It is a protective cover offered by a General/Non Life Insurance company against natural unforeseen disasters (fire due to short circuit, gas cylinder explosion, earthquake etc.) and man-made disasters (burglary). So you are provided with financial protection in case of any damage to your property which would include both building and content provided you have selected a policy covering both.
There are mainly two types of home insurance policies available. They include
- Building insurance: Here the building structure of your home is insured for its reconstruction value i.e. the cost incurred to reconstruct the home. Both natural and man-made calamities are covered.
- Fire, Lightening, explosion of gas in domestic appliances
- Bursting and overflowing of water tanks, apparatus or pipes.
- Riot, Strike, Malicious or Terrorist Act
- Flood, Inundation, Storm, Typhoon, Hurricane, Tornado or Cyclone
- Damage due to earthquake, subsidence and Landslide (including Rockslide).
- Damage caused by Aircraft & Impact damage
- Content insurance: This is optional but with threat of burglaries, natural disasters, it is beneficial to opt for it. Content insurance provides protection to contents in the house that is not fixed to the home. The contents are covered on the market value of the items and in case of a loss; the insurance will be paid on the cost of purchasing the item less the depreciation for usage. Under this protection against various perils are provided including
- Valuables such as jewellery, cameras and watches
- Cover against all kinds of accidental breakage of plate glass fixed in doors and window frames
- Loss/damage to domestic appliances due to electrical and mechanical breakdown.
- Fire
- Storms/flooding
- Explosions
- Theft and vandalism
You have a choice of buying insurance only for the building or only for the contents or for both. Buying insurance only for contents is done mainly when you are living on rent.
- Building insurance: The value of the house is essentially area of your house multiplied by the rate of construction per sq. feet. So if you have a 500 sq. feet house and the rate of construction is Rs. 1000, then the sum assured would be Rs. 500,000. A property more than 50 years old is not insured. Also insurance companies consider only ‘Pukka/Permanent’ construction.
- Contents in the house: They are assessed on the market value of the items. This means in case of a loss, the claim value would be the cost of purchasing the time less depreciation for usage.
The policy provided by the home insurance companies act as a guarantee that combines insurance of the home, its contents, the personal possessions of the homeowner. The extent of the risk covered will depend on the type and content of the policy.
- Any loss or damage by the insured and/ or insured’s domestic staff direct or indirect involvement in an attempted burglary.
- Any loss or damage on account of loss of money, securities for money, stamp, bullion, stock or share certificates, business books, documents of any kinds, ATM debit or credit cards, unless previously specifically declared
- Any loss or damage to any property that is illegally acquired, kept, stored which is subject to forfeiture.
- Any loss or damage occurring while insured’s home is unoccupied, for a period of more than 30 days consecutively and if the insured failed to inform the company about the same.
You should cancel the policy and premium will be returned to you on a pro-rata basis.
- Inform the call center with policy details. Several insurance companies have a 24 hour call center service.
- All necessary information will have to be furbished which includes policy number, personal details, and other details regarding your claim. Consequently, your claim request is authenticated and is escalated to the company’s claims department.
- Company’s claims department validates and registers the request. They appoint a surveyor within 48 hours.
- The insured submits all the relevant documents to the surveyor. The surveyor submits the Final Survey Report (FSR) along with the documents within 7-15 days.
- If surveyor is not appointed, the company’s claims department sends a letter of requirement for submitting documents to the insured.
- On receipt of documents, the claims department processes the claim within 7 -15 days.
- On approval of the claim, a letter is send to the insured giving the approved amount of settlement
- Payment cheque is released
Home insurance policy gives the home owner not only financial protection but also more importantly peace of mind as his single largest investment is protected from all hazards.
No comments:
Post a Comment