Have you ever wondered why purchasing a house is such a popular investment across the world? In India especially, purchasing a house is the tell-tale sign that you have arrived! It automatically enhances your social reputation and perception among your peers.
Buying a home is considered a more important investment than say purchasing a car because in case of the latter, like many other commodities, the value depreciates over time. But a house, on the other hand, only increases in its value.
Therefore, if you have already accomplished the milestone achievement of purchasing a home for yourself, its protection from any adverse circumstances should be paramount to you. In today’s times, accidents have become more frequent than ever. Burglaries, fires, and other sorts of incidents have become ubiquitous in city life.
A Home insurance policy safeguards you and your family against any such untoward accident by ensuring the reimbursement of all the damages accrued under such circumstances. However, taking a policy is easier said than done. While people buy these policies, not all of them are familiar with the intricacies of the policy.
Firstly let us understand the scope of home insurance coverage. Roughly, these are the accidents that are covered under a home insurance policy:
- Natural calamities like floods, earthquake, fire
- Damages caused due to man-made disasters
- Burglary, theft
- Loss of jewellery and other valuables
- Damage to household items like furniture, kitchen appliances etc. that have been insured under the home content coverage
To be able to utilize the benefits offered by a home insurance policy, you first need to understand your policy thoroughly. If you are not aware of what damages are covered and not covered by your policy, you would be completely lost if an unfortunate accident took place and you found out your policy doesn’t cover it. For instance, there are many home insurance policies that only cover certain kinds of damages, excluding the others. In such a case, filing a claim for damage that’s already outside the purview of your insurance policy is futile.
Therefore, you need to be well-versed with your home insurance policy, what it entails, how the claims are processed etc. You should be well aware of the conditions and warranties of your policy, which tell you the do’s and don’ts.
Understanding how home insurance claims work is crucial so that you do not have to face any hassles if the need comes. So, here is a general outline of how home insurance claims are processed.
Things you would need to do:-
Step 1:
In case of an accident, getting yourself and your house back to normality is as important to your insurer as it is to you. Going through an accident involving your abode can be traumatic to you, depending on the extent of damage caused.
However, you need to keep calm and collect all possible evidence such as pictures of the damage caused to your house, to be able to claim it.
Step 2:
Next, inform the insurer about the accident and the extent of damage as soon as possible. You can do this either by calling their helpline numbers or through an email. Today, digitization has facilitated and enhanced the speed of claim settlements by insurance companies. For instance, Bajaj Allianz home insurance policy available on Bajaj Markets, offers instantaneous claim registration and document uploading. In addition to that, they also regularly monitor claim status by providing customers with an online claim portal which is easy-to-understand and hassle-free.
Step 3:
Keep basic essentials like your policy details, papers of the house, address proof etc. handy. Next begin filling out a claim. The forms must be fully and correctly filled out and should have all the required signatures, from the insurer and their legal representatives.
The more documents available to support your claim, describe the nature of the accident, extent of the damage caused, the better. These documents would include repair bills, accident report (for instance the fire brigade’s report in case of a house fire), FIR, etc. as relevant on a case to case basis. Keep all the bills and receipts of services that you required in fixing the damages intact. You will be required to produce these while filing your home insurance claims.
Apart from these, the insurer might ask you to produce additional documents to support your claim. So, make sure you have all that’s required.
As a thumb rule, just remember that in case of damages caused by natural calamities like flood, fire or theft, you immediately are required to report the accident to the relevant authorities.
How are claims processed?
- To validate the claims made for damages, the insurer will most likely designate a surveyor to visit the house and assess the damage first hand.
- The surveyor, upon his visit to the accident site, will prepare a comprehensive survey report
- The detailed survey report is generated only after all the required documents are duly submitted by you and the site inspection has been carried out by the surveyor
- The insurer will then verify all the documents, reports and then inform you about the final amount to be reimbursed
- After you receive the payment in your bank account, the claim will be marked as closed.
Some quick tips to keep in mind
- Make sure that you study the completed forms before sending them out to avoid any erroneous entries
- Go through your policy documents thoroughly before proceeding with a claim.
- Always keep two copies of all documents. Keep one copy of all documents submitted for your own reference
Successfully claiming your home insurance policy will not be daunting if you understand the procedure and are confident about the warranties and conditions that your insurance policy entails. Home insurance policy can be of great help during times of crisis by safeguarding you against mounting expenses in case of an untoward accident. So, if you haven’t yet applied for an insurance policy for your house, don’t fret. On Bajaj Markets, you can avail a variety of policies that assure you protection against a range of adversities. So, apply for a home insurance policy today and protect your home from any untoward accident.
