GOT YOUR HOUSE INSURED? ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!

Insurance: The biggest ‘Assurance’.

For us, our home insurance is a superhero which is expected to come to our rescue every time our home is in trouble. But is it really possible? What can or cannot a home insurance do?

We all have home insurance policies and we believe these insurance policies will cover our homes for practically any and every damage to the house or its contents. The reality is that house insurance policies contain many exclusions and restrictions on coverage that can leave us with a coverage gap…

To bust the myths and clear those doubts, read on…

Firstly household insurance policies are categorized into two types: content insurance and building insurance.

You can buy both of them separately or you can buy a comprehensive policy which covers the building, your personal belongings, third party liabilities and additional living expenses too.

For those who are currently residing in a rented property, there would be need only for a content insurance policy to protect your belongings.

In detail,

Building Insurance: Building insurance covers the structure of the house i.e. the actual walls including fixtures and fittings, garages and outbuildings, bathrooms, kitchens, and boilers, rooms, doors, windows and roofs.

The insurance company pays for all repairs and rebuilding if any… in case of damage and destruction caused due to natural calamities such as lightening, hurricanes, earth-quakes, floods, and the others which are listed in the policy.

Content insurance: Content insurance covers household belongings which can be removed or transferred from one place to another. Example-- clothes, furniture, carpets, electrical goods, jewelry and so on.

Content Insurance policies cover damages or losses which occur due to mechanical or electrical breakdowns. In the event, the electrical or mechanical item is more than 10 years old then it is not covered in the policy.

Damages arising from fires, theft, water bursts from tanks or pipes, oil leakage from fixed heating systems, storms, floods, rioting, vandalism, explosions etc are also covered.

Third party liabilities (check for availability with your insurance company): If you or your family members cause any harm to someone or accidently damage somebody else’s property, then, the responsible party will be eligible to claim support from the insurance company to pay for the damage. However, the damage should be accidental and legal.

Additional living expenses: In case of extreme damage caused by fires, storms or any other insured natural or artificial disasters, the insurance company will be responsible to provide an additional cost of living which covers daily meals, hotel bills and other living expenses. Although the coverage amount differs from company to company, it is generally around 20% of the house insurance amount.

Medical payment : Regardless of fault, this component pays medical expenses for those who have been accidentally injured on your premise or the area adjoining it.

However, this category does not cover the medical expenses of the policy holder of its family members.

This is just a general categorization and brief explanation of home insurance… for more accurate and relevant details; please check with your insurance policy company.