Aapke Advisors

13/11/2015

Why buy Home Insurance?

Corporate Insurance Our home is probably the most expensive and most precious belonging which we have. We spend considerable amount of time and money planning to buy one and then making it into a "home". Also, it is usually a once in a life time option for most of us and surely we want to ensure that our asset if completely secure. We may not be able to afford a second home or even have the resources to rebuild our existing home in case of any loss.

That's where home insurance can be a very useful instrument to safeguard our belongings. Our home, its content and other risks associated with it can be made completely secure with a good home insurance policy. In case of any eventuality, we can be fully assured that the financial loss would be taken care of.

Home is where our heart is. So why not take good care of it? Get affordable home insurance quotes at MyInsuranceClub and get your abode insured at low costs!

Home Insurance?

Householders or homeowners insurance, commonly known as home insurance, is the type of property insurance that covers private homes and various contents in it against a variety of risks. This insurance policy combines various insurance protections such as losses arising due to damage to one's home and/ or its contents, loss of personal belongings or possessions of the homeowner and liability arising out of accidents that may happen at home. The policy document clearly lists down what will and what will not be paid in case of any unforeseen event.

The cost of home insurance usually depends on the cost one would incur to replace the house or its contents as covered under the policy and additional insured riders.

The coverage amount under the home insurance policy for the structure of the house is based on the reinstatement value. Very simply put, it would be the reconstruction cost of the house in the event of any loss and/ or damage arising due to any of the insured events like Fire, Storm, Riots, Flood, etc.

The policy is usually divided into various sections

Fire and Allied Perils like lightning, Acts of God, riot and strike, etc
Burglary and housebreaking including larceny and theft
All risks
Plate Glass
Breakdown of domestic appliances or any accidental loss to them
T.V. Sets, VCR, Audio system, Music Players, DVD players
Pedal Cycles
Baggage - either due to accident/ damage or while travelling
Accidental injury which causes death or total/ partial disablement
Public/ Third Party Liability
What is covered in a Home Insurance policy?

Broadly, the home insurance policy covers the building structure and contents, loss due to burglary/ theft, loss of jewellery or valuables, baggage loss, damage or loss of domestic and electrical appliances, damage to electronic equipments and other belongings like Pedal cycles, etc.
The policy generally covers the structure of your home and contents against

Fire, Lightning, Explosion/ Implosion
Riot Strike, Malicious and Terrorist Damages
Earthquake, Volcanic Eruption & other Convulsions of Nature
Storm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane, Tornado, Flood and Inundation
Bush fire
Aircraft damage and Missile testing operations
Impact damage by rail/ road vehicle and animal
Subsidence and Landslide including Rockslide
Bursting and overflowing of water tanks, apparatus, pipes
Leakage from automatic sprinklers installations
What are the Exclusions in a Home Insurance?

The usual exclusions are willful destruction of property, any loss or damage to any property that is illegally acquired, kept, stored which is subject to forfeiture, any loss or damage by the insured and/ or insured's domestic staff direct or indirect involvement in an attempted burglary, any loss caused by war, wear & tear, and/ or If the property was vacant for more than 30 days without prior notice to the company.
Any loss or damage suffered due to the following is treated as an exception and cannot be claimed:

Any loss or damage on account of loss of livestock, motor vehicles, pedal cycles, money, securities for money, stamp, bullion, deeds, bonds, bills of exchange, promissory notes, stock or share certificates, business books, manuscripts, documents of any kinds, unless specifically mentioned and valued.
Consumable articles.
Loose precious stones, jewellery or valuables, unless specifically mentioned and valued.
Therefore, yearly valuation plays a vital role in home insurance to ensure that claim becomes an easier process!

