A house represents the major asset that a Singapore household will likely own, and the goods inside it may amount to more than most people imagine when adding up electronics furniture jewellery, and clothes truthfully. It’s very important that you cover both your home and the contents with the most appropriate policy. Still, it’s not unusual for people to take this matter lightly while going through the entire home loan application.
In this article, we’ll guide you in learning about the types of home insurance coverages, how insurance coverage of the property and its contents differ, what factors to consider comparing different policy providers, and even some steps that you should take before your policy decision. At the end, you will hopefully have enough details that your choice of coverage really reflects your circumstances rather than a mere choice that looked good on the paperwork your bank representative has given you.
What The Cover Actually Protects
Home insurance in Singapore is typically split into two major parts. One is building cover that will safeguard the structure of the property like walls floors ceilings, built-in fixtures, and permanent fixtures.
The other is content cover that is meant to protect things within the home, like furniture and other personal belongings.
HDB flat owners can rest assured of a very basic building cover provided under the HDB Fire Insurance Scheme for the structure and fixtures installed by HDB. But, this basic cover excludes damages arising from renovation work, household belongings, and personal liability. To get more comprehensive cover for these areas, it is advisable to obtain a suitable home and contents insurance policy.
When it comes to condo and landed property, the managing corporation usually gets insurance for the shared areas and the basic building structure but the unit interior, improvements, and belongings are all the owner’s responsibility. The exposure of personal liability, which comes with the ownership of property, is another risk that is also on the property owner.
Avoid Rushing The Decision After An Incident
Mistake #1 Homeowners’ most frequent blunder is buying insurance cover right after a mishap has befallen either themselves or others that they hold dear. Emotional reaction to the pressure of doing something right away leads many to the doorstep of hasty decisions which, in time, are found to have been much more expensive than patiently spending just a few more days comparing alternatives properly. Mistake #2
Home coverage purchase is the ideal instance where planning in advance is going to pay off. Instead of seeing the decision just after you’ve been reminded that renewal is coming up, why not make home-insurance-shopping-a-month-before-you-might-need-it a yearly habit. Then let your 30 minutes do a good job of getting a clear view of different insurance companies’ premiums. Your head should be perfectly clear when you make that decision and not your nerves due to being stressed. Usually, the price gap between getting a cover after careful consideration and making the purchase in a hurry is such that the extra money would easily cover your family coffee expenses during 12 months.
Work With Experienced Agents Or Buy Direct Online
Home coverage in Singapore generally opens a doorway in two different directions when you are shopping around for a policy. Getting an agent means a guided and hassle-free process of purchasing a policy where an professional agent walks you through the options and delivers the advice you need to be a wise buyer. Choosing the buy direct route will most of the time let you get quotes quickly, enjoy the lowest premiums and still get clear policy wording.
You really cannot say any one method is clearly superior. The choice of how you are to get that coverage is a question of how comfortable are you handling policy analysis and how busy are you for the time you want to devote for the exercise. An experienced agent has many stories of how she has saved customers from a bad experience through a few well advised policy choices. That said, a direct online purchase for a simple HDB and condo policy covering a well known requirement is likely the best match on cost and convenience.
In case you go with an agent, you need to get to know them well and check their qualifications before you proceed with the purchase. The Monetary Authority of Singapore keeps a license database of brokers which is useful to cross check in case you are about to make a significant financial decision.
Compare At Least Three Insurers
The biggest benefit when finding a home insurance policy is to comparison shop and obtain quotes from at least three different insurers. In fact, the premium prices quoted for the same property, with an identical insurance coverage, can vary between different insurers as much as 20 to 30 percent, yet it is extremely rare for that difference be an indicator of a significant variation of the cover quality.
Basically, the purpose of doing the comparative shop is to understand the market range for your particular type of property and level of cover. Different insurers price HDB flats, private condominiums and landed homes at different levels since they have different risk profiles. An insurer that is competitive on the pricing of HDB cover may not have the best offers for landed house cover and vice versa.
