Home Insurance: How to protect your house from thunderstorms? Top tricks every owner must know

Changed weather conditions attributed to global warming are causing numerous natural disasters across the world. The recent thunderstorm, which created havoc in the Capital as well as in some other parts of the country recently, is one of such examples. What is more worrisome is the fact that the Indian Meteorological Department has issued a fresh warning for the next 72 hours, anticipating similar weather conditions across large parts of north India, including Delhi. While protecting yourself is paramount, it is also important to protect your home from such disasters. Hence, it has become significant to buy a home insurance policy.

A comprehensive home insurance has two parts, Content home insurance and Structure home insurance. In a comprehensive home insurance, in case of a disaster, insurance companies not only pay the cost of the reconstruction of the house but also foot the bill for the destroyed household goods. In fact, some policies also pay money to you to rent a house until your damaged house is repaired or reconstructed. Therefore, not only it is important to have home insurance but also a thorough understanding of various insurance products available in the market. Here, we will discuss some add-ons that you should consider buying along with a regular home plan to enlarge the scope of coverage.

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Cover against storms, flood and thunderstorm

This may seem surprising but it is true that only a few insurers offer cover against storms, floods and thunder in a standard home insurance plan. Others want you to buy an add-on to get protected against natural disasters. If you live in an area where flooding due to rains is a recurrent problem, such as several parts of metro cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi, then you need to buy a policy which gives you protection against such disasters. You can compare the options online and select the one that suits your requirements the best. Premium of this add-on mainly varies on the basis of the sum insured. For instance, if you opt for a sum insured of Rs 50 lakh for structure home insurance, premium for this add-on will generally cost you Rs 700 to Rs 800.

Gold & jewellery Coverage

Gold & jewellery have been an integral part of most economically-sound families in India for ages. Being a precious asset, it needs protection against theft or calamity. However, while most content home insurance plans give cover for household goods such as furniture and electronics, very few cover gold & jewellery and that too for a meagre sum assured. So, to get an adequate cover for your gold & jewellery possessions, you should think of buying the gold and jewellery add-on with your standard home policy by paying Rs 5000 extra per annum for a cover of Rs 5 lakh.

Alternate accommodation

The alternate accommodation add-on simply means that your insurer will pay rent for the house you would need to shift to in case of damage to your own house due to any natural calamity. For example, if your house is damaged in an earthquake, you can approach your insurer for repairs. If you have taken Alternate Accommodation add-on, the insurer will assess the extent of the damage and the time required to get it repaired. Accordingly, the insurer will not only arrange funds for the repairs, but also pay for an alternate house for that specified period. So, this add-on lets you get your house repaired without the hassle of paying for the alternate accommodation or taking obligation from your friends or relatives. With a provision for Rs 25,000 as monthly rent, this add-on will cost around Rs 200 per annum. Useful, isn’t it?

‘New for Old’ add-on

This is another useful add-on available with comprehensive insurance and content insurance plans. What it means is that your insurer will replace your damaged or lost items with new products, instead of reimbursing the depreciated value of the affected items. However, under this add-on, only those items can be covered which are not older than 5 years.

Worldwide cover

Worldwide coverage add-on is a blessing for those who travel frequently. It provides insurance protection against any damage to your belongings such as a laptop, camera, jewellery, etc. during a journey. A standard content home insurance policy gives protection to goods that are kept inside the insured house. But by paying about Rs 800 per annum, you can get coverage for goods that you need to take out often during your journeys.

So, there are various add-ons available in the market which ensure insurance protection in different situations. Now, it is for you to choose the ones which suit the best to your requirements.

(By Tarun Mathur, Chief Business Officer-General Insurance, Policybazaar.com)

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