Wednesday Post

This is my first blog for the month of June 2020.

Corona Virus is in full swing, and total number of cases in India are approaching 200,000 marks, but the good news is that till date recovery percentage is 48%+, and death rate has gone down to less than 3%. From the states  Maharashtra is still leading with 72,000+ cases with death toll of 2465, and Mumbai city’s tally stands at 42,000+ cases.

With corona, Maharashtra’s west coast is facing one more threat, from cyclone Nisarga, which is going to hit the state’s coast line any time today, and  Mumbai city is also in the path of this cyclone. Approx 65,000 people have been evacuated in Mumbai, who stay near the coast line, to safer places. Since yesterday the weather in Mumbai has changed and it looks like we are in midst of monsoon season, with temperature dropping considerably. So Mumbaikars are getting prepared for facing  this cyclone.

Now coming to my other topic of the day- Friends, you all aware of the importance of insurance in our lives, be it life insurance, health insurance and car insurance, but we generally ignore to get our home insured. Home insurance is not something that many of us think about unless it is part and parcel of the home loan availed  by us. Most often, once the loan tenure is over, most of the people do not renew their home insurance, as we do not feel the importance of it.

I am giving below some of basic information on why this home insurance is important.

1 What is Home Insurance- It is  generally taken by house owner, on the home and items within it. This is typically taken to protect against any loss happening due to unforeseen events like floods, earthquake, riots, theft, fire etc. You may recollect the hilarious movie ‘Om My God’ starring Paaresh Rawal, wherein he lost his shop due to earthquake, and then he tries to claim the insurance, he is told bluntly by the insurance provider that it is an act of God, and policy is not covering the same.

Leaving aside the movie, you know that when every time there is a flood in any where in the country, how people lose everything in the floods or even cyclone, that time people realise the importance of home insurance policy on their belongings in the house. The premium that you may pay every year, may be a small price to pay for the peace of mind of  knowing that you are safe to a certain extent against any untoward incidents. Incidentally, though most often called as home insurance, even people staying on rent can take out a home insurance policy on their belongings in a house.

2 About Coverage and Need- some of the inclusion which one must ensure are there in policy (as per your need) are damages from Aircraft, Fire, Lightning, Riot or strike, Storm & Cyclone, Floods, Missile testing operation, Burglary and theft, Gas cylinder explosion etc. You might ask why missile testing operations, yes there are certain areas in the country where residential areas are near missile testing range and in the event of failure the house could be damaged. Similarly damage from aircraft can happen any where in case of crash. The  movie mentioned earlier though was a parody on the insurance as well and hence, one must need to make sure to read the fine print and the terms and condition and the coverage aspects fully well, before signing. Every home insurance policy will also have specific inclusions, and you need to ask and know what these are, so that you are not under any false notion.

3 Tips for choosing Home Insurance Policy- There are many Insurance providers are offering home insurance policies now. Hence you can compare and select the best possible one as per your needs. Some regions are marked as earth quake prone or flood prone, and in such cases you may need to make sure to ask all the questions and doubts about the specific coverage. The home insurance policy which might have less yearly premium may not be always best, first priority should be that all the needs are covered.

You may check the Insurance company’s settlement ratio, its reviews and talk to few people to ensure that you are choosing right Provider. There are many sites like policybazaar.com that can provide you a lot of information on comparison in one place. Also, consider the reputation and the standing of Provider company.

You can reduce the insurance premium by choosing to share a % of repair burden, by not insuring very old and invaluable items in the house, and also choosing to install some safety covers like burglar alarm, or any other such safety equipment. In today’s scenario, it is better to take out home insurance policy so that the fear of losing a lifetime of investment of your home, goes away.

Awaiting your comments/views/feed backs.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

3^rd June 2020