Property insurance is an insurance product that provides coverage for a building structure(s) and its contents against natural or manmade calamities. The coverage provided by the property insurance is not fixed and often varies depending on the type of insurance taken and the needs of the consumer. To begin with, property insurance is essentially designed to cover private homes and their contents. Premium payments made to the insurer, cover both property and liability insurance. There are principally three main reasons to get homeowners insurance:
Property coverage; In the event of personal property damage or destruction, home insurance covers the physical structure of your home. Also, freestanding garages, sheds or other structures on the property may also need to be covered separately using the same guidelines as for the main house.
Liability coverage; If someone who isn’t covered under your policy is injured or killed, or their property is
damaged or destroyed while they’re on your property, your homeowner’s policy will cover your personal legal responsibility. In addition, the coverage extends to cases where damage or injury happens adjacent to your property.
Satisfy your mortgage lender; Most lenders require you have insurance as long as you have a mortgage as
condition to augment collateral requirements.
In Zambia, for most policies, the list of covered hazards includes: fire, smoke, wind or lightning; theft or vandalism; trees and other falling objects; and over flowing of a plumbing, heating, air-conditioning appliance or sprinkler system. The most notable excluded perils include: floods; land movement including earthquakes, landslides and mud slides; acts of war; damage from pets; pollution damage; deliberate damage to the home; and normal wear and tear. There are restrictions to the amount of cover payment you can receive from your insurer even if you suffer a loss that is included as a covered peril. When you first get homeowners insurance, your insurance agent will help you decide how much dwelling, personal liability and medical payments coverage to buy. Your cover will be based on the value of your property. There is also a requirement for deductibles; an amount paid out of the pocket of the policy holder before the insurer will make payments against a claim.
A number of reasons can be cited as to why property insurance is extremely important for you to have. Below are the elaborations:
- It Protects the Property and its Contents – The protection for your property covers (house and its contents) against all kinds of risk of damages caused by fire, natural disaster, or other factors as well as covers the risk of loss due to theft or other criminal acts, as well as other kinds of risk of disturbances.
- It Offers a Sense of Safety and Security – The existence of property insurance protection against the risks of loss such as fire, natural disaster, theft, and so on surely gives you a peace of mind and confidence as the owner.
- It Has a Low Cost – In view of the ratio between the value of coverage and the value of the premium, one only needs to pay a very low amount of premium in order to get maximum protection for their highly valued property investment.
- It Compensates Damaged or Loss of Building or Property – Property insurance gives compensation for any damage or loss of your property. The term for compensation is that the loss is not caused by your own negligence.
- It Keeps Financial Disturbances Away – The repair and replacement costs for all those properties are surely substantial in the event that a property building and its contents are burned down. Property insurance gives compensation for that loss, so that your financial condition remains protected.
- It Covers a Temporary Place to Stay – Should the risk of losses occur and cause one to lose their home, the
property insurance can provide them with a temporary place to stay for free or compensate them for the temporary
place’s rental fee.
Join our guest author in our next series on property insurance as we look at the key features of property insurance and how to select the best product for your property.
About The Author:
Henry S. Tembo is an Insurance Expert, Author, and a Business Development Manager at A-Plus General Insurance Limited, a leading insurance company in Zambia. He is also the Vice Honorary Treasurer of The Insurance Institute of Zambia. Contacts: henry.tembo@aplusgeneral.co.zm | +260 966 765207
