Top 7 Tips for Choosing Home Insurance

Your home is without a doubt your most valuable investment. What if there’s a natural calamity or a fire break out in your house, and your house is ruined?! Disasters can strike uninformed and that’s exactly why protecting your house with home insurance is very important.

A standard home insurance policy covers your home and its belongings, and also any third-party liability. Buying home insurance isn’t required by law, but safeguarding your biggest investment is an absolute must in case there happens to be a mischance.

Here are the top 7 tips that can be of great use when you are choosing home insurance -

1. Understanding insurance

While it may sound surprising, but most people have no understanding of home insurance. In order to choose the right policy, you need to understand the policy and its coverage. Only when you understand this will you be in a position to assess your requirements and negotiate for better terms.

2. Assess your needs

If you’re buying insurance, make sure you know what your requirements are before you start shopping around. You can gather information online, or speak with an agent at one or more insurance companies to get an idea of the cover you will require. However, due diligence is an important part of buying insurance.

3. Shop around

After you’ve had an understanding of your requirements, you need to start shopping around for the best cover. Start with looking for reputed insurance providers, and then make a list of policies that meet your requirements. Next, compare the policies on the basis of the cover, limits, deductibles, exclusions and the price.

A comprehensive insurance policy that you can explore is IFFCO-Tokio’s Home Suvidha Policy which you can buy online. This Home Suvidha Policy online offers extensive protection against natural perils, fire and allied threats (for building and contents), personal accidents and electronic equipment like television and computer.

4. The financial strength of insurer

Another important thing to consider is the insurer’s financial strength. If the insurer hits a financial problem, then your claims might suffer. So, make sure to research on the financial background of the insurer to ensure that your insurance claim settlement is smooth and hassle-free.

5. Check claim history

Don’t forget to check the claims history of the insurer before making the home insurance purchase. The claim settlement ratio of a company will give you a clear view of how many claims the company has settled vis-à-vis the number of claims it has received in a year.

6. Fill your application correctly

Answer all the questions accurately. You will be asked about the different features of your home. Do note that the guessing game doesn’t work here; answering correctly will ensure that you get the right policy as per your needs. Giving inaccurate information can lead to your claims getting turned down.

7. Choose riders to extend policy cover

In case you feel that the insurance cover isn’t enough for you, you can shop for riders. Riders are add-ons to a standard insurance policy that help increase the coverage but comes at an additional cost. For instance, the jewelry items rider can be added to cover the precious jewelry items that you keep at home.

If you are buying a house, understanding how home insurance works and how you should choose a policy for your home is particularly important. Doing your homework will not only make the process of buying home insurance smooth but will also help you get the right amount of home insurance at an affordable premium.

 

**To understand exactly about the policy coverage, exclusions, etc. read the Policy Wordings carefully.**