According to Icelandic law on fire insurance, "Property owners are required to have fire insurance on all properties. Properties under this law include all types of buildings intended for residential use, business activities, storage, or other purposes."

By insuring your property against fire, you are not only protecting it from fire damage—since all properties covered by fire insurance are also insured by the Icelandic Natural Catastrophe Insurance (NTÍ) against damages caused by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The law on fire insurance, along with the law on Icelandic Natural Catastrophe Insurance, is designed to protect the financial interests of property owners, as fires or natural disasters can cause significant damage to properties, even total loss.

You can request a re-evaluation of your property’s fire insurance value from HMS, for example, if the property has been extended or renovated.

Whether the fire insurance value changes depends on the outcome of this re-evaluation.

If you believe the fire insurance value does not reflect the true value of your property, you can apply for additional fire insurance.

It is a condition for compensation that the insured amount under the mandatory fire insurance is insufficient to cover proven fire damage.

According to the law on fire insurance, owners of buildings under construction are required to have fire insurance during the construction period, just like completed buildings.

HMS issues a fire insurance valuation for buildings once they reach construction stage 4, and only then do insurance companies receive information about the project.

Therefore, property owners must specifically request fire insurance from their insurance company when construction begins.

It is important to regularly update the value of the fire insurance during the construction period as the value of the building increases.

You can apply for fire insurance with us by sending an email to sjova@sjova.is, and we will contact you.

As soon as fire insurance is activated for a property—whether under construction or completed—a premium is automatically paid to the Icelandic Natural Catastrophe Insurance, and the property is also insured against natural disasters.

Fire insurance for buildings only covers the construction materials attached to the property, and specialized equipment is not included. Such equipment must be insured separately with Movable Asset Insurance.

The price depends on the fire insurance valuation (or construction valuation for buildings under construction), the use of the property, and its location.

Customers in Stofn receive a discount on the premium, and customers who remain claim-free and pay on time also receive a Stofn refund on the premium.

The fire insurance premium includes several public fees that apply to all property owners and are based on the insured amount according to the fire insurance valuation. These include:

• Natural Catastrophe Insurance fee that goes to the Icelandic Natural Catastrophe Insurance, which compensates for damages caused by natural disasters.
• Prevention fee or Avalanche Fund fee that goes to the Avalanche Fund, which funds prevention and infrastructure projects.
• Prevention fee that goes to the state treasury for the protection of critical infrastructure on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
• Building safety fee that goes to the Housing and Construction Authority.
• Fire insurance valuation fee that goes to the Housing and Construction Authority to maintain the fire insurance valuation system.

No, it is not enough to insure the property only with fire insurance, even though it is the only insurance you are legally required to have for the property.

It is important to also insure the property against other common damages with Property Insurance. Owners of single-family and private houses purchase this insurance themselves, while in apartment buildings, it is often the housing association that buys this insurance for the entire building, although there are exceptions.

It is also very important to insure your home contents, which are often more valuable than we realize. Contents are insured with Family Protection.