Why take out home insurance?

 

How to explain the importance of having home insurance? Come on... in the middle of a storm lightning strikes your patio and destroys a fence. You go to sleep, you forget to turn off a candle and hours later you are awakened by the smell of smoke that fills your apartment. They celebrate grandmother's birthday with a family gathering when a sudden noise surprises them all: a car has just hit the door of your house.  

We are exposed to these and many other situations every day, even when we believe that this can only happen to others. Can you imagine how difficult it can be to face a mishap like these mishaps without being prepared for it?  

But… let's take a step back: is it really possible to prepare for something like this? Of course! 

What does home insurance protect you from? 

Let's start at the beginning: any affectation caused by phenomena such as floods, fires, earthquakes or lightning strikes can be covered by home insurance. 

Are only damages to the structure of the property covered? No! The insurance also protects furniture, electrical appliances and even clothing that is stored in closets and is damaged after any incident.

That sounds great, but what if my computer breaks down, not because of a fire or some other kind of weather phenomenon, but because of a voltage problem at home, or just because I accidentally spilled a soda on it? Do not worry, also in this case you can compensate the damage with your insurance.   

In other words, a home insurance can protect not only your property, but everything that is inside it, and even more: what is together, that is, those damages that you or someone who lives in your house can cause in the apartment or house next door, as in the case of a water leak that affects the neighbor's property or a glass broken accidentally by a ball that your child has kicked.

A house policy is divided into several items, such as property damage, theft, civil liability and assistance services. Here we can see some details about it. 

against theft

• This type of policy can cover not only the theft of the belongings you have on your property, but also what you lose if you are the victim of an assault on public roads. 

civil liability

• When renting a property, it is your responsibility to repair any damage it suffers. Having home insurance can absolve you from absorbing the costs. 
• If you use non-motorized means of transport, such as a bicycle, and you end up causing damage to third parties or your assets, the policy will enter into force to free you from that disbursement.
• Insuring your home protects you from damages that you may cause while staying in a hotel or in another property, whether you are there as a tenant or you own it.
• Home insurance covers in its coverage, not only family members who live in the property, but also domestic workers and any other person who has entered to carry out maintenance activities.  
• It can also cover damage caused by your pet, either to third parties or something that is your property, regardless of whether it is inside or outside the insured home.
• If you have children living at home who are financially dependent on you, the policy may cover them even while traveling abroad.
• Did you take a dress to the dry cleaner or tailor and it caused irreparable damage or was not returned to you for whatever reason? Your home insurance could make the payment effective for its value. 

You can also read: Numeralia: Condusef and the ranking of insurers

And as if that were not enough assistance services

Some insurers include in this policy assistance services that can be very useful to get out of a domestic situation. Plumbing, locksmithing, electrical problems, as well as telephone advice on medical, legal or funeral matters and even advice for caring for your pet or solving a problem with your computer are just some of the options you can find. 

As you could see lines above, this policy can offer you protection far beyond your property, and covering situations that perhaps you did not even imagine could be contemplated within the coverage. 

To know what the cost of a policy for your home would be, you must first be clear about how much your house costs without including the value of the land.