Does Home Insurance Cover Natural Disasters?

Posted on: Feb 18, 2019 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

Does Home Insurance Cover Natural Disasters?

Your home insurance is quite unique, and in understanding those nuances lies an immense importance when seeking coverage for natural disasters. Many homeowners ask the question, "Does home insurance cover natural disasters?" Plenty of differences exist depending mainly on the policy type and the type of disaster. Basic home insurance would protect only certain perils, such as fire and theft, but may deny coverage for natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, or hurricanes. This blog will serve to enlighten the different things home insurance will normally cover, the exclusions worth knowing, and how to make sure that your home is well protected against natural disasters.

How does a Home insurance policy protect your property during a calamity?

Home insurance serves as a safety net for homeowners. The insurance may provide financial protection for your property during calamities. Understanding what it covers and how it works is important to help you in making relevant decisions about your coverage.

1. Structure Coverage Damage Against Disaster

A good home insurance policy would insure you for damage repair costs or rebuild a home after any disaster, covering fire charges and severe storm charges. Damage is tied to the structure itself, so that you would be able to rebuild the property in the original condition even after a calamity strikes.

2. Personal Property Coverage

The homeowners' insurance policy also covers personal belongings found inside the house, furniture, including electronics and clothing. If a disaster happens and the mentioned items are destroyed or stolen, your insurance will be able to reimburse you for the loss, making it easier to purchase what is needed without having to spend much out of your resources.

3. Liability Coverage

Another major point of home insurance would be liability coverage. Injuries that occur within your property during a calamity will mean that home insurance will have to take on legal fees and medical expenses. This protection is essential to safeguard financial interests if claims or lawsuits arise.

4. Coverage Limits on Natural Disasters

Furthermore, it is also important to understand that natural disasters don't simply fall within the confines of home insurance coverage, as some people might expect. Fire and vandalism, for instance, are part of the coverage under most home insurance policies, but floods and earthquakes do not normally make the coverage list. Homeowners who live in such risky areas will have to acquire additional coverage or specialised policies to ensure complete protection.

In this way, you will be best placed to determine and put in place any required additional coverage that will fully cover your home against all possible disasters. Always ask. Does home insurance cover natural disasters? To know what you specifically need to have for your peace of mind.

Plans that cover natural disasters & coverage details

It is important to choose a plan that provides protection against possible natural disasters in your location. If you live in an earthquake-prone area, you have to ensure that earthquake cover is explicitly listed in the policy coverage since some insurance companies do not offer cover against earthquakes by default.

HDFC ERGO offers two options for you to choose from when it comes to protecting your home from all possible natural disasters:

Standard Fire & Special Perils Policy:

This standard fire & special perils policy covers risks against fire, flood, earthquake, lightning, explosion, inundation, storm, riot and strike. Terrorism is optionally covered for a nominal premium. This policy covers damage to both the structure and contents of your home.

To protect your cherished homes from natural disasters, this policy will do the trick. However, it does not cover losses or damages due to theft, burglary or larceny. That can be covered under a Comprehensive home insurance plan.

Comprehensive Home Insurance Plan:

This policy covers risks posed by natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, lightning, inundation, and storms in addition to Fire, riots, strikes, etc. In addition, it also provides a comprehensive solution for all risks arising out of burglary, larceny and theft. This policy also covers damages to both the structure and content of your home.

Please note that damages due to wilful negligence/misconduct, pollution, contamination, wear and tear and nuclear perils will not be covered.

Why insure your home against natural disasters?

It is a common misconception that natural disasters are rare. People, when looking at news of such incidents, tend to think, “That’s horrible! Thank God we are safe”, and soon after, forget that it could have been their house, neighbourhood or city. So, it becomes easy for people to dismiss the risk and not get home insurance for natural disasters.

In the event of not having home insurance cover for natural disasters, you run the risk of raking up lakhs together in property damage during floods, earthquakes, storms and lightning strikes. People without home insurance have ended up losing everything they have during such events, forcing them to go through the hard task of rebuilding their lives. So, it is a wise thing to purchase home insurance that protects them from losses from a natural disaster, so that the insurance company will reimburse the losses and damages incurred during such events.

5 Tips To Keep Yourself Safe During A Natural Calamity

Natural disasters will hit anytime during the day without warning, so in this sense, it is necessary to be prepared and aware. Here are five ways to ensure your own safety in the case of any of these disasters:

1. Develop an Emergency Plan

Have a clear evacuation plan that incorporates exit routes, meeting points, and a form of communication with family members. Everyone should know the plan, and practice should be conducted regularly.

2. Keep Yourself Updated

Watch for alerts and warnings from local news and weather sources. Use an emergency weather channel or the NOAA Weather Radio or local news to provide you with up-to-date facts on coming disasters.

3. Prepare an Emergency Kit

Start gathering an emergency kit filled with necessary supplies for the home, such as water, non-perishable food, medications, flashlights, batteries, and first aid items, in an easily accessible place.

4. Secure Your Home

Take precautions in your home against possible hazards by securing heavy furniture, windows, and doors. Storm shutters or sandbags in Apple flood zones should be taken into account.

5. Understand Your Insurance Coverage

Know what kind of natural disasters your home insurance policy covers. Added insurance should be taken into consideration if you live in an area with an increased risk of floods or earthquakes.

All of these points will help keep you safe and well-prepared in case of natural disasters.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important to know about home insurance policies concerning the protection of property against natural calamities. While standard home insurance may cover some disasters, it does not cover others, such as floods and earthquakes. Always remember to ask, "Does home insurance cover natural disasters?" so that you know you have the right coverage in place to protect your home and your peace of mind in times of emergency.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

How to ensure your house is safe from man made & natural calamities?

International Day for Disaster Reduction: Protect Your Assets from Natural Disasters

Good Practices in Disaster Risk Reduction for Homeowner

Tips to handle a disaster at home

Flood & Earthquake Household Safety Tips