Stately homes are turning to Britain for insurance cover

Insurance for historic and stately homes has become so expensive here that proprietors are going to Britain to get cover.

Gauntlet Heritage Insurance in London now has up to 30 Irish historical houses on its books, about a dozen of which are open to the public.

It also emerged yesterday that Fáilte Ireland is to publish a report on the impact of insurance premium increases on the tourist industry in coming weeks. It is expected to recommend that hotels and other amenities come together to seek group rates.

The study, carried out by risk services company Marsh Ireland, is being carried out in co-operation with the Irish Hotels Federation and Restaurants Association of Ireland. It has gathered data and claims experience from across the sector - B&Bs, restaurants and other amenities.

Mr Shaun Quinn, chief executive of Fáilte Ireland, said yesterday there had been "enormous" insurance increases since 2000, although he believed there was now downward pressure on prices.

"We're hoping the market may have turned," he said.

Meanwhile Mr Steve Buckingham, director of brokering with Gauntlet Heritage Insurance, said there had been a "considerable increase" in the number of Irish proprietors seeking cover with the company in the past three years.

He said the owners of Irish historic properties were turning to British brokers both because premiums were too high here and because Irish companies were refusing to quote at all on some properties.

"We have built up a good portfolio of historic homes and landed estates, and when some of the Irish owners were seeking insurance they came to us, and it has spread really through word of mouth," he said.

Among those on Gauntlet's books is Strokestown Park and House in Co Roscommon, which took out insurance with the company last year. Its general manager, Mr John O'Driscoll, said Strokestown had been "hit considerably" by insurance premium increases in 2002, and had had great difficulty securing insurance last year.

"So after a lot of haggling and changing insurance companies we got insurance with an increase of about 17 per cent, to about €25,000. In the end no Irish insurance company would give us a quote at all. No one wanted to take on an old Georgian house, so we had to go to the UK," he said. Strokestown Park had lodged no claims with its Irish insurers, and yet the cost had increased year on year.

"It's a bit worrying, because you can't just hope to recoup the cost by adding to the price of the entrance tickets," said Mr O'Driscoll.

Mr Buckingham said, however, that Irish properties were seen by British insurers as a greater risk and that owners were quoted higher rates than those of similar British properties.

"Loss experience tells us that a castle in Ireland is a bigger risk than one in say Scotland or Wales," he said. There were numerous reasons for this, from the greater exposure of Irish properties to Atlantic storms to less rigorous upkeep of properties.