Home Insurance Policies: Shielding Your Assets

01 Oct

Posted by Shyam as Insurance

Natural disasters like, fire, floods, earthquakes, or landslides can destroy your house built with your lifetime savings. The only option that can assist you during such a situation is a home insurance. Home insurance policies are offered by general insurance companies to provide coverage against the risk. A home insurance either provides coverage on the structure of the house or your possessions (gold ornaments, furniture, electronic appliances, etc) or in some cases even both. Well there are some policies covering your rent expenses, in case you are living in another house and your own house has been damaged due to calamities.

About Home Insurance:

Well we have number of housing finance companies offering loans as well as insurance like, LIC Housing Finance, SBI Home Finance, HDFC, HUDCO, Sundaram Finance Group, etc. A crucial part in any home insurance is calculation of sum assured. Sum assured is calculated by multiplying the built up area of house with the construction rate per square foot. However the premium cost is decided considering number of factors like, size, location, construction type of your house along with other possessions you have in your house. The most essential part is related to the claim procedure which you got to comply by submitting a written claim document to the insurance company with the within a predetermined time frame mentioning the damage caused to each article along with its actual value. The documents will be sent to the claim department and on approval a letter will be dispatched stating the approved amount of settlement along with the discharge voucher.

A list fire and peril policies providing coverage against natural disasters

1) Fire

Fire: Any damage caused due to fermentation, natural heating, immediate combustion, heating or drying process. Damage caused to any insured property is expelled.
Lighting
Explosion/Implosion(Excluding non-domestic boilers which damaged by its own explosion/implosion)
Aircraft damage (damage incurred due to aircraft, aerial or space device as because of any object dropped from there, excluding damage due to pressure waves)
Riot, strike, malicious and terrorism damage
Loss due to any external violent attack directly on physical assets
Storm, cyclone, typhoon, tempest, hurricane, tornado, flood and inundation
Impact damage
Collision caused by direct animal contact, rail or road
Subsidence and landslide
Damage due to bursting or overflowing of water tanks, apparatus and pipes
Missile testing operation
Damage from leakage from automatic sprinkler installations
Bush fires

2) Earthquake

Things excluded from the coverage list

Coverage of 5% on claim of damage, caused due to operation of lighting, storm, tempest, flood, inundation, subsidence & landslide including rockslide.
Loss, destruction or damage due to war, stocks in cold storage premises due to change in temperature
Loss, destruction or damage directly or indirectly caused to the property insured by nuclear forms, pollution or contamination
Loss, destruction or damage to electronic items, fixtures or fittings caused due to over running, extreme pressure, short circuit, etc
Unnecessary expenses on Architects, Surveyors and Consulting Engineer’ Fees
Any indirect loss, loss of earnings, loss by delay, or any loss of similar type

However the premium on this product is 0.06%+service tax. Another important point associated with it is, you can avail 50% discount on premium if you get insured your house for 10 years and pay the premium amount upfront. Do make valuations of the house at current market price. So get your house insured and protect it from natural disasters.