In Ireland today, you can own a home the State insists you preserve — but cannot insure it no matter how hard you try.

That is the reality facing many owners of thatched cottages, an iconic part of our rural landscape and architectural heritage. Their predicament exposes a deep contradiction in public policy, and unless action is taken soon, we risk losing both the homes and the heritage they represent.

The Government’s latest Action Plan for Insurance Reform 2025–2029 promises 26 actions across six themes. It follows on from the earlier 2020–2024 plan, which sought to cut premiums, improve transparency, and modernise practices. Some progress is visible: personal injury claims are down, the Injuries Resolution Board has been strengthened, and there is a broad consensus around increasing competition.

For thatch owners, however, these reforms mean little. Their problem isn’t just exorbitant premiums — it’s access to insurance cover at all.

When Insurance Disappears

In 2024, Seán (not his real name), a homeowner in Co. Kildare, was refused a quote by his insurer despite having ten years of continuous, claim-free cover. The only alternative quotes he could find were in excess of €11,000 for a single year’s coverage. Seán is now uninsured.

He is far from alone. It is estimated that half of Ireland’s thatched homes already have no insurance. When one of the few remaining brokers — who manages a thatch book for a Lloyd’s of London syndicate — completes its phased withdrawal from the Irish market, as many as three-quarters of thatched homes could be left uninsured within five years.

Insurance isn’t about affordability, it’s about availability. The Oireachtas Committee on Public Petitions has heard submissions describing the thatch insurance market as “functionally non-existent.” With insurers leaving and others agreeing only to renew existing policies, there is no real competition left.

The implications stretch far beyond individual households. Thatched cottages are an integral part of Ireland’s architectural and cultural heritage. Yet they are being rendered financially unviable by an insurance market that is increasingly reluctant to engage with them.

The Contradiction at the Heart of Policy

Here’s the contradiction. Local authorities routinely enforce planning rules that prohibit the removal of thatch. Owners who reluctantly wish to replace it with more insurable materials are denied permission. The State insists on preservation — but looks the other way when no insurance cover is available.

The consequences are devastating. A house without insurance cannot be sold. It cannot be mortgaged. It may be abandoned altogether or lost forever in the event of fire.

Take Bridie (not her real name), an 84-year-old widow living in a thatched cottage in Co. Tipperary. She has no cover. Her two grown children have no interest in taking on the house — the obligations are simply too great. Stories like hers are becoming common. Nearly three-quarters of thatch owners are now over the age of 55, many trapped in properties they cannot sell or pass on.

What began as a niche insurance problem has become a question of fairness, security, and of preserving our culture.

A Way Forward: IPB Insurance

The Government’s new Action Plan gestures vaguely toward “innovative concepts and solutions by insurers.” That’s not good enough. Leaving this entirely to private insurers, many of whom have already pulled back, is little more than wishful thinking.

There is a better path. IPB Insurance — the mutual insurer owned by Ireland’s local authorities — could be empowered, on a limited pilot basis, to step in where the market has failed.

This would not be a blank cheque. A scheme could set strict eligibility rules, require homeowners to maintain robust fire safety systems, and include a review after 18 or 24 months. Similar models exist in Europe and Australia, where mutual or state-backed insurers support heritage and non-profit sectors facing comparable challenges.

Given that planning rules are a key part of the problem, it is only right that local authorities, through IPB, become part of the solution. Leadership is desperately needed: the Department of Finance, led by Minister Paschal Donohoe, and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, led by Minister James Browne, must work together to make this happen.

Why It Matters

Some will say this affects only a small number of people. But that misses the point. The thatch insurance crisis shows what happens when a vital service is withdrawn entirely, leaving citizens trapped between State regulation and market indifference.

It also ignores the wider value of thatch. These cottages are more than private homes — they are part of the character of our villages and countryside, drawing visitors, enriching our tourism offering, and maintaining the fabric of rural Ireland. Every loss diminishes not just a street or a parish, but Ireland’s global image as a country that values its heritage.

Insurance reform cannot be measured solely by falling premiums. It must also be judged by inclusivity and fairness — by whether the system serves all of society, not just those who are convenient.

Every time a thatched cottage is left uninsured, we are not just abandoning a homeowner and their family. We are allowing another piece of Ireland’s living heritage — and a vital part of our cultural and tourism identity — to edge closer to disappearance.

The State cannot ask citizens to safeguard our heritage with one hand tied behind their backs. If these homes are to endure, so too must the means to insure them.