Home Insurance

Home is where our heart is.

Everyone loves their house and try their level best to make it a home with all the required amenities. Apart from the essentials for everyday use, the home also consists of some of the most valuable treasures like jewellery, precious artefacts, etc. But, what if, some unforeseen situations occur whether one is in the premises of his/her home or away? Well, for such situations a home insurance policy in Dubai works as a boon.

Features of a Home Insurance Policy:

• Provides comprehensive coverage against fire, breakage, or any other accidental damages.
• Provides coverage against lightning, explosion, or earthquake.
• Liability covers for owner and occupiers against any claims.
• Liability covers for tenants to protect against legal liabilities in case of damage to the premises of the landlord.
• Free customer support for 7 days a week and 365 days a year.

Home Insurance Types:

The common home insurance types that most of the home insurance providers in UAE offer are:

Home Content Insurance Plan:

This type of home insurance plan protects both personal property and valuable items of an insured. Despite a policyholder is the owner of the house, or tenant, or landlord, this variant of home insurance covers almost all the contents of the house under one roof.

Buildings Insurance Plan:

This type of home insurance policy protects the fabric of the building. It covers everything from basic home repair to a full rebuild of the house, in case of fire, earthquake, or other natural calamities.

Personal Assets Insurance Plan:

To cover the personal possessions like clothing and other valuables, this type of home insurance policy is advised. Some of the policies under this plan also provide cover against financial fraud on debit or credit cards issued in UAE.

Common Inclusions of a Home Insurance Policy

Emergency Alternative Accommodation:

An insured gets the expenses by the insurance provider occurred due to emergency accommodation. However, it is provided only when the incident due to which the insured’s home is damaged is covered under the policy. Additionally, the damaged home of the policyholder must be in a condition that does not allow living there.

Unexpected Situations and Natural Calamities:

The home of a policyholder is insured against damages caused due to natural calamities like earthquake, fire, flood, storm etc. Apart from this, if the home is damaged due to unexpected situations like a strike, riot, etc. then also it is insured under the policy.

Liability of the Tenant:

If the insured has rented a house and it is damaged due to insured incidents, then the policy covers it as well. Moreover, the events in which a tenant is legally liable are also covered in a home insurance policy.

While an Insured is Away from Home:

A home insurance plan also covers the home of the policyholder when he/she is away for up to 60 days.

Legal Liability:

If a third-party is damaged, injured, or encounters a loss in the home of an insured, then these legal liabilities are also covered.

Stolen House Keys:

If the keys of the house of an insured are stolen or lost, then a home insurance policy covers it also. The cost of lock replacement and lock mechanism change are also covered under the policy.

Frozen Food:

Covers staling or deterioration of food stored in the freezer of the policyholder caused due to the breakdown of the public power supply.

Covers When Shifting Home:

The contents of the home of an insured are covered against home shifting within the country. However, the home shifting must be performed with the help of a professional mover only.

Contents that are in Open:

The contents of the home of an insured that are kept in open are also covered. However, the damage must be caused due to an incident covered by the policy.

Theft and Burglary Cover:

The contents of the home of an insured are also covered against theft or burglary. This coverage can also be extended to gold jewellery, silver articles, valuable stones, and other precious items. However, these items must be kept inside a safe that is locked inside the premises of the insured’s home.

Common Exclusions of a Home Insurance Policy

Though different home insurance policies have different exclusions, some of the common exclusions of the most of the home insurance policies are:

• Damage and loss caused due to depreciation and wear and tear.
• Cash loss
• Damage, loss, or destruction of an electronic device as a result of excessive pressure or over-running.
• Damage or loss caused due to nuclear war.
• Damage or loss caused due to war, the act of a foreign country, or an invasion.

Claim Process

The common steps that most of the leading home insurance providers follow to file a claim are:

• Almost all the insurance companies have their own time limit within which an insured must inform the company about the loss/damage. This time limit can vary from 7 days to 15 days. So, it is recommended to inform the insurance provider as soon as possible.
• The policyholder can inform via an email to his/her home insurance provider or through SMS or by post.
• Before filing a claim, lodge an FIR. Send the copy of this FIR to the insurance company with other documents.
• With a copy of FIR, the documents that an insured needs to submit in order to avail home insurance claim are:
  • Report of the fire brigade (in case of fire)
  • Certificate from the medical officer in case of disability or death
  • Police investigation report
  • In case of replacement, submit supplier’s original invoice
  • Estimates of the repair
  • Owned articles invoices, if there are any
  • Court summons

Note: It is an indicative list of some of the common documents that are needed while filing a claim for most of the home insurance policies. However, if the insurance provider wants, it can ask for more documents as well.

