Once the decision is made, signing is the quick part: confirming data, declarations, settling the first premium – and the policy arrives. I carry most of the paperwork as your broker; two things are left to you: accurate data at the start, and a careful check at the end. Here's how the process runs, step by step.
- Four steps: confirming data → offer and declarations → starting the payment → the policy and checking it.
- I prepare the documents and we agree the deadlines together – the decision and the signature are yours.
- Check the policy as soon as it arrives: amounts, names, addresses, optional covers, deductible, discounts – a mistake is easiest to fix right now.
Step 1: confirming data
We finalise the details of the chosen offer: the exact address and property data, the policyholder and the insured, the building and contents amounts, the optional covers, the deductible, and the method and schedule of paying the premium. This is the moment to clear up every small detail – a sound policy rests on accurate data. If there's anything you'd still change based on the comparison table – an amount, an optional cover, a deductible – this is the best point to do it. If you're switching, this step also covers a few details of your existing policy – the timing of cancelling the old contract is decided as part of the signing.
Step 2: offer and declarations
You receive the insurance offer and the declarations that go with it – the needs-assessment document, acknowledging the disclosures, data handling – ready-prepared, and the process can typically be completed online, electronically, from start to finish. Pay attention to two things: the data you provide should match reality – that way the insurer can't cite a breach of your disclosure duty at claim time, though the size of the payout is still governed by the terms beyond that (exclusions, limits, deductible, sums insured) – and ask about anything that isn't clear: that's exactly what this stage is for. Put the documents you receive – the offer, the terms, the disclosures – into a folder alongside the policy: they'll serve you well at renewal and at claim time too. There's no need to feel lost here either: if you ask, I tell you what comes next, what I forward, and where it's the insurer's turn.
Step 3: starting the payment – and the start of cover
Settling the first premium completes the circle: cover typically starts from the date set out in the contract, often from the stated start date – the exact rule is given by the offer and the terms, so it is worth checking this at signing (see when cover starts). If you're switching, we time the end of the old policy and the start of the new one so that, as far as possible, there's neither an uncovered day nor needless overlap. This is also when we set up how the premium is paid – direct debit, bank transfer or card, an annual or instalment schedule – so that settling the premium needs no separate attention later.
Step 4: the policy – and the ten-minute check
The policy is the contract's identity card – when it arrives, give it ten minutes: amounts (building, contents, optional covers), names and addresses, deductible, discounts (is what was promised actually there), the payment details. If you spot a discrepancy, flag it – it's easiest to correct right now, and I'll arrange the correction on request too: that's part of the paperwork as well. The typical slip-ups are gathered in the common signing mistakes article; a good habit to build after signing is the annual review. If you're still right at the beginning of all this: run the numbers in minutes (in Hungarian), then let's talk it through.
A question about your own home? Run the numbers in minutes with the online calculator (in Hungarian), or book a free 20-minute consultation →
