Home & Property Insurance
A house is usually the largest thing a family owns and the least likely to be insured. Home insurance is inexpensive precisely because serious claims are rare — but when one happens, it is the difference between an inconvenience and a disaster.
Placed by Naveen Kumar Pandey, IRDAI-licensed insurance agentNo consultation fee
What this actually is
There are two halves. Structure cover insures the building itself — walls, roof, fittings — usually on a reinstatement basis, meaning the cost of rebuilding rather than the market value of the property. Land value is not insured, because land does not burn.
Contents cover insures what is inside: furniture, appliances, electronics and clothing. If you rent, contents cover is the half that concerns you; the structure is your landlord's responsibility.
Standard perils include fire, lightning, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake and impact damage, with burglary and theft usually available as an added section. High-value items such as jewellery generally need to be declared and specifically covered.
Many insurers offer long-term policies covering several years at once, which is both cheaper and removes the risk of forgetting to renew.
Key facts
- Our appointment
- Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, agency code BAG10104147
- Structure sum insured
- Based on rebuilding cost, not market value. Land is not insured
- Contents
- Furniture, appliances, electronics and personal effects
- Typical perils
- Fire, lightning, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, impact; burglary usually as an added section
- For tenants
- Contents-only cover is available and is what you need
- Policy term
- Annual or multi-year
This suits you if
- Homeowners, especially with a home loan outstanding
- Tenants, who need contents cover even though the structure is not theirs
- Families in flood-prone or earthquake-prone areas
- Anyone keeping significant jewellery or electronics at home
How it works, step by step
Value the structure by rebuild cost
Built-up area multiplied by a construction rate — not the market price of the flat, which includes land.
List the contents honestly
A rough inventory with values. Under-insuring here means a proportionate cut in any claim.
Declare valuables separately
Jewellery and high-value electronics usually need to be specified, sometimes with a valuation.
Pick the perils and the term
Standard perils, burglary, and any add-ons. A multi-year policy is often cheaper and cannot lapse by accident.
At claim time
Inform the insurer immediately, file a police complaint for theft, and photograph the damage before clearing up.
What can go wrong
Every product has a downside. Here is this one's, in plain language, before you decide anything.
- Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. Read the policy wording before concluding a sale.
- Under-insurance triggers the average clause: insure for half the correct value and a claim can be cut proportionately.
- Wear and tear, gradual deterioration and poor maintenance are not covered. This is for sudden, accidental events.
- Jewellery and other valuables usually need to be specifically declared, and a bank locker may be required for the highest values.
- Cover for tenants applies to contents, not to the landlord's structure.
- Some perils may be excluded or sub-limited in specific locations. Read the schedule.
Questions people ask us about this
How do I decide the sum insured for the structure?
By what it would cost to rebuild — built-up area times a construction rate for your city — not by what the flat would sell for. Market price includes land value, and land cannot be destroyed.
I rent. Is home insurance pointless for me?
No. The structure is your landlord's concern, but everything inside it is yours. A contents-only policy is inexpensive and covers your furniture, appliances and electronics against fire, theft and flood.
Is jewellery covered automatically?
Usually not beyond a small limit. Valuables generally have to be declared specifically, sometimes with a valuation certificate, and the insurer may require them to be kept in a bank locker above a threshold.
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Still deciding?
Ask us anything about this product — including how we are paid on it. We will answer straight.