Benefits of Having Home Insurance:

A home insurance policy is not as popular as other insurance policies like medical insurance, life insurance, etc. However, it is always good to insure the home against any loss or damage. Some of the obvious benefits that an insured gets with a home insurance plan are:

• It not only covers the contents of the home of an insured, but it also secures home’s structure.
• Secures home assets from various unexpected situations.
• A home insurance policy is available in comparatively lower premium rates than other policies.
• Travel tension free as a home insurance policy covers home theft or burglary when the owner of the home is away.

Despite these benefits of a home insurance policy, 86% of the residents of the UAE do not have insurance for their home contents and home. This survey was done in the year 2015 by Souqalmal.com.

One of the common reasons for not having home insurance is living in a rented house. Most of the people living as a tenant in the UAE think that they do not need a home insurance policy as they are living as tenants. Here we are defining the top reasons for having home insurance even if one is a tenant:

Why One Needs Home Insurance, Even If Living as A Tenant?

According to the survey by Soqualmal.com, 45% of the respondents of the survey said that they did not consider home insurance as a priority. Below mentioned are some points that can show the requirement of the home insurance for the tenants:

• Even if the building is insured by the landlord, but for the valuable contents of the home, one needs home content insurance. A home insurance policy protects the contents of the home against damages caused by different types of risks. The home contents that most of the insurance policies cover in their insurance are household goods, furniture, and different home appliances.
• Apart from this, the personal belongings and other valuable items such as jewellery, personal electronic equipments (laptop, smartphones, etc.), and various other gadgets are also covered.

Tips for Selecting a Home Insurance Policy in UAE

Since there are various home insurance providers available in UAE, thus it may become difficult to choose the most suitable one. Therefore, below mentioned are important tips that can ease the selection process:

Check the Premiums and Coverage:

The first thing is to evaluate the risks that the home is facing or may face in near future. Such as, if the insured living in a flood prone area, then selecting a policy that covers flood and its related risk is suggested. After that, check the premium of the policy selected by the policyholder. The insured must ensure that the premium fits in his/her budget. The policyholder can prepare a chart of comparison of different insurance providers to select the most suited home insurance policy.

Keep the Reputation of the Insurance Company in Mind:

Before finalizing an insurance provider, always check its reputation in the insurance market. The first and foremost criteria to check any insurance company is its customer friendly staff.

Check the Claim Settlement Ratio of the Insurance Provider:  

A good insurance company is one that takes minimum turnaround time in claim settlement. Therefore, it is worth to check the claim settlement record of the insurance company before finalizing it.

Premiums of Home Insurance, if one is a Homeowner:

Property Type	Value of Property & Items of Insured	The premium of the Insurance (Content of Building + Personal belongings)	Insurance Cost (% of the Value)
	Building Personal Belongings Contents 1,50,000 20,000 50,000 3,50,000 20,000 50,000
Apartment		1,250 (800+450)	0.08%
Villa		2,150 (1700+450)	0.06%

The premium of Home Insurance, if one is a Tenant:

Property Type	Value of the Property and Items of the Insured Content Personal Belongings 50,000 20,000	The premium of the Insurance (Personal Content + Belongings)	Insurance Cost (% of Value)
Villa/Apartment		450	0.6%

 How PolicyBazaar.ae Helps to Get the Best Home Insurance Policy Online?

If an insured is using PolicyBazaar.ae as his/her insurance web aggregator, then he/she need not worry about the comparison of premiums, selecting the best home insurance, etc. It is because we compare different home insurance policies online only after asking a few questions to our customers. On the basis of those questions, we suggest the most suitable home insurance policy to pour customers. A customer can buy or renew his/her home insurance policy as well through our safe and secure platform. Moreover, for any assistance, a policyholder can talk to our customer service representative all 7 days in a week and 365 days in a year.