Our home is undoubtedly our most valuable material possession. Home insurance is therefore the best option to keep it covered and secured for a long period of time. Even with the real estate boom at its prime, the home insurance sector is still at its nascent stage in India. The main reason for this is the lack of awareness among people about insuring their houses.

So lets start with the basic question i.e. ‘who needs home insurance’?

In general, whether you live in a hut or a bungalow it is advisable that you insure it and it’s valuables against unforeseen risks.

More precisely, if the structure of your house (excluding the land) is worth Rs. 5 lakh or more, you own electronic gadgets worth Rs. 2 lakh or more, your house is located in an area prone to floods, earthquakes, burglaries or terrorist attacks or even if you live in a rented house but own high value furniture, electronic and domestic appliances then you must get your house insured.

What can be covered?

Home insurance covers your house and its contents against natural and man-made disasters like fire, storm, floods and earthquakes, terrorist attacks, bursting of gas cylinder or water tanks. More specifically a home insurance policy consists of 10 sections and you can choose a comprehensive policy or a specific policy to suit your needs.

These sections include a Basic Policy (Fire coverage), cover against burglary, cover against loss\damage of jewelry and other valuables, cover for accidental breakdown of electronics, cover for personal accident etc.

Benefits of home insurance

• The cost of premium is much smaller than the value of structure and contents insured.
• Some policies also cover the cost of alternate accommodation in case your house gets damaged.
• You can buy a home insurance policy online from the comfort of your home.
• If you include 5 or 6 optional sections in your policy, you get a discount of 15% on the premium and for including more than 7 sections you get 20% discount on premium, making the policy even cheaper.

In India there are many government and private companies who offer home insurance like United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance, the National Insurance Company, New India Assurance, Royal Sundaram Alliance, ICICI Lombard, Tata- AIG, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company etc.

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