Scenarios where your home insurance may fail you

Neeraj GuptaPolicybazaar.com Long gone are the days when only cash and gold were used to be the only precious things at home. Today a single cell phone could cost you easily between Rs. 25,000- Rs.50,000 and you must be having a couple of them at your home. Apart from cell phones, television, music systems, fully automated machines etc. can get added into your electronic arsenal anywhere between Rs. 3.5 lakh- Rs.5 lakh. Can you really afford losing these valuables, if there is any mishap? You would definitely be willing to secure all of your electronic gadgets from theft or any kind of damage. Typically, home insurance includes protection for contents inside the house but does this really provide 360 degree protection, the answer is No. Here are a few scenarios where your home insurance may fail you. THEFT OUTSIDE HOMEHome Insurance only protects your gadgets from burglary or any kind of damage if in the premises during the time of mishap, but it will not provide you any benefits if the mishap has happened outside the home, a handful plans cover theft outside home. For example, you have a home content insurance which also covers your mobile phone and you have a job which demands frequent travelling. There may be chances of pick pocketing in crowded places. In this scenario, your insurer will not provide you any benefit, because the theft did not take place at your home. MISHANDLING IS NOT COVEREDRenovating your house during a festival is a common practice but you need to be careful about your valuables, because they are vulnerable to damage while you shift them. If you think that having a home content insurance will take this stress away from you, well this is not the case. You still have to handle your valuables carefully because your home insurance does not cover any damage caused by you or the workers renovating your house. DOES NOT COVER UNDEFINED LOSSIn case, you are not able to define or justify reason for the loss while filing the claim, it may get rejected. For example, there is damage to the property due to natural heating. You may think to file a claim for the damaged items but not able to define the loss as it will not be covered under damage due to fire. Such claims are considered irrelevant according to the policy terms and denied on the same basis. DELAY IN FILING THE CLAIMWhen you buy a policy, make sure to ask about time limit to report a claim, and then abide by it. If you wait for too long, you may not be eligible for benefits. For example, in one of the home insurance plans, there is a clause which demands you to file for your claim within 14 days to get benefits from your policy. So, if you fail to inform your insurer within this time period, your claim may get rejected. NON-DISCLOSED VALUABLES ARE NOT COVEREDThings which were not disclosed at the time of taking the policy will not be covered. For example, if you have bought a new 42 inch TV after purchasing the policy, it will not be covered under the policy terms. However, you can update your policy by paying some extra amount of premium for the new valuables. Make it a practice to add new valuables in the existing policy for a comprehensive coverage.