money.

* Someone actually did trip and get injured at the event. And I did in fact buy the pathetic insurance despite its limitations. But they refused to file a request for compensation.... Which to this day I can not understand -- I was covered and they had a right to compensation for their injuries.

fluffy2560 wrote:

After being burgled, we felt violated so in our new house we've gone crazy on security now - alarm, very visible cameras, shutters, special locking security doors, bars on windows etc.

We had two burglary attempts. Both failed, because we were at home and scared the thieves away. I even pushed one guy out the door as he tried to enter our house. Yes we called the police. Yes they caught him. Yes, they gave him a good "talking too". Then, yes, they let him go...... So what is the point?

Our response..... other than making sure to lock the doors even when at home (it was open when someone tried to get in) ---- zero. In this world s*** happens. A lot of theft in Hungary is opportunistic. That is, it is a stupidity tax. You did something stupid and someone else took advantage of that. Most crime is avoidable by just not doing stupid things. For all the others, having security cameras on "record" will not stop someone with a face mask.

And if you have fixed bars on windows that can prevent exit in case of fire. Shutters are better. And any lock, even those so called security locks, can be outdone with a bump key attack. Or a crow bar. Or a battery powered chain saw, or angle grinder. All these extra "securities" only distract the "casual thief", but all over done, as the "casual thief" can be deterred by just not doing stupid things.

And all for what? Protecting just your "stuff"? Because threat to people during a burglary in Hungary is close to zero. I, personally, can replace most of my stuff with just a few months of work. Not that I want to do so, mind you. My point being, I don't have much stuff and it really is not that important. In fact, I need to throw away a lot of my stuff. If someone wants to "steal it", even better. Saves me the cost to haul it away.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

After being burgled, we felt violated so in our new house we've gone crazy on security now - alarm, very visible cameras, shutters, special locking security doors, bars on windows etc.

.....

And if you have fixed bars on windows that can prevent exit in case of fire. Shutters are better. And any lock, even those so called security locks, can be outdone with a bump key attack. Or a crow bar. Or a battery powered chain saw, or angle grinder. All these extra "securities" only distract the "casual thief", but all over done, as the "casual thief" can be deterred by just not doing stupid things.

And all for what? Protecting just your "stuff"? Because threat to people during a burglary in Hungary is close to zero. I, personally, can replace most of my stuff with just a few months of work. Not that I want to do so, mind you. My point being, I don't have much stuff and it really is not that important. In fact, I need to throw away a lot of my stuff. If someone wants to "steal it", even better. Saves me the cost to haul it away.

Oh yes, it's not foolproof our measures but it will at least make it harder and if it's harder, it's slower and the chances of being caught are considerably higher.  Nosy neighbours can be an advantage.

Burglary is a risky way to make money. 

The houseowner might be Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee or packing some intruder unhealthy weaponry.   Fella I knew here had a 22 calibre pistol and he was adamant he would use it. 

My Austrian neighbours were also armed and the guy was telling me gleefully that he'd happy to blast any intruder with his marksman pistols and hunting rifle!  I don't know why he thought anyone would burgle him in a village where strangers are spotted in 20s and the cops there in 60s (really! Cops would be there quick as a flash even over trivial issues - nothing else to do). 

So you take your chances sometimes if you are up for burglary.

We thought about escaping fires or danger when we were building the place. Some windows which are hard to reach do not have shutters.   

I'm quite often in the business of lowering risks and in my previous posts I talked about always having Plan Bs or some kind of idea about the  consequences.  So this all comes out here too.

We have clear knowledgeable plans for everyone.  When the location of the fire and what the escape routes are.  We also have a fire extinguisher, a fire blanket, multiple smoke and CO alarms (one on each floor) so I think overall we've got it covered far more than the average Hungarian.