Karnataka: With Bad Weather Damaging Hundreds of Homes, Now is the Time to Get Insured

Karnataka recently faced floods that led to the loss of human lives, displaced thousands and damaged hundreds of homes, and saw very less of home insurance claims. As per the industry sources, from more than 7,500 claims received in the districts of the state, only 120 were counted for home insurance, the maximum being for vehicle insurance.

Why do you need home insurance?

Home is usually an asset of the maximum value and can be extremely damaged due to natural disasters
The home loan borrowers generally get a basic cover for structural damage occurred due to rain, fire, etc. and not for damage to household contents
Basic cover does not include pools, garages, sheds, or other additional structures
Provides cover for personal accident or loss of life to some extent. Loanee home insurance generally provides cover for life of primary breadwinner

The Chief-Underwriting and Claims, ICICI Lombard, Sanjay Dutta shares, “Every time there is a calamity, we see an uptick in enquiries, like the Chennai 2015 rain and Kerala 2018 floods. But post-floods, after things normalise, the interest drops off. We don't see a perceptible increase in people buying home insurance.”

As shared by an official of National Insurance Company, bad weather conditions have been consistent over the years, taking an example of Mumbai rains. This must, however, drive people’s attention towards purchasing home insurance to keep their properties secured.

The insurers get a major chunk of home insurance business from banks. The banks mandate Loanee home insurance as a part of taking a loan, which is the biggest driver for home insurance purchase.

However, the real estate market in Karnataka shows some hope. With the most promising growth, the insurers confirm boost in the segment going further.