Home sun on mirror burnt leather dining chair

Hi we were away at the weekend and when we came home could smell a burning smell in the dining room on further investigation found a large(approx 1cm wide by 22cms long) burn mark on one of our leather dining chairs, then we realised I had left a double sided mirror on the dining table before we went away and the reflection must have burnt the chair. The burn is quite severe and in the worst area has burnt through to the foam padding, its frightening to think what might have happened had we stayed away another night. Our house insurance is with FBD and the accessor rang me this morning and is sending out a form for me to complete, I have never claimed off any kind of insurance before and am looking for any advise if anyone has had similar problems? i'm also worried that maybe the payment will be so little that its not worth claiming as will affect future insurance cover? any advise or similar stories would be very helpful.

Many thanks

i've never made an insurance claim either, but what was the chair worth?

that would be my start point in deciding if it was worth making a claim.

hi Woodbine, the set is worth €1500 but as there are 6 matching leather chairs I dont know if it is possible to get one chair reupholistered to match the others? we bought the set in Navan so will probably try to call up to the shop (if its still there) at the weekend to check out if it is possible to buy chairs seperatly

Just a point of note.

Most insurance policys have a matching set clause. They will only pay for replacement of one chair not the set.

You would be claiming under accidental damage if you have that add on, on your policy.

Any claim will affect your premium next year as in household a claim is a claim. You will loose all of the no claims discounts you have been receiving over the past number of years.

Standard policy benefits with FBD home insurance:

• Jury Service expenses
• Cover of Wedding presents
• Accidental damage to audio and video equipment
• Financial loss resulting from a credit card being stolen
• Alternative accommodation
• Replacement locks
• Central heating oil
• Compensation for death
• Glass breakage
• Frozen food
• Fire brigade charges
• Contents temporarily removed
• The costs of recompiling title deeds
• Trace and access costs in locating the source of oil and water leak

* Terms and Conditions apply to policy benefits which are contained in policy documentation. Full details available on request.

kkelliher said:

Just a point of note.


Any claim will affect your premium next year as in household a claim is a claim. You will loose all of the no claims discounts you have been receiving over the past number of years.

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That is not necessarily correct as a lot of household insurers do not have a no claim bonus on their policies and depending on the size of the claim their may be no impact whatsoever.

In addition other insurers are prepared to take on new business with a previous claims history as long as the number of claims (in many cases just the one) and the settlement amount fall within their acceptance criteria

I think in this case you would be better off not claiming. If the set of 6 chairs and a table is 1500 you should be able to get a chair for around 200 max, thats assuming that they are available. Most home insurance policies have a standard of excess of about 125, which means you will go through with a claim only to have a payment made of 75 euros.