Frequently Asked Questions

We act for you, the policyholder, and nobody else. We survey the damage, read your policy, put together a fully itemised schedule of loss, meet the insurer’s loss adjuster on site, and negotiate the settlement on your behalf until the funds are released.

The loss adjuster is appointed and paid by your insurance company, and their job is to assess the claim in the insurer’s interest. A public loss assessor does the same technical work, but for you. It is the difference between having someone at the table and having nobody at the table.

Yes. You are entitled to appoint your own representative to handle a claim on your behalf, and you do not need your insurer’s permission to do it. Most policyholders simply do not know it is an option.

The initial site survey, policy analysis and damage assessment are free and carry no obligation. If we take the claim on, the standard fee is up to 10% of the final agreed settlement value. There are no retainers and no upfront costs, and if the claim does not settle you owe nothing. Full detail is on our Fees page.

Possibly — insurers price renewals on claims history, and that is true whether or not you use an assessor. What we can affect is the amount you recover. It is worth weighing a small claim against your excess and your no-claims position before you notify anything, and we will tell you honestly if we think a claim is not worth making.

No. We are often brought in after an offer has been made or after a claim has been turned down, and you can appoint us at any stage before you sign a final acceptance. The earlier we are involved the more we can influence, but a settlement you have not yet accepted is still open.

It depends on the damage and on the insurer. A straightforward escape of water claim can settle in a few weeks. A serious fire or a structural claim can run for several months, particularly where drying, engineers’ reports or specialist contractors are involved. We will give you a realistic timeline after the survey rather than an optimistic one.

Make the property safe and stop the damage getting worse — turn off the water, make the building secure, arrange emergency propping if you need it. Photograph and video everything before anything is moved or cleaned up. Keep receipts for anything you have to spend. Then call us before you dispose of damaged items, because once they are gone they are very hard to claim for.

Most household policies include cover for emergency works and for alternative accommodation if your home is uninhabitable, though the limits and conditions vary. We check exactly what your policy allows and make sure it is claimed for rather than overlooked.

Laois, Kilkenny, Carlow, Tipperary, Kildare, Waterford and Offaly, with on-site visits across the Midlands and South-East.

Yes. Castle Claims is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Insurance Intermediary under registration number C561519. Denis Lennon (BBS, CIP, MDI) is a member of The Insurance Institute of Ireland.

Your policy documents or schedule number if you can find them, any correspondence you have already had with the insurer, and access to the damage. If you cannot lay hands on the policy do not worry — we can work from the schedule number, and we can request a copy.