Planning to buy a home insurance policy, but don’t know where to start? Do you need to insure the physical premises of your home, or simply the contents, or both? How about your personal belongings?

Here are the three types of home insurance covers offered by insurers in the UAE. Keep reading to find out which ones are right for you.

Building Insurance

If you own a property in the UAE, you need to have it insured. Your home, inclusive of the indoors, garage, backyard, terrace, gates and fences, is at risk of damage due to perils like fire, earthquake, water damage, vandalism and so on. Therefore, you need to have adequate insurance to protect your home from such incidents.

In fact, if you go to apply for a home loan, you will most likely be offered home insurance covers for this purpose, along with the loan. The annual premium will be quoted as a percentage of the value of your property, and usually ranges from 0.03-0.05 percent of the property’s original value.

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Under this insurance, you will be compensated for loss of rent or the cost of securing alternative accommodation if your home is made uninhabitable due to damage sustained by it.

As the owner of the property, you could also be held legally liable for loss of or damage to third-party property or accidental injury to any person. The insurance will cover the legal fees and other expenses in such cases.

The insurer will not cover damages resulting due to regular wear and tear, so make sure you maintain the property well to avoid paying through the nose for damages caused due to poor upkeep.

Traveling abroad? Bear in mind that this cover ceases to exist if the house is left unoccupied for more than 45-60 days, as specified in the insurance policy.

Who is this cover for?

This cover is a must-have for property owners, both end users and landlords.

[Related: Why tenants shouldn’t skip home insurance]

Contents Insurance

What makes a property a home? What we put in it, of course. The contents of your home can include furniture, furnishings, appliances, items of decoration and other household items. And these items are at risk of loss or damage in the event of a fire, flood, earthquake, theft etc. So, while building insurance covers the property, home contents insurance covers the items within it.

Some insurance policies may also cover contents that have been temporarily removed from the premises for repairs, cleaning and such. In case your house keys are stolen, the insurer will also compensate you for replacement of locks under this insurance.

Who is this cover for?

This cover is a must-have for owner-end users and tenants, both.

 

Personal Belongings Insurance

We all own various valuables that we carry outside our homes on a regular basis. These could range from cash, credit cards and clothing, to mobile phones, laptops, jewelry and so on. So, if these are outside the home, are they covered by home insurance?

Yes, there is a specific, albeit optional, cover to protect such items. With this optional cover, the insurer compensates you in the event of accidental loss of or damage to your personal effects and valuables.

Various insurers offer this is an optional cover that you can choose at the time of buying a regular home insurance policy. Many others offer it as a built-in feature of their all-inclusive home insurance plans.

Keep in mind that this cover is usually subject to a geographical limit, as well as a limit on the maximum number of days the covered items were outside the house.

There is also a limit on the maximum value per item covered. For example, the insurance company may only provide coverage for individual items under AED 5,000 in value. You may have to declare such valuables at the outset and buy additional or separate insurance for them.

Who is this cover for?

This is an optional cover meant for owner-end users and tenants, both.