A weak pound, spiralling rebuilding costs and a scarcity of workmen make it increasingly important to make sure your home is properly insured. There are a few things you should remember when insuring your home and goods. Foremost among them is under-insurance.

"To get a builder at the moment is very difficult," says Mr Tony Smith, chief executive of the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland, and it is a supply and demand situation."

He adds that a weak pound has also fed price increases for building materials. This has all contributed to a situation where building costs spiral upwards.

Mr Michael Horan, manager of non-life insurance with the Irish Insurance Federation, cites the example of a house bought in 1994 and insured for £45,000 (€57,138), "with inflation, your cover might have increased to about £50,000 today but the cost of rebuilding at current costs is about £70,000", he says.

It is important therefore to reappraise the amount of insurance on your house every two or three years.

The Society of Chartered Surveyors produces an annual guide of reinstatement (rebuilding) prices.

In view of the volatile nature of the market the organisation is producing the latest edition soon.

"There has obviously been an increase in building costs, as yet I couldn't put figures on it but there will be a substantial increase," says Mr Smith.

Mr Dick O'Driscoll, head of underwriting and distribution at Hibernian Insurance, is more forthcoming. Based on a study conducted for the company, he estimates that the rebuilding cost now for a typical house is more than £100 per square foot, compared to the January 1998 figure of around £70 per square foot.

If you are using the figures from the Society of Chartered Surveyors, you should bear in mind firstly that that they refer to various "typical estate-type houses built since the 1960s".

There are a host of exceptions such as houses over three storeys, apartments and period homes.

"If you have something that's non-standard, you might want to get some professional advice from a surveyor on how much insurance is actually required," says the Insurance Federation's Michael Mr Horan.

It is also important to distinguish between reinstatement cost and market value. They "really shouldn't be spoken of in the same breath", according to Mr Smith who says there is a lot of confusion in this area.

Simply put, the amount of money for which your home is covered is not its market value, it should be the rebuilding cost. The precise relationship between them varies from house to house.

"You could have a one-bedroomed bungalow on Ailesbury road that might sell for £1 million but would cost much less to rebuild whereas for a semi on an estate with a lot done to it, the reinstatement value might be approaching the resale value," Mr Smith says.

But unless you have done some very serious home improvements, reinstatement will cost much less than resale value.

Whatever the amount of cover you need, make sure you get the best value for money. "It is a very competitive market and it is worth shopping around, either by ringing around yourself or by using a broker," says Mr Horan.

Once you are insured, basic precautions still have to be taken. "If an insurer finds a home-owner is attempting to use his insurance as a `maintenance contract' for the home, that will be identified very quickly," says Hibernian's Mr O'Driscoll. Adjusters will notice wear and tear and therefore owners should perform basic repairs, such as making sure roof tiles are repointed.

Even with insurance, you cannot be too careful.