Home Insurance

Posted in: Insurance | on: August 6, 2020

What are the features of Home Insurance Policy?

Home insurance protects the home from all kinds of disasters.
It safeguards the home from all the natural as well as man-made disasters like fire, lightning, storms, impact damage, earthquake, aircraft damage, explosion, implosion, flood, storm, cyclone, typhoon, tempest, hurricane, tornado, lightning, inundation, riots, strike, malicious and terrorism damage, landslide, rock slide, leakage from automatic sprinkler installations, bush fire etc.
Home insurance includes different coverage and benefits based on the needs of the homeowners.
The premiums for home insurance are of low cost and affordable.
Generally, the policy plan will be one year and one can renew the plan afterwards.
Coverage cost will vary depending on the property insured and its value.

What are the types of Home Insurance Plans?

Home insurance in India has different plans. Some of the plans are as follows:

Structure Insurance:

Structure insurance policy, also called as a Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy includes coverage for the building, roofs, walls, floors, bathroom and kitchen fittings etc.
It also covers outdoor buildings, garages, sheds, greenhouses etc.
Tenure of the policy will be from 1 year to 30 years.

Contents Insurance:

This insurance plan covers the building along with the contents of the house against damages. Contents include home appliances, electronic appliances, jewellery, furniture, fixtures etc.
It covers up the damages from short circuits, mechanical breakdown and from accidental breakage. It includes protection against breakage of fine glass fixtures or fixed plate glass.
It also offers personal accident coverage for an individual and spouse inside the home.
Tenure of this policy will be from 1 year to 5 years.

Comprehensive Insurance:

The Comprehensive insurance policy covers both structure and contents insurance.
It provides coverage to the structure of the house along with its contents against damages or loss due to natural or artificial disasters.
Policy tenure of this plan will be from 1 year to 5 years.

Public Liability Insurance:

This policy covers all types of injuries caused due to the damage to some other property.
It may result in a raise of financial liability by a third party.
The liability and the cost of damages are included under this policy.

Tenant's Insurance:

If an individual is living in a rented house or in flat, then the tenant's insurance policy is suitable for them.
This insurance policy covers only the contents of the building and not the building.
The policy covers up the contents and belongings of the tenant in the rented house.

Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy:

This insurance property and casualty insurance policy offers coverage against special perils and fire accidents.
It protects the home against any loss/damage caused due to the disasters.

What are the add-ons available for Home Insurance Policy?

Loss of rent:

In the case of damage, the house will remain empty or unoccupied and this will cause losses to the landlord for a certain period until the home is under repair. In this case, it will cover the loss of rent.

Rent for replacement:

When the home is damaged or if you live somewhere, then the coverage for the rent including alternate accommodation is also included.

Replacement of lock and key:

This includes coverage for the replacement of the lock and key of your home.

Escalation cover:

The increase in the value of home due to inflation is covered in this plan.

Terrorism cover:

If the plan chosen by you does not include any terrorism-related damages, then you can select this add-on to include the damages caused by terrorism related activities.

What are the eligibility criteria for buying Home Insurance Policy?

One must possess the following eligibility conditions to buy a home insurance policy. The conditions are,

One must be a resident of India.
The policy can be bought by individuals as well as by the companies.
Individuals must own the property or should live in the property. For societies, one must be a member of the society managing committee.
This insurance policy will cover up the society along with the properties which are used by people.

How to buy Home Insurance Policy in Online?

Steps involved in buying a home insurance policy are as follows:

One has to select the suitable home insurance plan. After selecting the home insurance type, one can buy it by just clicking the 'Apply Online' or 'Buy Online' option.
If an individual is buying home insurance, it will ask for the details like 'Either the property is rented or self-owned?', 'What is the tenure or time period of the policy?', 'Whether the policy will cover only the structure of the property or will cover both the structure and the contents?, 'Where is the location of the property?', 'What is the age of the property?', 'What is the type of the property?', and the personal details including contact details.
If you enter all these information, it will display the premium amount which you have to pay while buying the home insurance policy.
Before making payment, ensure whether all the information are provided and check on the insurance details.
Make payment only when you are satisfied with the plan and its benefits.
The payment can be made through online using any credit/debit cards or via net banking.
After making payment, it is recommended to save and print the policy schedule for future use.

One must insure their home as well as the contents of their home including furniture, durables, electronics items, clothes, fixations, utensils, jewellery, etc. As an accident or disaster may occur at any time, it is important to safeguard one's own property from all types of damages.