Home Insurance

We all use the phrase ‘Home Sweet Home’. Although the instances can be different but the fact that we all love our home is not different at all. Wherever we go, always miss the place we call home. The home is more than just bricks and walls, it is our dream. It is very rare to find someone who doesn’t dream about having a home. It is not required to say that we will do whatever it takes to protect our home. Protecting can be included several measures but have you ever thought about the Home Insurance. Yes, home insurance is an insurance product which can take care the topic ‘protecting’ quite effectively. With the growing income and development of our economy we can always afford a home and decorate the home as per our need. But the uncertainty of mishap with that asset is also ever present and we usually have a bad habit to ignore the chances intentionally.

If you ask me, I will prefer a beautiful home with all the required appliances and I should opt for a home insurance as well. It is great insurance when it comes to cover ourselves financially from the unknown events. The unknown events can be any natural calamity like earthquake, flood or a man-made situation like burglary, riots or an act of terrorism or need of an alternate accommodation. Another unknown benefit of this insurance is that, if you are opting for a home loan, Loan Company used to lower the EMI (interest) on the loan. Five years before one of my close relative bought an apartment in Calcutta and that was really amazing. He spent quite an amount of money to decorate the apartment. His job require him to travel a lot. After a year the apartment got burglarized when he was away. It was quite a devastating situation for him. After the situation his financial planner advised him to purchase a home insurance. We can insure the building or the contents in it or both at the same time. There are several policies available of different companies but we need to decide about the amount of sum assured we need for cover. If we consider both the building and everything in it then policy is going to cost higher than if we consider any one. Insurance companies lower the premium if the building has security (24×7) and other safety measures. Although they take other factors like the place where the building is, past records, amount of cover needed, time horizon, additional cover needed etc. You can always check online for the quotes for your required amount of cover or take the professional help of a financial planner. Insurance company can be shortlisted based on our trust or the cheapest product and highest claim settlement ratio. Let’s say if 100 claims a company is having in a year and settling only 90 out of that 100, then company’s claim settlement ratio is 90%.

Till now we have discussed the home insurance, benefits of having one and what all it covers and from where you can take the policy for your home. But now what I want to share with you is one more incident and this story will also make you clear that what all are not covered in the policy. Akash, a businessman was going through tough times in his life. Well it was not the case earlier, at first his business was doing really well but due to some changes in government policies, he was finding it difficult to cope up with the condition. Due to the unfavorable condition he was not able to pay off his creditors and debt burden started piling up. He had a home insurance policy worth Rs 1 Crore. To overcome the situation he deliberately destructed his house and claimed the insurance policy amount. When insurance inspector visited to investigate then they found out about the conspiracy and he got nothing against his policy, hence his claim was rejected. So what we analyze from this case is that while this policy is made for our own benefit but it is also our responsibility that we do not misuse it and should not do any unethical act to fulfil some short term needs. Therefore insurance companies also in order to safeguard itself from these frauds  does not provide cover for this kind of unethical and fraudulent act i.e. any willful destruction caused to the property.

Every individual in his or her life span dreams of having his or her own house. It is the place where we feel safe and secure. When we go for our daily work, no matter what happens with us during that period we always think that once the day ends we will be going back to our home. This one word means a lot to us. Talking about myself, I have a totally different kind of attachment with my house, my room and my personal stuff. It is quite natural. Therefore when it comes to protecting it from the contingencies then I just do it and have done it already without having any second thought. I think we all should do it.

Insurance sector is the area in our financial world that has provided us with so many affordable and effective solutions and alternatives to make our future financially secured against various calamities and eventualities. Let it be General Insurance or Life Insurance, the main motive or we can say the purpose of insurance is to share our losses and having a tension free life. It is sad that insurance sector has still not get full penetration in our country. Let us think this way that, the things which gives our life so much meaning and are so much attached to us emotionally, are those things or persons are not worthy of being protected and secured. Like in this case we have our home, a place where everything starts and where everything ends too. A place where we make memories and live them. Home Insurance enable us to protect it, and not only our house and valuable items but yes our memories, our place of being ourselves.