# HOME INSURANCE - JURY SERVICE COVER



## twofor1 (7 Dec 2017)

I was recently called for jury service, I was selected on a case and was in court for 10 days.

My employer paid me in full as they are obliged to do, so I was not out of pocket in any way by serving.

Some friends have said I should also claim on my home insurance, that it is an entitlement regardless of whether my employer pays me or not.

Seems odd to me that I could be better off by €400 for the two weeks that I served.

Surely you need  to have suffered a financial loss to make a claim.

With Aviva anyway it doesn't affect your no claims bonus.

Anyone ever claimed this €40 daily payment for jury service ?

Is it an entitlement regardless of whether you have a financial loss or not ?

As it happens my insurer Allianz don’t cover jury service, I’m just curious.

http://www.aviva.ie/home-insurance/benefits/


----------



## MrEarl (7 Dec 2017)

Hello,

Yes, I stumbled across this recently with Aviva and I did successfully collect payment.

It was a very simple straight forward process.

There was no question about loss of income etc., it was a simple case of provide evidence of my service, along with my bank account details for subsequent payment.  I can only conclude that it is to reimburse you for out of pocket expenses, such as travel to and from the courts (which the courts should really cover ! )

You are correct, it was not considered a claim on the policy.  However, you should note that there is a limit on the number of days that they will pay out for. I can't recall what the limit is, but I think it may be 6-7 days from memory.


----------



## Ravima (7 Dec 2017)

Its a benefit to cover out of pocket expenses. Employer must pay the wages, but you might have incurred extra parking/transport fees, coffee/snacks on way to/from court. It is a benefit though and you can claim it.


----------



## twofor1 (7 Dec 2017)

Fair enough, I can see how some might incur extra transport / parking costs.
Someone self employed would most likely be at a loss.
A stay at home parent might have to pay a childminder.

In my case the bus fare to court was cheaper and quicker than the petrol and toll charge to drive to work.

Lunch was provided each day, and there was an endless supply of free tea / coffee / biscuits.

I saved money by doing jury duty,

Just seems odd that an insurer  would pay me €40 a day while on jury duty when I was saving money by doing so.

It’s just not like an insurance company


----------



## MrEarl (8 Dec 2017)

Hello,

I think it recognises the fact that quite a few people do end up out of pocket as a result of doing jury service.  You just happen to be one of the lucky ones.

Also, odds are very few people ever think of claiming this payment given it's unusual, so probably something that doesn't cost the insurer much to provide and yet sounds like a great additional perk when the salesperson is trying to sell the insurance policy.

It's now got me wondering what else home insurance might cover


----------



## mathepac (8 Dec 2017)

My sister was called a few years ago in Dublin and claimed. Painless process, she's retired so it paid for dog-sitter & travel costs.


----------



## Leo (8 Dec 2017)

twofor1 said:


> With Aviva anyway it doesn't affect your no claims bonus.



You will still need to declare this claim if you are seeking insurance quotes from any other provider for a number of years into the future. In effect you might end up being locked in to Aviva and whatever they choose to charge you for 3+ years.


----------



## MrEarl (8 Dec 2017)

Interesting point there Leo,

I suspect it's like a claim for windscreen damage tbh, but worth checking out for certain.


----------

