# Home Owner's Insurance



## JoeChristmas (Oct 29, 2016)

Greetings, I've just purchased a home in Tala, and need home owner's insurance. Any recommendations?

Also, I'm hoping to find insurance that includes coverage of "Subsidence / Heave." This is basically the situation in Pissouri, where some lost their homes when the ground started to shift and ruined the foundation. I've found one company that does offer coverage for subsidence and heave as part of the policy, but sadly only a very small amount (20% of total home value). 

Yes, I realize this should not be a problem in Tala. And the home I've purchased was built in 2012 with no issues to date. But still, better safe than sorry...

Thanks!


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## JoeChristmas (Oct 29, 2016)

Perhaps I should ask a different way.

1 - Do you think it's important to have additional home insurance coverage for "Subsidence / Heave," basically what happened in Pissouri where many lost their homes? If so, do you have it, and from whom?

2 - Forgetting about subsidence and heave, do you have a very good home insurance agent you can recommend?

Thanks!


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

To my knowledge there are no problems in Tala except for the road between Tala and Kamares where those houses where built on top of a cliff.
Is your house on a steep slope? If not don't worry too much but you can always get a survey done to check that the land is stable.


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## JoeChristmas (Oct 29, 2016)

Veronica said:


> To my knowledge there are no problems in Tala except for the road between Tala and Kamares where those houses where built on top of a cliff.
> Is your house on a steep slope? If not don't worry too much but you can always get a survey done to check that the land is stable.


It's Nemea Gardens. It's on bit of a hill, definitely. I'm just worried there were no problems in Pissouri until there were problems.... But it seems the homes in Nemea Gardens have been there for almost a decade without issues. Or, as an ex-Cyprus realtor, are you aware of any issues there?

Also, on an unrelated note: how do I stop getting emails when I have replies to my messages? In settings I think I've turned all emails off, and yet I keep getting them.  I just want to ensure I'm never subscribed to any threads (regarding email), if possible.

It's super annoying, but I can't seem to stop it. Thanks.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Hi, I know Nemea gardens well and although it is on a slope there have never been any problems there as far as I am aware.
The properties in Pissouri were not only built on a hill but also with water sources which have eroded the ground and caused the landslips. These sort of problems appeared quite soon after construction and all developments that I know of that have had landslip problems they were evident very soon after construction, in some cases even during construction causing the developments to be abandoned.
As Nemea has been there for a considerable length of time I think it is highly unlikely at this point that there will been any problems.
I can't recall at the moment who the developer was but I remember when we were looking into the project as we had a couple of houses there for sale the developer was one who has a reputation for building good quality properties. Many of the problem developments in the Paphos area were built by cowboy companies who had no idea about the type of terrain and problems that they could cause. So called Paradise gardens in Marathounda being one and the one in Nata being another.

By the away if you come across Roger and Wendy who live in the top corner house please give them my regards. We spent some happy drunken evenings in their hot tub watching the cruise ships sailing past lit up Christmas like trees.


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## JoeChristmas (Oct 29, 2016)

Veronica said:


> By the away if you come across Roger and Wendy who live in the top corner house please give them my regards. We spent some happy drunken evenings in their hot tub watching the cruise ships sailing past lit up Christmas like trees.


Ha, I've already met Roger, not yet Wendy! Seems like a very nice man. We actually haven't moved in, yet. We'll get the key on Thursday, move in early November. The neighborhood seems very nice, mainly older, quiet people, but everyone walks around and seems to care about the community, says "hello," etc. It was a key factor for us, as some neighborhoods seem quite artificial and disjointed, and everyone is just shut in their homes with little contact. 

Yes, the build quality seems better than average, there were little things that stood out to me after having viewed so many other homes. Details that the developer didn't have to do, but did. And being only a short walk to the Tala square is a bonus. Means I can have an extra beer without issues, knowing I can walk back home.

I'll mention your name to Roger next time I see him.


