Standard home insurance policy: Why you should opt for it

In a significant move, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) announced a standard home insurance policy that will cover the risks associated with natural calamities like cyclone, flood, and earthquake. The regulator also announced two schemes that cover insurance cover to micro and small enterprises.

The regulator said the Standard Fire and Special Perils (SFSP) Policy will be replaced by the three standard products — Bharat Griha Raksha, Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha and Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha. It shall be mandatorily offered by all general insurers carrying on fire and allied perils insurance business with effect from April 1, 2021.

Snapshot

• Bharat Griha Raksha (meant for Home Building and Home Contents)
• Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha (meant for enterprises where the total value at risk is up to Rs 5 Crore)
• Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha (meant for enterprises where the total value at risk is more than Rs. 5 Crore and up to Rs. 50 crore)

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Besides offering coverage for the home building, the proposed policy — Bharat Griha Raksha — covers general home contents automatically (without any need for declaration of details) for 20 per cent of the sum insured for the building subject to a maximum of Rs 10 lakh. “One can also opt for a higher sum insured for general contents by declaring the details,” Irdai said.

Bharat Griha Raksha: 5 things to know about the standard home insurance policy

1) The ‘Bharat Griha Raksha’ policy offers cover against a wide range of perils, namely Fire, Natural Catastrophes (Storm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane, Tornado, Tsunami, Flood, Inundation, Earthquake, Subsidence, Landslide, Rockslide), Forest, Jungle and Bush fires, Impact Damage of any kind, Riot, Strike, Malicious Damages, Acts of terrorism, Bursting and overflowing of water tanks, apparatus and pipes, Leakage from automatic sprinkler installations and Theft.

2) The policy will provide cover within 7 days from the occurrence of any of the above-said events.

3) The policy offers two optional covers – Insurance for ‘Valuable Contents’ like jewellery and curios, and Personal Accident of the insured and spouse due to an insured peril under the policy.

4) The policy gives a complete waiver of underinsurance. In other words, if the sum insured declared by a policyholder is less than what ought to have been declared for the property in question, the policyholder’s claim will not be settled proportionately but up to the sum Insured that is declared.

5) Insurers would be permitted to file innovative add-ons (additional covers) over and above the basic cover, in-built cover, optional cover if any, and standard add-ons that these Retail products already offer.