More than a cover for your home

Apart from the basic structure, home insurance policies can cover valuables in the house as well.

First the Uttarakhand floods and then Cyclone Phailin one after the other, these natural catastrophes hit India in 2013 with full velocity, destroying thousands of homes.

Such natural calamities are a reminder for us to take proactive steps towards protecting our most priced asset our home. We spend lakhs of rupees towards buying our dream home but shy away from spending a few thousands more to protect it with a home insurance policy. Most of the time, this behaviour is influenced by lack of awareness and understanding of the benefits of home insurance. A comprehensive home insurance policy offers a host of covers for your home, including its contents, thus saving you the burden of reinstating or repairing your home from your own pocket.

Structure cover

This covers the structure and its inbuilt fittings against loss or damage caused by fire, flood and other perils. It also covers damages caused by other calamities such as landslides. One condition that companies apply in home insurance is good state of repair. This means that the property will not be insured unless it is well maintained and can be repaired if damaged.

This cover is offered by several insurance companies. If your house is damaged by flood, fire or riot and requires repair, the home insurance cover will provide for the additional expenses on an alternative accommodation. You and your family can stay there temporarily until the restoration is completed.

Content cover

This is designed to protect your belongings against damages caused due to specified natural calamities as well as burglary. Even if you have rented the house, this component of home insurance will continue to cover your contents during the period of rent. In case of burglary, the cover also provides compensation against damaged furniture and stolen belongings. However, for insuring antiques and valuables, such as basic jewellery above Rs 1 lakh, you need to take an additional cover.

Cover against accidents

Although standard home insurance policies usually provide some cover for accidental damage from the perils specified above, they may not cover everyday mishaps. This cover may not be significant in natural calamities but it is definitely important for minor damages. For example, this cover will protect your possessions, such as an expensive TV or any other contents if hit, by say, a cricket ball.

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More than a cover for your home