Get protection against nature's fury

The country is witnessing disasters such as cyclones, floods, and landslides. On one hand, pictures of devastation have come up in Gujarat, Himachal, and Uttarakhand, while on the other hand, many districts of western UP are struggling with dangerous levels of floods due to the rise in water levels of the Yamuna and Hindon rivers.

According to SBI Ecowrap’s report, this year there is an estimate of an economic loss worth of 15,000 crore rupees due to floods in the country. According to a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), India is among the most dangerous countries as far as flood devastation is concerned. One-eighth of India’s total land area always faces risk of floods. 39 crore people in the country lives in flood-prone areas.

If you also live in any of the dangerous zones of the country, then for protection from risk, you should definitely insure your home and valuables kept inside. All general insurance companies are selling insurance to cover losses from natural disasters. This insurance can be taken in two ways. The first is a standard insurance policy and the second is a comprehensive insurance plan. The standard policy includes cover for damage to the structure of the house and electrical and water fittings. For example, United India’s Standard Bharat Griha Raksha Policy provides cover for up to 20 percent of the insured amount for household items. This cover can be up to a maximum of 10 lakh rupees. On the other hand, in a comprehensive policy, you can add riders to increase your insurance cover.

Know the features of such five natural disaster insurance policies that can compensate for the loss inflicted due to damage done to your home and valuables

Suppose your house is worth 40 lakh rupees and the property is less than five years old. It has jewelry, electronic products, and other valuable items worth 10 lakh rupees. How much premium will have to be paid for an insurance cover of 50 lakh rupees? How can you further increase the insurance cover ? Let’s find out –

United India Bharat Griha Raksha
All general insurance companies are selling standard insurance policies under the name of Bharat Griha Raksha for covering risk against natural disasters. A policy is taken for 10 years on a single premium. For United India’s General Insurance Policy, the premium for 10 years for an insurance cover of 50 lakh rupees is 10,915 rupees. If seen on a monthly basis, this amount comes to only 90 rupees.

In the standard insurance policies, compensation will be given for damage to the house and valuables due to natural disasters such as floods, inundation, storms, cyclones, and earthquakes. If you live in rental accommodation and The house gets damaged, then, the insurance company will pay the rent. If the house was rented out, then compensation will also be made for the loss of this income. This cover is included in the basic policy itself. Different insurance companies have different rules and regulations. Generally, insurance companies pay the policyholder rent of up to one full year.

In this policy, the insurance holder can also add a rider option of personal accident insurance of 5-5 lakh rupees for himself and his spouse. In case of death during a natural disaster, the nominee will be paid the insurance amount. A separate premium will have to be paid for this. This amount can be between 500 to 1,000 rupees per person.

Chola MS Bharat Griha Raksha Policy
The second policy is Cholamandalam MS Insurance’s Standard Bharat Griha Raksha Policy. It includes almost all covers that are in United India’s policy. For Cholamandalam MS’s 50 lakh rupees insurance cover, a premium of 11,529 rupees will have to be paid. For a 5 lakh rupee accident insurance cover for both husband and-wife, the company is taking an additional premium of 811 rupees for each of them. If valuables kept inside the house gets stolen within 7 days of a natural disaster, then, the insurance company will compensate for the loss. The company is providing insurance for jewelry worth 10 lakh rupees at 194 rupees. Comprising all this, the total amount of premium including GST will be 13,671 rupees.

Digit Bharat Griha Raksha
Digit’s Bharat Griha Raksha policy covers all types of risks associated with natural disasters. For its 50 lakh rupees cover, a premium of 12,168 rupees will have to be paid. A total of five add-ons can be taken. The company is providing accident insurance of 5 lakh rupees for husband-wife at 500 rupees for each. Keep in mind that natural disaster insurance policies do not cover portable items such as watches, laptops etc in household items. Only non-portable products such as TV, AC, fridge etc are covered.

SBI Bharat Griha Raksha
SBI’s Griha Raksha policy has a premium of 13,207 rupees for 10 years. This policy includes a total of 17 features. There are three add-ons in a comprehensive policy. As an optional cover, you can register the value of electronics, furniture and other assets. However, these three should be covered within the range of 10 lakh rupees only. The special thing is that all general insurance companies provide insurance cover for up to 10 years but SBI is providing policies for up to 20 years.

Bajaj Allianz Griha Raksha
This is also a comprehensive home insurance policy. It includes cover for all types of losses from natural disasters. This policy has a waiting period of 15 days. That means you can file a claim for cover only after 15 days of purchasing the policy. For its cover of 50 lakh rupees, a premium of 13,576 rupees will have to be paid. You can include cover for rent loss or rent compensation if your home is damaged. This is an inbuilt feature.

Money9 suggests
Insurance should be taken as soon as possible for covering your home. The premium increases when the property gets old. However, natural disaster insurance cover is also available on an annual basis. But if you take a policy for 10 years then premium becomes cheaper. The big advantage of this policy is that if the value of the structure of your house is 40 lakh rupees in the year you buy the policy. Then, from next year onwards this value will increase by 10 percent annually. This way if something unfortunate happens with your house then you will get compensation almost according to market price.

Like home, there is also an insurance cover for natural disasters against shops, warehouses and businesses. It should definitely be taken to cover major risks from natural disasters.