4 Standard Damages Your Homeowners Insurance Should Cover

Posted on: Nov 22, 2022 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

4 Standard Damages Your Homeowners Insurance Should Cover

Standard Damages Your Homeowners Insurance Should Cover – Home Insurance

Buying the house of your dreams is without any doubt one of the biggest investments that you will do during a lifetime. The same is also true if you are building your own house. And both events can be quite exciting. A new house is a blank slate, where you can decorate its interiors with your imagination and constantly renovate to keep the house with time and choices. Amidst all of this, you must also think about home insurance cover.

What is Home Insurance?

It is an insurance plan that protects your house against some of the most common damages. The plan also protects the contents of your house. Some common elements that can cause damage to your house include water damage, damage due to natural calamities, fire, theft, etc. Not having home insurance cover can hurt your finances and upkeep of the house, in the event of any mishap.

Damages Your Home Insurance Should Cover

Here are some of the most standard coverages that your homeowners insurance policy should offer.

1.Theft:

Someone breaking into the house is one of the biggest fears for any homeowner. The burglars can break into the house and steal a few of the contents of the house. During the ordeal, you not only lose some of the things in your house but there could also be some damage to the house. These could be as simple as a broken window or door. Your standard home insurance policy should cover damages to the house due to theft. Usually, insurance providers cover damages to the structure of the house as well as the contents of the house. Depending on the insurance provider and insurance policy, the coverage amount might differ. For loss of contents, the insurance provider will mostly pay a certain percentage of the sum insured. You can opt for additional coverage for jewellery, paintings, silverware, etc. along with the base policy./p>

2.Fire:

Fire can pose serious risks and damage to the structure of the house and the contents of the house at the same time. Sometimes, it can be extremely tricky to control the flow of fire or might be difficult to put it out completely. And before you know it, it can leave havoc. Having a fire insurance policy in such cases will help you get compensation for the damages, both structurally and the belongings in your house. You can use the compensation to rebuild your house and replace items in the house that were engulfed by fire. However, insurance companies might not offer coverage for your fire insurance if the damages were due to excessive pressure on the appliances or over-using them over a period.

3. Other Natural Calamity Damages:

Given the increase in the number of natural calamities over the past few years, it is highly recommended to opt for a home insurance cover that protects your house against it. Natural calamities such as earthquakes, floods, typhoons, landslides, etc. can be beyond devastating. These can not only damage the structure of the house but can even cause extensive damage to the contents of the house. If you do not have any insurance, the cost of repairs and rebuilding your house is entirely on you. And these expenses can run into a few lakhs even before you realize it. If you do not want to struggle to rebuild your house after such a devastating occurrence, it is recommended to opt for a policy that offers protection against it. There are a few places that are prone to some natural calamities. For example, the area that your house is built in can be prone to damage due to earthquakes. In such cases, do not assume about the coverage and look explicitly if the insurance provider covers the natural calamity or not. The last thing that you would want is a policy without adequate coverage.

4. Water Damage:

There are a lot of water-related damages that your house can face. The damages can either suddenly or can take a while to show their effects. And it can be due to a water pipe bursting inside the house or a connection rupturing within walls, causing extensive damage. In either case, homeowners insurance will protect your house. In some cases, the damage due to water can even impact the structural integrity of the house. A good example of the same is a wall being damaged due to water seepage or a water pipe bursting within it. In some extreme cases, the issue can cause damage to the contents of the house as well. For example, a burst pipeline can damage some of the other electrical appliances of the house, such as a laptop or television. The policy will cover these damages as well. But it might not offer coverage for the damages if you had intentionally missed repairing or replacing the source of the issue or if the water kept coming in from an external drain or sewage. Ensure to go through the policy wordings to better understand the coverage and exclusions for water damage.

Top 6 Reasons to Buy a Good Home Insurance Policy:

Following are some of the most compelling reasons to buy a home insurance policy.

1.Unlike popular belief, a home insurance policy protects the house both externally and internally. Some of the policies even offer coverage for fences, garages, and backyards.

2.You can use the compensation from the policy to undertake repairs of the house and even replace things that were damaged due to a hazard. It applies to even things that were stolen during a break-in.

3.The compensation will help you to rebuild your house. And it can be quite devastating and expensive to rebuild your house after any of the major damages mentioned above. The policy can make things much easier for you.

4.When you opt for a home insurance policy, you are also buying complete peace of mind. It offers protection to your house against a lot of perils. Thus, keeps you at bay from constantly worrying about your house.

5.Some of the policies offer compensation for temporary accommodation such as rent or hotel expenses if your house is uninhabitable after any of the above unfortunate events.

6.More importantly, the policy offers coverage against liability. If a fire spreads from your house to a neighbour’s house or any accident that might arise due to a party in your house. The plan offers legal coverage.

Conclusion

Knowing the coverage of your policy can be quite useful during claims. Even if you do not claim your policy, it is important that you are aware of the different conditions or scenarios in which your policy has your back. Similarly, do not forget to go through the exclusions of your home insurance cover. It can help you avoid any claim rejections in the future.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

Here are 5 Important Inclusions under Home Insurance in India

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Tree Damage?

How to Clean Your Home After a Flood

How to Repair Damage After a House Fire?

National Insurance Awareness Day: Here’s why Home Insurance Policy is Must for Everybody