How to make your home insurance comprehensive?

A home is not made out of just bricks and beams, but also of hopes and dreams. American author and politician William J. Bennett famously said that home is a “shelter from all sorts of storms”. To ensure that our roof protects us from the storms of all kinds, it is our duty to protect our homes as well. However, the ways of protecting one’s shelter has undergone a sea of change over time.

Right from deciding the location to using the best material and installing the latest security systems, we put a lot of thought on securing our homes. However, the job does not end there. The final step is to ensure that your home is protected even if there is a mishap. A home insurance policy can deliver this final security to your home. This offers the safety shield in event of unexpected damages and losses to the structure or its contents.

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Why Home Insurance?

Having a home insurance policy is critical because it provides protection to your home against natural calamities like floods, earthquakes, lightning strikes, volcanic eruptions, storms, landslides, etc. Not just that it also offers protection against fire outbreaks, which can happen anywhere. So, if your home is damaged during any listed natural calamity, the home insurance plan would cover the repairs.

Apart from covering the structure of the home against any kind of damage, several home insurance policies also cover the valuables that you may have at your home like furniture, large appliances etc. You may also enhance your coverage by opting for available add-ons to protect your home more comprehensively.

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Add-ons to Make Your Home Insurance More Comprehensive

Covers for extra protection against theft and burglary: Opting for this cover protects you against loss of valuables in case of a theft or burglary at your home, which are normally not covered in a standard home insurance. As per the National Crimes Record Bureau Data, over 6 lakh offences are committed against property in a year including burglaries and thefts. While a standard home insurance does protect your home against damage that may occur due to a breaking in, this may not cover loss of valuable items like gold, electronic equipment etc. So you can opt for add-on covers for valuables and jewellery as well as for portable electronic items. Let’s look at both of them separately:

Gold and jewellery add-on: Not only the jewellery is often the most valuable item in an Indian household, it is also the most common to be stolen during a theft or a burglary. Most home insurance plans offer add-on option that enhances your coverage to include loss of jewellery and other items made of gold, silver or any other precious metal. A gold and jewellery add-on can get you a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh for gold and other jewellery that is disclosed in the policy.

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Portable electronic items add-on: You may also choose an add-on cover for portable electronics which are usually not covered in standard home insurance plans. For instance, while a TV or a refrigerator may be covered in a standard policy, a laptop or a phone would most like not be covered. However, these days, laptops and phones may alone cost over a lakh rupees each. And because of the ease of carrying them without causing any suspicion, these are on radar of thieves more than any other items barring cash or gold. In case of a burglary or a theft, loss of just these items may amount to several lakh rupees. So it is advisable to buy the add-on cover for portable electronic items which covers you against these losses.

Alternate accommodation add-on: Let’s say your home gets damaged in a natural calamity or a man-made disaster. Since you had a home insurance plan, you need not worry about the cost of repairs as the insurance company would take care of those. However, during this traumatic time, you would need to find another place to live till you get the repairs done. This could add to your agony. However, by opting for the alternate accommodation add-on with your home insurance policy, you can ensure that you can simply move to an alternate accommodation on rent which would be paid for by the insurer. In essence, the insurance provider would pay for both the cost of repairing your house and finding you replacement housing during that time.

New-for-old cover: This is one more useful add-on cover to enhance your home insurance which kicks in if any valuable items in your home like fixtures; electronic gadgets and furniture are damaged or lost in a mishap. By opting for this feature, you would ensure that the insurer would replace any such items with new ones instead of reimbursing their depreciated value. This would not only save you a lot of trouble but would also bring you peace of mind.

A home insurance policy is must for everyone whether they own their own home or live in a rented one. However, a standard policy may not be enough in most cases, especially with changing times where the contents of the house are often just as valuable as the structure. By opting for the right add-ons, you can make your home insurance more comprehensive and cover yourself against most losses. Not just that, you can also ensure your family does not face a lot of inconvenience in case of a mishap where you may have to temporarily relocate.

Authored by: Tarun Mathur, Chief Business Officer - General Insurance, Policybazaar.com

(Disclaimer: The views/suggestions/advices expressed here in this article is solely by experts. Zee Business suggests its readers to consult with their financial/investment advisers before making any financial decision.)