For many people, their house is one of the most significant investments and assets that they will obtain in their lifetime. Given its considerable value, it is therefore only sensible to protect it from potential damage – such as fires, break-ins, and other natural disasters – with a comprehensive householder or houseowner insurance.

Of course, some people may brush away the need for such insurance plans. A couple of excuses commonly used include a proper home protection plan being unnecessary (“Disasters don’t happen to everyone, it’s too much to get one just in case!”) and the substantial cost of purchasing one (“I have many other obligations, why should I pay a fortune on an insurance that I’ll probably never need?”). Some will also claim that the process is a hassle that is just not worth the trouble.

But are these excuses truly good reasons for you to opt out from purchasing a proper householder or houseowner insurance plan? Read on to find out why such policies are crucial to all homeowners.

Why should you invest in a householder or houseowner policy?

To begin, all homeowners should know that there are three types of home protection plans: basic fire policy, houseowner policy, and householder policy. But what makes houseowner and householder policies better options compared to basic fire policies – and why should you, as a homeowner, opt for them?

1) Comprehensive protection from various damages to the house

As you can expect, each of the three policies offers different levels of protection at corresponding costs. Basic fire policies – being the most rudimentary – cover only the value of the building due to damages caused by fire, lightning, or domestic explosions. This is the most common form of home insurance owned by most house owners as banks typically make it a requirement for the approval of home loan applications.

Houseowner and householder policies, on the other hand, provide more comprehensive coverage compared to basic fire policies, inclusive of household contents as well as personal effects inside your house. They cover damages to the physical structure and fixtures of your property (such as overflowing water tanks, bursting pipes, and impact from road vehicles or animals), theft and break-ins, as well as natural disasters – including floods. Some may even offer protection for damages to mirrors (other than hand mirrors) as well.

It should also be noted that since houseowner and householder policies require you to add an approximate value of the contents of your house, the payout will also include this amount in addition to the value of the property. That means your high-value home appliances such as your TV, oven, washing machine, and even furniture in your home is protected. Plus, this also includes valuables such as jewellery as well – so a good tip is to always enter the most accurate value of your house contents to ensure your home is sufficiently protected.

So as you can see, houseowner and householder policies both tick off a lot more boxes beyond just severe misfortunes, thus offering more comprehensive protection. Should anything unfortunate happen to your property, you can then be less worried about being financially burdened in (literally) rebuilding your home as well as having to furnish it again.

2) Protection beyond damages to the house

Aside from physical damages to the property, houseowner and householder policies also carry an advantage over basic fire policies by offering coverage for selected non-physical losses. For instance, you may be able to claim for loss of rent (up to a specified percentage of your total sum insured) in the event the property that you rent out to a tenant becomes uninhabitable, and you suffer a loss in rental income.

Houseowner and householder policies also typically cover liability to third parties for accidents in your house. This means that you will be protected from liability claims should a guest gets injured within your home compound and demands that you cover medical bills for him or her. You can also use the amount obtained from your claims to cover other relevant costs, such as legal fees if the situation ever escalates to the point of lawsuits.

Moreover, a householder policy may also come with compensation for death of the insured individual (due to specified reasons), as well as coverage for the properties of your domestic helpers. With this, you can be sure that you have insured your home as carefully as possible.

3) Peace of mind

If nothing else, getting yourself a houseowner and householder policy will offer you some peace of mind because now you know that you will be financially protected against various unfortunate incidences. Of course, it is everyone’s wish that no harm will ever befall their home, and that they will never need to tap into their home insurance policies – but if misfortunes do happen, then your houseowner and householder policy will be something you’ll be glad to have. The claims paid out will offer some form of financial support after such incidences, which means you can then focus on rebuilding your home.

***

With so many houseowner and householder policies out in the market, one such plan that you can consider looking at is Etiqa General Insurance Bhd’s Houseowner and Householder (HOHH) Insurance, which offers thousands of ringgit worth of coverage from just RM6.40 per month! It includes coverage to the various situations that we have mentioned above, on top of insuring your personal belongings and valuables – such as jewelleries, TV sets, and furniture – so that replacing them will be less demanding on your wallet. Additionally, there is also coverage for theft by actual forcible and violent entry, and reimbursement for loss of rent up to 10% of your total sum insured – among other things.

Of course, if you feel that you’re in need of additional protection, the Etiqa HOHH Insurance also offers several add-on packages that you can purchase by adding on to your premium. For instance, you can opt to increase the limit for loss of rent, and also obtain extra coverage for theft without actual forcible and violent break-ins. You can also purchase an add-on to protect your home from riot, strike, and other malicious damages.

On top of that, Etiqa acknowledges its customers’ concerns about a tedious claims process, which is why it has rolled out E-Cleva, a video-assisted claims system that lets you get compensated for minor home damages in minutes instead of days. This value-added service uses video-assisted calls to quickly assess selected structural damages to your home so that you can skip the hassle of setting appointments for adjusters and going through red tapes, thereby accelerating the process.

If you would like to check out Etiqa’s HOHH Insurance policy, head on over to its website here. You can easily generate a quote and purchase a policy within minutes, and as an added bonus, Etiqa is offering an additional 15% discount if you buy the plan online.

• TAGS:
• Etiqa General Insurance Bhd
• Etiqa Houseowner And Householder Insurance
• Home Insurance
• Houseowner And Householder Insurance
• Longform