Home Insurance for an Apartment Flat in India

Any standard home insurance policy will protect the structure of your house and its contents from perils such as fire, flood and earthquake. The terms are therefore straight if the house is on your own land. However, if you own an apartment, which is equally exposed to the dangers of getting partially damaged or completely razed by a natural or man-made calamity, it may raise some queries in your mind considering that your apartment is just one part of the complete building. Let us find more.

How it works?

In case of loss due to risks listed in the insurance policy document, the insurer will pay on the basis of the house's reconstruction cost. The reinstatement value (the price needed to reinstate the house back to its original condition before the calamity) is calculated on the basis of the built-up area and the construction cost, generally fixed by the insurance company. 

How to calculate the Sum Assured Needed?

You just have to estimate the cost of rebuilding the apartment 'which should be the sum insured' and the insurance company will pay accordingly in case of loss. The insurance plan for an apartment has the same underwriting principles and sets of inclusions and exclusions as a policy for an independent house, irrespective of the floor on which the flat is. There are no additional features either. The insurance is done considering the built-up area and the cost of reconstruction. If you feel the society's insurance is inadequate, buy an individual policy as a top-up cover.

Who does the group insurance?

Usually, housing societies get the structure of the building insured. This means you have to insure only the contents of the house such as jewelry, electronics and furniture. If the society hasn't insured the building, you can buy a cover individually as well.

In such a case, each flat owner gets a separate insurance cover. An insurance contract is concluded based on declaration by a proposer wherein occupancy is also declared. So, if your declared occupancy has not changed, for example from residence to a shop, the policy will continue and the claim will not be affected even if your neighbor has breached the contract.

What about an "Under Construction" Apartment

You cannot buy a cover for an individual apartment in the course of its construction since it is part of the entire building structure. While a building is under construction, it should ideally be covered under a project insurance policy taken by the builder.

This would be in place until the construction is completed as per the approved plan. After the completion of the project, either individual flat owners or all of them together, as a society, can buy the insurance cover.

In case it is a private bungalow or an independent house which the customer himself or a builder is constructing, then the owner can take a cover for the same and change it to a regular home insurance cover  after the completion of construction.

If neighbor violates policy terms in a group policy

An insurer can reject your claim if any commercial activity is being carried out from your house. But if the flat is covered under a common policy taken by the society as a whole and your neighbor violates the policy terms, then usually it does not lead to rejection of your claim. Such activity by a neighbor will not affect the claim as long as the flat owner doesn't breach the contract himself.

What about common areas of the building?

The only difference between buying a cover for an independent house and an apartment relates to common areas such as compound walls, staircase, etc.

The whole apartment, including the common area, can be insured only by the residents' association on behalf of all flat owners. In such a case, a copy of the policy is given to each flat owner with details of the sum insured for individual flats. If an owner feels the sum is insufficient, it can be increased through the association only.

Will the claim settlement be with society or individual owner?

If a single flat in a building has been insured the cost of reconstruction of the flat is payable, to the flat owner, but up to the sum insured. Even if the proposer was the association, there is a provision to settle the claim with individual flat owners, to the extent of damage to the flat, provided the association gives a no-objection certificate. However, if the association takes up reconstruction, the amount will be paid to the association only.

Tenure of the cover

You can either go for an annual cover or choose a multi-year policy. While the annual policy will give you the option to revisit the sum insured's adequacy every year, a long-term policy offers discounts which can be as high as 50%, depending on the tenure.

[Source: http://elevate-your-life.blogspot.in/2013/06/home-insurance-for-apartment-flat-in.html

Cheap Home Insurance - Your Location Is Costing You

There are many points that will always make it easy you aren't to get cheap property insurance. Location is at least one and we'll observe it ascertains how cheap the house insurance premiums are. We'll likewise see learn to get cheap rates on account of, or even though, our household location. You'll pay more pricey rates when you get your dream house in some sort of neighborhood that's only some sort of volunteer flame service in preference to a full-time flame service.

Also, how close your property insurance is to some sort of fire section or hydrant will probably affect ones homeowner’s insurance policies premium. But if your house is usually nearer to help such establishments; you'll fork out cheaper home insurance costs. You will work well also to get your home seeing that close as is possible to some sort of police section. These likewise will assistance in lowering the house insurance advanced. Buy the house as miles away from problem areas as you're able.

Insurers view homes such neighborhoods seeing that bad pitfalls and better rates are classified as the unavoidable end result. And, despite the fact that think some sort of neighborhood is usually a crime-free spot, do you’re foremost to check. You can buy out by means of inquiring by a broker or having a quotes web page. A house may very well be on these borders connected with crime zones and as a consequence result with nearby avenues being collected to unique districts regarding crime pace.

This is critical in spite to the fact that it's definitely not usually component of a householder’s policy. Homes with flood-prone locations will not be regarded to be properly insured with not a flood insurance cover and it indicates around $500 each year. Every mortgagor will need that you've got flood insurance policies if your property is in some sort of flood-prone location. Apart from when you really imagine such more spend is usually a wise skimp on, you'll expend less when you buy your dream house in a space that won't require flood insurance policies.

One sure strategy to guarantee low cost home insurance policies is when you get in addition to comparing prices from as much as five insurance policies sites. You can certainly save some hundred dollars or more depending with your profile along with factors.

[ Source: http://freeinsurancecompanies.blogspot.in/2013/01/cheap-home-insurance-your-location-is.html]

Understanding Rental Property Insurance

Online Home Insurance versus Direct Selling

Living in the age of globalization and modernization one does not take it as a surprise that everything is possible online or on the net. Nowadays one is completely aware how online purchases are made and how to get the best deal online. Thus purchasing a home insurance online is not a big deal. Thus online purchase has become a very convenient and successful means of purchase nowadays. Howsoever, it may often appear much more easy and convenient to hire an insurance agent and purchase the home insurance rather than going online to make such a purchase. Thus it is a frequently raised question as to why make an online home insurance purchase.

The answer to this question is very simple. The very first quote that one receives for any of the form of home insurance policy need not be the best and the demand fulfilling one. Just as one would not purchase a house without looking at the complete scenario and the surroundings first, one must the matter of home insurance in same manner.

One must inquire about the insurance from the company properly and in full details. Most of the mortgage lenders the people who provide loan on security use home insurance policy as a very attractive add on out of which they very often make significant profits and thus earn a lot. So one must be very clear as to what is being offered to them by the insurance company and what the present prevailing market trends are so that people do not make a fool out of them.

Thus is when online insurance shopping comes into play. Most of the agents or the insurance providers provide their most cheap and affordable deals which attract the customers than those compared to the deals provided online. This is so because the insurance agents save a great deal of money on the overheads which can be either call centers & paperwork & thus they may pass their savings on such overheads to the customers appearing as best deals in the market. This is the reason as to why one would consistently see the insurance companies’ websites which offer many online purchasing discounts.

Howsoever, it is not just a mere fact that a few home insurance agents are much cheaper who make the purchase of online insurance policy much cheaper and attractive. One more benefit is the capability to evaluate the various home insurance policies.

[Source: http://homeinsurancemorgages.blogspot.in/2013/05/online-home-insurance-versus-direct.html]