Fire insurance protects your property against 12 specified perils, including fire. These perils include acts of god, man-made perils, fire, etc., except for earthquakes, which can be covered on payment of an additional premium. Fire insurance policies can cover both commercial and residential properties. Homeowner’s insurance can be termed an application of fire insurance, which covers the loss or damage to the home and its contents. Homeowner’s insurance may cover both the structure of the home as well as the contents of the home.
What’s on this page?
Homeowner’s Insurance: Expanded Fire Coverage Plus Additional Protections which are Mentioned Below:
- Fire
- Lightning
- Explosion or Implosion
- Aircraft damage- damage due to the parts falling from aircraft or any other aerial device or direct collision with the insured property excluding the damage or loss caused due to the pressure waves.
- Human made perils such as riot,strike and malicious damage except for the permanent or temporary dispossession of the property due to confiscation, destruction or requisition by order of the Government or any lawfully constituted authority.
- Acts of God perils such as Storm, Typhoon, Tempest, Flood and Inundation except the damages resulting from earthquake, volcanic eruptions or other convulsions of similar nature.
- Impact damage due to an animal or vehicle that doesn’t belong to the insured or any person acting on behalf of the insured.
- Subsidence, landslide and rockslide except for the normal cracking or bedding down or settlement of the structures, river or coastal erosion, movement of made up ground, defective design and workmanship etc.
- Bursting and/or overflowing of water tanks, apparatus and pipes.
- Missile testing operations
- Leakage from sprinkler installations excluding the damages resulting from alterations or repairs to the buildings, any defects in the construction that are known to the insured.
- Bush fire excluding forest fire.
- Theft, robbery, burglary
- Portable equipment’s cover
- Jewelry and valuables cover
- Cover for Works for Art, Painting and Curious
- Loss of rent due to an insured peril
- Temporary resettlement cover – Payment of additional rent incurred by the insured due to an insured peril
- Keys and locks replacement cover
- ATM withdrawal robbery cover
- Lost wallet cover
- Pet insurance cover
- Public liability cover
- Personal accident cover
- Employees compensation cover for maids working in home
Here are the Key Differences Between Fire Insurance and Homeowner’s Insurance:
| Item | Fire Insurance | Homeowner’s insurance |
| What is it? | Covers the loss or damage to the property due to an insured peril mentioned under the policy. Fire insurance also known as Standard fire and special perils policy covers 12 perils including fire. | Covers the loss or damage to the property due to fire and other special perils. It covers all the perils mentioned in the fire insurance as well as burglary, theft, housebreaking, liability, neon glass etc. |
| Originality | It is the base policy that can be applied to cover any property. For example, fire insurance can be applied to cover residential buildings, commercial property, stock, furniture and fittings, plant and machinery etc. | It is an application of fire insurance used to cover a home and its contents. |
| Policy Period | Fire insurance can be given for 1 year. | Homeowner’s insurance can be given as short term as well as long term. Short term is for 1 year and long term could extend up to 10 years. Structure is covered for long term whereas contents are covered for short term after which renewal has to be done regularly. |
| Acts of god | Covered | Covered |
| Theft, Burglary, house breaking etc | Not covered | Covered |
| Who can take it? | Shopping mall owners, Offices, Restaurants, Manufacturing companies, Service companies, Hospitals, Factories etc. owners | Home or Residential property owners |
| Premium | Slightly lower compared to Homeowners insurance | Slightly higher when compared to fire insurance as it comes with a broader cover |
| Third party liability | Not covered | Includes coverage against third party liability claims |
For more details on the key differences between fire insurance and homeowner’s insurance, please book a call with Ethika Insurance Brokerage.
FAQ:
Is it compulsory to buy homeowner’s insurance?
No, the law mandates you to take a homeowner’s insurance policy. Homeowners’ insurance policies are taken at the will of the customer. In certain cases, banks and financial institutions that give home loans may ask their customers to take the policy as it safeguards their interests. If the home is damaged due to a peril, the insured might be unable to repair it and pay the loan instalments simultaneously. For this reason, banks and financial institutions would ask their customers to take a fire insurance policy to safeguard their interests and the homeowner’s.
What is the eligibility to purchase a homeowner’s insurance policy?
The main requirement for purchasing a homeowner’s insurance policy is that the home or its contents be your property. That is, you should have an insurable interest in the property. You should be financially affected if the property were to be damaged due to an insured peril. If you own the home, you could take simple fire insurance for the structure; if you own the home and contents, you could take the homeowner’s insurance policy.
What to do with homeowners if I sell my home?
Once you sell your home, you lose insurable interest in it. That is, you would not be financially affected if any damage were to happen to it due to an insured peril. So, even if you hold the homeowner’s policy in your name, it doesn’t help you in case of damage to the property due to an insured peril.
I’m staying in a rented home, can I take Homeowner’s insurance?
Yes. If you stay in a rented home, you can take a homeowner’s insurance policy for your contents, such as electronic appliances, furniture and fittings, kitchen appliances, etc. Since you do not have any insurable interest in the property, you cannot take the coverage for the structure, but you are permitted to take insurance coverage for your content as you have insurance interest in them.
My electronic items are damaged due to leakage of water from the water tank. Is it covered under homewoner’s insurance?
Yes. Homeowners insurance covers the loss or damage to contents due to leakage from water tanks, provided the insured is not negligent.
