It takes a whole lifetime of savings to build a house and one cannot predict a natural calamity like earthquake. In recent times we have seen what disaster an earthquake or any other natural calamity such as floods, landslides and torrential rains can wreck. Hence home insurance is very important. Insurance Policy Home insurance policy also protects against other hazards like gas cylinder explosion, fire due to electric short circuit as well as man-made disaster like burglary. The insurance companies under the India Home Insurance policies provide its customers with instant home insurance quotes. Some factors calculates the required amount of home insurance cover needed, like, area of house (in sq. ft.) , location of property , approximate rate of construction (in Rs./sq. ft.) and type of construction (only Pukka/Permanent). However, 50 years and above old properties are exempt from insurance cover. According to the sum insured the customer has to pay the premium for every month/quarter/six months. India Home Insurance policies offer different policies to suit the unique needs of its customers, from policies having a standard/fixed cover to those with flexible package, including a basket of coverage’s. The premium for the latter is higher than the standard cover. The insurance companies also provide a 24 hours helpline and call centers to come up with better service to customers. There are appointed surveyors who reports about the loss to the company. Sometimes there are no surveyors; in that case the party needs to submit the required documents to the company.Home insurance policy can be divided into two parts:Building structureContents inside the homeInsurance Covers for a Building Structure are:Building structure– Insurance covers for a building structure includes compensations paid for losses due to fire, storm, tempest, flood, riot, strike, lightning, explosion & implosion, landslides and rock slides, bursting or overflowing of water tanks, apparatus and pipes, earthquake and damages to the structure due to acts of terrorism.The market value of the home is not under the coverage of the India Home Insurance as the cost of the land and cost of the land are included within the price of the home and land cannot be insured. The insurance price is only for covering the construction cost of the building.The Fire and Special disaster cover: This is a comprehensive packaged cover that covers damages to the structure of home due to,FireStorm, tempest, flood & inundationRiot, strike & malicious damageLightningExplosion & implosionAircraft damageDamage due to impact by vehiclesBursting and/or overflowing of water tanks, apparatus and pipesMissile testing operationLeakage from automatic Sprinkler installationsBush fireEarthquake Cover: Covers damages to the structure of your house due to earthquake.Terrorism Cover: Covers damages to the structure of your house due to acts of terrorism. Insurance Covers for Contents inside the Home this cover is only for damages or loss of the contents inside the home -electronic and electrical goods, furniture and fixtures, clothing, jewelry and any other contents inside the home. The covers that can be taken for the contents are as follows:The Fire and Specials Perils CoverEarthquake CoverBurglaryLoss / damage to contents due to burglary or an attempted burglaryLoss of jewelry, gold ornaments, silver articles and precious stones kept under lock & keyContents inside the home– This coverage is for the loss or damage of the valuables inside the home like the electronic and electrical goods, furniture’s, clothing, jewelry and any other precious contents inside the home. The contents are covered on the market value of the items and in case of a loss the insurance claim is paid on the value of purchasing a similar new item exempting the depreciation value.Some of the leading insurance companies under India Home Insurance are:
- ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd
- IFFCO TOKIO
- National Insurance Company Ltd
- The New India Assurance Company Limited
- Tata AIG
- United Insurance
- General Insurance Corporation Of India