The Most Surprising Facts about Home Insurance ST743

When you own a home, what is your biggest fear? Is it thieves breaking in and taking everything, losing your home because of a fire, or flooding, a cylinder bursting and destroying everything?

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Your fears are not baseless, all these things have happened to homeowners across India. They might not happen to everyone, and might not happen a lot, but when it does, the loss is devastating.

What if I told you there is a way you can minimize the loss you face in such events? The answer is Home Insurance. Home Insurance policies offer protection to the structure and contents of the house in case there is any physical destruction or damage that happens to the house by unavoidable perils. It is much needed to protect your most expensive asset- your home. Now, here are some surprising facts you need to know about home insurance.

Indian’s and Home Insurance

As per data from The Asia Insurance Review – Aug 2017 – “Home insurance penetration in India is just about 1%. Barely 3% of houses in India are insured. Countries like US, UK, France, Australia and China have home insurance penetration in the range of 90-97%.”

This is especially surprising as we spend lakhs/crores for our houses, but we don’t think it’s important to insure it and protect it from unforeseen harm. 60% of India is vulnerable to earthquakes and other natural calamities, 38 Indian cities lie in high-risk seismic zone, and not all builders follow safety guidelines and norms that should be followed.

Type of Home Insurance

To make sure your home is well protected, there are many types of home insurance policies to choose from. You need to figure out the best home insurance policy for your needs, they are –

Standard Fire and Special Perils policy – This covers loss and damages caused due to any natural calamity, damages caused due to explosion/implosion, man-made anti-social activities (strikes, riots, etc.), damage caused by direct contact of rail/road, vehicle, damage caused due to bursting or/and overflowing of water tanks, pipes and apparatus, subsidence including rockslide and landslide, missile testing operations, leakage from automatic sprinkler installations and more.

Home Insurance Limitation

Though home insurance can protect you from a lot of loss, there are a few things that it will not cover, such as –

• Purposeful or willful destruction of property
• Regular damages caused by wear and tear
• Damage or loss caused by war
• Loss to property unoccupied for a long period of time
• Money in the form of cash, antiques, and collectables etc.
• Loss or damage caused to any electronic equipment because of overuse
• Pre-existing damage
• Nuclear war

Home Insurance Cost

The amount you pay will vary depending on your insurance provider, they will use their own home insurance calculators to give you exact amounts, but on an average for example –
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If the sum insured is of Rs.40 lakh for the building + Rs. 5 lakhs for contents, your cost could be as low as Rs.2,000 to Rs. 4,000 per annum. If you add more insurance coverage options like burglary and theft, personal accident, etc. the amount will go up marginally. 

Home Insurance Tenure

Home insurance tenure varies from lender to lender and hence, the applicant must carefully consider the tenure period and pay the premium accordingly. The applicant must compare home insurances from different lenders and find the perfect match for them as per their requirements.

What is the Salient Feature of Home Insurance in India?

Home Insurance in India is very comprehensive and offers the applicant to claim the principal amount under two different categories namely- (i) Cover forDamages and (ii) Cover for Liabilities. A lot of times, home insurance even provides an option to avail a cover for damage caused beyond the structure of the house. Different lenders have different criteria and classifications for a claim made through these categories and careful consideration should be maintained while choosing an insurance plan for your house.

Benefits of a Home Insurance in India

Different types of damage are covered by the homeowner’s insurance policy. For instance, broken water pipes, damaged water lines, or structural damage It also offers protection for damaged walls, flooring, windows, and doors. Not just the property but also the loss and damage to the house’s contents are covered. It can be roughly divided into the following four types of charges for the insured property:

• Costs of interior damage
• External damage costs
• Loss or damage of personal assets in a house
• coverage for bodily harm that can be sustained while on the harmed property

Depending on a number of variables, different home insurance policies may offer different levels of coverage. The amount varies depending on the size and type of residence (owned/rented). Along with the price, other factors including age, place of residence, replacement value, and location are important. It may be important to consider your claim history or the local crime rate. Finally, the type of coverage you select is up to you. The deductible and premium amounts that you are willing to spend are entirely up to you. The deductible is the sum that must be paid before filing a claim if the premium is insufficient. The premium is lower when the deductible is large and vice versa.