Home Fire Insurance And Personal Injury Claims: Legal Protections – Property insurance was the first insurance to be offered to consumers, which is not surprising since your home is one of your most valuable assets. In Singapore, there are two main forms of property insurance to protect your home: fire insurance and home insurance. To learn more about these insurance plans, our guide below will explain their differences, what type of home coverage you may need, and which policy is best for you.
While fire and home insurance may seem like they cover the same things, there are some key differences between the two types of insurance plans. Unlike home insurance, fire insurance provides basic coverage for water, smoke and fire damage to indoor and outdoor structures in the event of fire, explosion, force majeure, riots and strikes, and malicious intent. It does not cover your personal belongings or renovations. While this is a compulsory purchase for HDB owners who have a mortgage or HDB loan, fire insurance is optional if you live on a plot and is not required if you live in a flat or private flat (your block of flats management will usually have a major fire insurance policy) . HDB owners buy their policies from FWD at a fixed 5-year interest rate.
Home Fire Insurance And Personal Injury Claims: Legal Protections
On the other hand, home insurance or residential property insurance is an optional form of insurance that you can buy to supplement or replace fire insurance. It is much more comprehensive than fire insurance and protects you against losses to your personal belongings, interior/exterior house fittings, renovations and provides liability and medical cover. You’ll also find sublimits for more specific coverages, including landslide damage, relocation damage, loss of valuables like artwork, hospital expenses, and even pet protection. You can expect to pay anywhere from S$50 to over S$300 depending on the policy taken out.
What Is The Claims Process In A Fire Insurance Policy?
Although home equipment insurance is optional, it is highly recommended that you consider purchasing it either as a supplement to your fire insurance policy or for comprehensive property protection. Not only will you be protected against damage from natural disasters, fire, water leaks, moving and burglary, but you will also cover medical and accident costs for injuries that occur in your home, as well as liability costs in the event that someone else they damage your property and damage your renovations.
Most importantly, home contents insurance will protect your furniture, valuables and electronics and provide temporary relocation cover if your home becomes completely unlivable. Fire insurance alone may not be enough as it does not cover you for these risky events and leaves you vulnerable to out-of-pocket costs for damaged or lost assets. If protecting your belongings is a priority, home equipment insurance can be a valuable purchase.
Home insurance benefits are typically separated into 4 distinct categories: building or renovation coverage, contents coverage, liability coverage, and medical/accident coverage, with sub-limits within these categories detailing specific coverage. Insurance companies offer a few different plans to choose from, varying in scope and total coverage. You can get all the covers in one premium package or buy a flexible plan where you choose a custom amount for either renovation/construction cover or contents cover. If you opt for a flexible plan, your premium will depend on the set rate per certain amount of cover (ie 0.05% x cover amount). There are also options to purchase additional content, liability, medical and restoration cover.
In addition, insurance companies distinguish between “all risks” plans and “insured/specified perils” plans. The difference between the two comes from the scope of coverage. While a perils policy covers only what is specifically stated in your policy (water damage, fire, vehicle impact, lightning, burglary, etc.), all perils policies will cover a wider range of costs, including accidental damage. However, both policies have exclusions, so you should read the policy wording to make sure you know exactly what coverage you have.
Most Common Homeowners Insurance Claims
Home insurance policies do not cover damage caused by faulty workmanship, natural wear and tear or intentional malicious damage to property by the insured. Typically, insurance companies will not pay for losses incurred on an unoccupied property. In addition, some insurance companies will not pay for damage to musical instruments or property damaged by water leaks from household appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines.
To protect your content, it is imperative that you have receipts for all assets you wish to protect and that you read the policy text to see the coverage limits for each item. This is because insurance companies only offer a certain amount of coverage for individual items. If you want coverage for an item that exceeds the plan limit, insurers will either provide the appropriate form attached to your policy application, or you can contact your insurer and ask for an exception to their limit. Additionally, the total cost of what you can insure is what you would need to renovate your property – not the market value of your property.
If you want to buy a home insurance policy but don’t know where to start, choosing based on your property could be a good starting point. For example, if you live on land, you would probably benefit most from comprehensive home insurance, which provides cover for the building and contents. If you are a tenant in an HDB flat, you may benefit from a home insurance plan that focuses only on contents cover. If you live in a flat or private residential building, you will benefit from contents and/or renovations cover, depending on your budget and what you want cover for.
Similarly, if you want to protect certain valuables or pet insurance is important to you, then you can look for policies with generous amounts of cover in these areas. Insurance companies want to get their products out and out, so it’s highly likely that you’ll find an insurance policy that takes care of everything you want protection for. If you’re still stuck and feeling overwhelmed by the amount of home insurance policies available, our guides can make it easy to find the right policy for you.
Home Insurance For Private Property Owners
Anastassia is a senior research analyst in Singapore, evaluating consumer insurance products based on quantitative and qualitative financial analysis. She holds a degree in economics and international business management, and her previous work experience includes working in the capital markets sector. Her analysis on insurance, healthcare, international affairs and personal finance has been featured on AsiaOne, Business Insider, DW, Vice, Her World, Asia Insurance Review, Australian Institute of International Affairs and more.
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Home Contents Insurance, Myhome Protect Ii
Your home security needs are as unique as your property. The Homes Advantage Package Plan and the Homes Advantage Custom Plan allow you to customize coverage for your home and possessions, protecting everything from walls and windows to furniture and valuables. Opt for the convenience of a complete package or set up your coverage with a custom plan.
Your home is much more than just four walls and a ceiling. If you have a mortgage on your property, you probably already have fire insurance. Generally, basic fire insurance covers the physical structure of your property. It usually doesn’t cover the things that make your home – your belongings, valuables and any improvements you may have made.
A home insurance plan helps protect not only the structure but also the contents of your home against unexpected events such as flood, fire or theft.
Our homes are where we and our loved ones can be safe. With these home safety tips, you can easily prevent common home accidents.
What Does Public Liability Insurance Cover?
With Homes Advantage, choose the coverage that best suits your needs and we’ll pay you
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