Home Insurance is offered at the time of taking Home Loan. Most of the time people avoid home insurance policy. It is due to lack of awareness. Home Insurance policy is also popular as property insurance.
The home insurance policy covers structure and content. It provides insurance coverage to home against natural calamities such as earthquake, flood, fire, burglary etc. There are very few companies in India that offer Home Insurance Policies. A home insurance policy is a must for all homeowners. In this post, I will share detail information about Home Insurance Policy in India. I will also provide information about insurance companies offering home insurance policies.
Also Read – Top 5 Best Health Insurance in India 2019
What is Home Insurance Policy?
Home insurance policy provides coverage to home-owners against damage and losses that affect their property and belongings. The exact policy coverage varies from policy to policy; however, mostly all insurance policies safeguard home structure against natural and man-made calamities.
Many policies also offer financial assistance if a property is damaged badly and the homeowner is required to stay somewhere else.
Key Features of Property Insurance
- Provide protection against earthquake, flood, storm, cyclone etc.
- Covers against burglary.
- Cover against fire and allied perils.
- Jewellery and valuables coverage against accident or misfortune.
- Optional Cover for Domestic Mechanical, Electrical, and Electronic appliances.
- Personal Accident Coverage for earning member.
- Additional Rent for alternate accommodation.
Type of Property Insurance
The property insurance policy is available in four types –
- Structure Cover – This type of policy only cover the structure of your home. The compensation under this policy is paid to repair damages to structure caused by nature or man-made disasters.
- Content Cover – The content cover provide coverage of content inside your property. If content stored under property is damaged or lost due to accident or burglary, insurance company provide compensation against content.
- Fixed Sum Insured – Sum insured under selected under the policy, will be same throughout policy period, however, discount in premium will be offered as per duration of the policy.
- Increase in Sum Insured – Sum insured under the policy shall increase by a certain percentage of the original sum assured every year.
Property insurance policy is provided for both owned and rented home.
Home Insurance Policy in India
Home Insurance policy in India is provided by various insurance companies. The list is given below. (Please do not consider this as a recommendation list).
- HDFC ERGO
- ICICI LOMBARD
- Reliance General
- TATA AIG
- IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance Co. Ltd
- Royal Sundaram Gruhsuraksha Policy
Also Read – Top 6 Best Term Insurance Plans in India 2019
Tips to select Property Insurance in India
To ease out selection of best home insurance policy here are some important tips.
Check premium and coverage – First, you should evaluate the risks which your home is likely to face in the future. For example, if your home is in earthquake-prone zone you should buy structure insurance. If a theft incident in your area is common you can go for content insurance also. While buying a policy you should check premium and coverage offered by the policy.
Sum Assured – If you feel that risk level is expected to increase in the future you should buy increasing sum assured policy. If risk level is low you can go for a fixed sum assured.
Claim Settlement Ratio – It is a good idea to check for claim settlement ratio before zeroing in on one insurer.
Customer Support & Claim Process – You should also look at customer support and claim process while buying an insurance policy.
Should you Buy Home Insurance Policy?
Home insurance is a must for anyone who has a home whether owned or rented. As you know, we don’t have any control over nature or man-made disasters. The best idea is to prepare ourselves by securing our home and belonging via insurance.
If you are living in an earthquake or flood sensitive area you should understand associated risk and buy a suitable property insurance policy. Make sure to cover both structure and content while buying property insurance.
How to File Home Insurance Claim?
The process of filing claim for home insurance varies from insurer to insurer. However, in most of the cases, you need to file FIR and submit the copy to the insurance company. In addition to that, you need to submit various other documents such as repair estimate, invoice of owned articles, investigation report by police etc.
The document requirement given above is indicative and you may be asked to submit other documents at the time of claim settlement.
Do you think buying property insurance policies makes sense?
Please share your views and queries in the comment section given below.