Standard Fire Insurance for homes from April 1: Up to Rs 10 lakh cover for home contents without declaration

Standard Fire Insurance: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has issued guidelines to insurers to offer three standard products covering the risk of fire and allied perils from April 1. The three products are Bharat Griha Raksha, Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha and Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha.

Bharat Griha Raksha will be available for home building and home contents while Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha will be for enterprises where the total value at risk is up to Rs. 5 Crore. Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha policy will be available for enterprises whose total value at risk is more than Rs. 5 Crore and up to Rs. 50 crore.

For those buying fire insurance for their homes, the standard product ‘Bharat Griha Raksha’ will offer cover against a wide range of perils. These include:

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 within 7 days from the occurrence of any of the aforesaid events.

This standard product will not just offer coverage for the home building but also general home contents automatically. You won’t need to declare details for 20 per cent of the Sum Insured of the building subject to a maximum of Rs.10 lakh.

You can also opt for a higher Sum Insured for general contents by declaring the details.

The standard fire policy for homes will provide two optional covers:

i. Insurance for Valuable Contents like jewellery and curios.

ii. Personal Accident of the insured and spouse due to an insured peril under the policy.

The Bharat Sooksma Udyam Suraksha and Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha policies are expected to provide financial protection to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). According to IRDAI circular, the 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.

Source: Financial Express