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

For interest:

https://cyprus-mail.com/2019/12/04/...ition-starts-on-collapsing-buildings-in-tala/


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Yes that's the complex I talked about. It has been falling down for years and people were banned from accessing their properties. At one point the road past that which was the main road to Kamares was in danger of collapsing down the hillside and was closed.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

[QUOTE=JoeChristmas;15174848... But it seems the homes in Nemea Gardens have been there for almost a decade without issues. Or, as an ex-Cyprus realtor, are you aware of any issues there?

Nemea gardens has been there for more than two decades actually. The first property we sold there was in 2007 and the complex must have been 10 years old at least then.


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## nhowarth (Dec 6, 2017)

Hi JoeChristmas

The destruction of homes in Pissouri is being caused by the reactivation of an prehistoric landslide. It's a natural disaster and is uninsurable.

The Geological Survey Department has identified and mapped potentially hazardous areas for construction in Paphos district. One of those is that area in Tala on the road linking to the Kamares estate. You can see the relevant section of that map by clicking here. (The black ring in the yellow area shows where the Tala homes are situated. The planners should have advised the developer to survey and check the site before building.)

However, the maps are not available to the pubic. The planning department is supposed to refer to the maps when evaluating planning applications.

As for home insurance; 3D Global in Limassol. The head of their insurance department is Andrew Stott.

But whoever you decide to deal with, make sure they're listed on the Register of Insurance Intermediaries.

There have been problems with some insurance agents and intermediaries keeping premiums rather than passing them on to the insurance company concerned, leaving people uninsured. The law was changed a couple of years ago to overcome the problem.

All insurance premiums must now be paid directly to the insurance company concerned (who will pay the agent/intermediary their commission.)

Some policies are advertised as having 'all risk cover', which may be less than you infer from the advertisement. It's vital that you check the insurance product's 'Insurance Product Information Document' (PID), which provides precise details of what's covered, exceptions, excesses, etc.

These PIDs are required under EU law. (You can see what one of these looks like at Travel Insurance Policy, which is travel insurance cover I bought when three of us travelled to Malta in March this year.)

Regards


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## madcow (Jan 10, 2010)

Veronica said:


> Yes that's the complex I talked about. It has been falling down for years and people were banned from accessing their properties. At one point the road past that which was the main road to Kamares was in danger of collapsing down the hillside and was closed.


As a Kamares resident we had good news this week , the road was finally reopened after repairs .


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## JoeChristmas (Oct 29, 2016)

nhowarth said:


> Hi JoeChristmas
> 
> The Geological Survey Department has identified and mapped potentially hazardous areas for construction in Paphos district. One of those is that area in Tala on the road linking to the Kamares estate. You can see the relevant section of that map by clicking here. (The black ring in the yellow area shows where the Tala homes are situated. The planners should have advised the developer to survey and check the site before building.)


Thanks for your informative post.

Regarding the geological survey linked above, how is one supposed to understand the map? Is the entire yellow area potentially dangerous (a significant part of Tala!)? Or just the small black lines (which are hard to make out on the map) that seem to cut through some areas within Tala? Thanks!


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## nhowarth (Dec 6, 2017)

The yellow area on the map indicates areas where the planning authorities must seek the opinion of the Geological Survey Department before permitting any development.

I've uploaded a larger map, you'll need a Greek speaker to translate the legend.

The black circle indicates the location of the affected properties (the small black lines indicate plot boundaries.)

Regards,


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Joe you have no need to worry as Nemea gardens is well within the safe area.


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## JoeChristmas (Oct 29, 2016)

Veronica said:


> Joe you have no need to worry as Nemea gardens is well within the safe area.


Yes, I know. But I was just curious if almost half of Tala (Yellow Zone) was built on top of geologically suspect terrain!  

I suppose the answer is, probably not.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Actually the yellow zone is mostly just the gorge between Tala and Kamares. Very little of Tala village itself comes within that zone and none of lower Tala does.


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