Five reasons why you should have home insurance

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Neeraj Gupta

Home is your haven and the most precious possession, full of memories and comfort. Everybody does their bit in order to secure their fortress. We may have installed sophisticated locks, electronic alarms, fire extinguishers, carried out a thorough police verification of the domestic help and done our best to protect your dwelling. However, we all know that despite the best security protection measures, the risk of thefts and damages due to natural disasters can never be completely eliminated. Natural calamities have the power to completely destroy our home and in some cases, you won’t be able to rebuild the house due to limited financial resources.

According to UN report 2015, India faces a loss of 10 billion USD every year due to natural disasters. In 1999, a cyclone alone destroyed around 275,000 houses in Odisha. The 2004 Tsunami caused by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean caused the destruction of around 141,000 houses in our country. Apart from natural disasters, man-made disasters such as fall of the building due to architectural flaws or fire due to short circuit pose an equal threat to your house. If you are thinking about measures that you can take to protect your haven, a home insurance policy would be the best way to cover such risks. Following are a few reasons to buy a home insurance today, because disasters come without knocking.

PROTECTS YOUR INVESTMENT

Home is the most expensive, once in a lifetime investment you make for your family’s comfort. Home Insurance comes in two different packages: Structure Insurance and Content Insurance. But you can also choose a comprehensive plan, which includes both types of insurance. In the case of any unfortunate event, a home insurance offers an assured lump sum amount with which you can rebuild (or renovate) your house as beautiful as it was before the disaster. Sum assured is a multiple of space and construction cost in the locality. For example, if you are living in a 1000 sq. ft home in Gurgaon where the cost of construction per sq. ft is 2000 rupees, then the amount of sum insured you will get is Rs.20,00,000 to rebuild your home.

STRESS-FREE HOLIDAYS

There is no denying that whenever we are traveling, a constant stress sustains in our head thinking about the safety of the house from burglary or fire. Especially when we are aware of the fact that there were more than 1 lakh burglary cases in India during the year 2015. A home insurance eliminates this stress by insuring your house even when no one is there at your house for a longer period of time. However, this period is limited and varies from 30 days to 60 days as per your insurance plan. So, now you can enjoy holidays with your family without stressing over the safety of your home.

INSURES YOUR BASIC ESSENTIALS

Content insurance, which is a part of your home insurance, will secure your beloved essentials like cutlery, cupboards, electrical appliances, electronic gadgets, furniture and even your clothes. However, the sum assured here represents the replacement value. For example, if a thief broke into your house and stole your TV, then the benefit given to you will be the value of the insured item of the same kind and same capacity.

TAKES CARE OF YOUR ART WORK

Having precious artwork at your home always creates a tension, you are always worried that someone may steal your precious paintings and to get rid of it you install a burglary alarm or hire a security guard. Instead, you can take a cover for your precious artwork; the sum-assured is agreed during the signing of the policy.

SECURES YOUR MORTGAGE

Collateral loans are very common in India and if you have taken loans from the bank keeping your house as security, a disaster will not only destroy your house but it will also put you at the doors of bankruptcy if you are not having enough savings. Your home insurance will work as watchmen to your financial stability and will help you rebuild your house and keep you away from a total financial breakdown.

A natural disaster can devastate your home and reconstruction of a house is not an easy task, not only because it will cost you a fortune but it takes a lot of time as well. No one can stop a disaster from happening but you can always protect your home from the consequences caused by disasters. Stay insured, stay protected!

The writer is Head of Motor and Home Insurance of Policybazaar.com