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Unoccupied & Vacant Home Insurance Policy: Here’s Why You Should Secure Your Unattended Home

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Published on November 15, 2021. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes

Home owners insurance safeguards the structure and content of your home against any loss or damages caused in case of any unpredictable event such as fire, a natural calamity, etc. While it is essential to have a home owners insurance to shield your home in case of any unfortunate event, it might not be sufficient to save your home content such as jewelry, collectibles, or other precious items in case of theft or damage. This is where add-ons or insurance riders come into the picture.

Read on if you wish to know why getting riders is important and the different kinds of riders you can opt for based on your requirements. Let’s begin by understanding what riders are and how they work.

What are riders and How riders work?

Insurance riders are optional add-ons or slight tweaks to your home owners insurance which ensures added protection at a nominal cost. These additional benefits at an additional cost improve the coverage of your home owners insurance policy. Most people tend to overlook the benefits provided by riders for a small fee. A standard policy might not be sufficient in some scenarios hence the riders help you out to customize the insurance to suit your needs. It is prudent to assess your requirements before deciding whether basic insurance will suffice or opting for an additional rider would help you in the long run.

Types of home insurance riders

When you add insurance riders to your basic home insurance policy, the coverage limit is increased and the protection is extended to items that were not included in the basic home owners insurance. Here is a list of different types of home insurance riders that when bought can change your home owners insurance from basic to comprehensive.

● Personal property rider -

Home is not just bricks and beams, it is filled with valuables and antiques which you have collected over the years. A precious piece of art, collectibles, jewelry, etc. make for the valuables that need protection. A basic home insurance policy might not be able to extend coverage to all your valuables. Buying a personal property rider would increase the coverage and safeguard your valuables in the event of any damage, loss of items, or theft.

● Personal accident rider -

A personal accident rider protects you and your family members who are named in the policy in the event of an accident leading to injury, disability, or death. The cause for the accident could range from a natural calamity such as earthquakes, floods, etc. to man-made hazards such as theft, burglary, fire, etc. Any such accidents causing injury to you or your family members on the property premises are covered under the personal accident rider.

● Living expenses rider-

In cases where the extent of damage caused to the home is such that you are not able to stay in the house. The living expenses rider covers the expenses of your temporary accommodation or the insurer provides you with the accommodation to stay till the time your house is being rebuilt or repaired. This rider reimburses you for the meals, rent, hotel room, or any other incidental costs until your house becomes habitable again.

● Theft cover rider-

Before you buy the insurance policy it is imperative to evaluate your needs and opt for the riders accordingly. A standard home owners insurance policy provides cover in case of any theft or burglary. Sometimes the coverage provided in the standard policy might not be adequate for you. Hence, it is advisable to understand the extent of coverage and opt for a theft cover rider to enhance the coverage for any damages or loss caused due to the theft.

Why opt for a rider when there’s enough in the standard policy?

Not many realise the benefits of having a rider until they are faced with situations where the coverage provided under the standard policy doesn’t match up to the extent of losses.

Let’s take an example to understand how riders work and can prove useful for you. To keep the insurance cost reasonable and affordable for an average homeowner, jewelry cover under a basic home owners insurance policy is usually limited to INR 10000. But this limit might not be adequate for you if you own jewelry worth lakhs. You would not be comfortable with the idea of getting only 10000 reimbursed for jewelry worth lakhs. In such cases, getting a rider on home owners insurance can come to your aid.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, opting for insurance riders strengthens your standard home owners insurance. Whether it is personal property rider, living expenses rider, theft cover rider, etc. enhancing the coverage of your policy can help you a great deal when the situation arises. For a small fee, you can get these additional riders to help you out in situations where a standard home owners insurance policy coverage is not enough.

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

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