08/08/2015

Health Insurance
This is one insurance policy where only the most fortunate person will not make a claim during his life time. Most of us will, unfortunately, be required to be hospitalized some time or the other and will need a health insurance policy to take care of the hospitalization expenses.
Which one and what is the difference?
The most common policy is the Hospitalization expenses reimbursement policy or "mediclaim" policy as it is commonly known. This will reimburse "eligible" expenses incurred while hospitalized for treatment of any illness or disease or due to an accident. The policy normally does not cover expenses incurred outside the hospital even if they are quite high such as expenses for tests, doctor's visits while not hospitalized or medicines during that period unless it leads to hospitalization in 30-90 days or is a result of hospitalization in the prior 30-90 days. Expenses on elective treatments such as cosmetic surgery, obesity, etc. are also not covered. There is a long list of other permanent exclusions but in the interest of simplicity they are not being given here.

There are policies that pay a lump sum if you contract a serious illness/disease such as Cancer, stroke, organ failure, etc. This amount is payable when the condition is diagnosed and you survive a fixed period after the diagnosis. This type of policy is popularly called a "critical illness" policy and it is supposed to be used to create a corpus to generate income to replace the loss of income that normally occurs after such condition is diagnosed and fortunately you survive. Critical Illness Policies are in addition to and not a substitute for mediclaim policies.

There is a 3rd kind of policy which pays a fixed sum of money for every day spent in the hospital. This kind of policy is called daily cash allowance policy and is again a supplement to and not a replacement for a mediclaim policy

Another kind of policy pays a larger fixed lump amount if you have to incur any of the surgeries listed in the policy. This policy is suitable only for those people who are unable to get regular mediclaim policies and would like to at least get some protection against surgical costs.

Things to find out about mediclaim Policies
Renewability ?? Take policies that are renewable till your life time. After all if the policy does not get renewed beyond a certain age you will find it impossible to get a fresh policy on reaching that age. So go for policies that are renewable till lifetime.

Sub-limits - Ignore policies that have a room rent sub-limit as it can seriously impact the amount that you get paid for every hospitalization.

Disease specific amount Sub-limits - Be aware that most policies have specific sub-limits for treatments such as cataract, knee or hip replacement etc.

Specific Expenses Sub-limits - Apart from room rent sub-limit covered above (avoid policies that have room rent sub limit) and please be aware that some policies also have expense sub-limits on items such as medicines and doctors?? fees.

Waiting periods - Be aware that most mediclaim policies will not pay hospitalization expenses for any pre-existing disease for a period of between 1-4 years. The exclusion will also apply for any hospitalization due to a disease that was a consequence of the pre-existing disease.

Co-payments - Be aware that the policy can require you to pay a portion of the ??eligible?? expenditure from your side. This is called co-payment in insurance parlance. The co-payment is normally conditional such as after reaching a certain age or for hospitalization expenses incurred for a pre-existing disease or for hospitalisation expenses incurred outside the preferred network of the insurance company.

Type of rooms - Also there are some policies will restrict the type of room (normally twin sharing room) that you can get yourself admitted to for the purpose of getting treatment. If you choose a higher category room there could probably be a co-payment imposed or the expenses would be reimbursed based on what you would have incurred if you had stayed in a twin sharing room. The second type of conditions can seriously curtail the amount of claim that you can make and you should avoid policies that have such conditions.

Which Zone can I be treated in?
Some policies will restrict the geographical parts of India that you can be treated in. If you choose to get treated in another part of India that has a higher premium there is normally a co-payment that is imposed.

02/04/2015

Ask for a "restore benefit" in your health insurance. The full sum insured gets restored if you consume the complete sum allocated within the year. Its worth!!!

28/02/2015

Government raises tax exemption for health insurance under section 80D from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 and Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 for senior citizens.

25/02/2015

A whooping 10 lakh personal accidental cover for only Rs 1000 / year*....
Contact us for details

24/02/2015

We offer best rates for your Car with special discounts.
Contact us before getting your car insurance renewed.

24/02/2015

Term Insurance cover of Rs 1 crore starting from Rs 12,700/year*....Contact us for details.

05/02/2015