Insuring a timber modular home in Ireland means checking the insurer's construction criteria as well as when cover starts. BioBuilds delivers DAP with all-risks cargo insurance, so the transport risk is covered until the home is available at your site. From unloading onward, your own cover must be in place: self-build site insurance during the works, then buildings insurance, which your lender will require. Give insurers the exact construction details and ask them to confirm the cover they can offer.
Timber frame is a familiar construction method in Ireland, and a factory-built home on a permanent foundation is a house like any other. What buyers often miss is the handover moment: the house arrives finished, so it needs cover from the day it is lifted onto the ground screws, not from the day you move in. This guide explains when cover must start, how insurers look at timber construction, what buildings insurance covers and how warranty and insurance divide the work.
When does your insurance need to start?
BioBuilds delivers on DAP terms (Delivered at Place, Incoterms 2020), with all-risks cargo insurance during transport. The transport risk stays with BioBuilds until the home is available at your site, ready for unloading. That is also when it is inspected on the trailer and the final payment falls due.
From then on, the house is yours to insure:
- Self-build site insurance from the start of site works, with written confirmation that it covers unloading, crane lifting and assembly of the BioBuilds home, plus public liability and, where you employ people, employers' liability. Lenders usually require it for a self-build mortgage.
- Confirmation that the crane company carries liability insurance for the lift.
- Buildings insurance from completion, which your mortgage lender will require, usually with its interest noted on the policy.
- Contents insurance when you move in.
Talk to your insurer or broker early. A modular home is usually closed and weatherproof on the day it arrives, which shortens the construction phase, but the policy still needs to cover the period between delivery and completion.
How do insurers view a timber modular home?
Insurers rate homes by construction type, roof, location and flood risk. Timber frame is widely used in Irish housing, but some insurers ask more questions about factory-built or "non-standard" construction, or about timber cladding. Request quotes before you sign, using the exact specification, and compare several insurers or use a broker.
Describe the real construction, not just "modular". Wall build-up, cladding, roof covering and heating decide how an insurer classifies the home, and a quote based on the right facts is one that holds when you claim.
What should you tell the insurer?
- Construction: timber-frame walls with wood-fibre insulation and the wall build-up.
- Cladding: BioBuilds offers Yakisugi or Lunawood thermowood cladding; name the one you chose.
- Roof: a low-slope roof with an EPDM membrane.
- Foundation: ground screws, with the engineer's design.
- Heating: the all-electric heat pump specified for your BioBuilds Turnkey home, or the heating system chosen for Exterior Finished or later interior work. Declare any combustion appliance.
- Completion documents: the Certificate of Compliance on Completion and the BER, which insurers and lenders may ask for.
- Rebuild value: the cost to rebuild the house, foundation and connections, not the site value.
What about flood cover?
Flood cover depends on the location. Insurers check flood maps and claims history, and cover can be limited in areas with a history of flooding. Check the flood risk of your site before you buy it: the OPW's flood maps show mapped flood extents. Under a 2014 memorandum with Insurance Ireland, the OPW shares data on completed flood relief schemes, and insurers have committed to take it into account, although cover is not guaranteed (gov.ie). Mention a completed scheme in your area when you request a quote.
Insurance or warranty: what covers what?
Insurance pays for sudden damage from outside events: a fire, a storm, a burst pipe. A warranty covers defects in what you bought. BioBuilds gives a 5-year structural guarantee in addition to your statutory rights, and the makers of components such as windows, the heat pump and the ventilation unit give their own warranties.
To see the Irish price of your home for your insurance and mortgage quotes, configure it. Wanderlust starts from €105,000 in Exterior Finished, including 23% Irish VAT, with transport and installation included.
