Apartment insurance. Why do it?

The question: to insure an apartment or wait a little longer - hung in the air for a long time. And although the internal readiness had been there for a long time, something constantly prevented the completion of this work. But it turned out, as always: unexpectedly and sadly. The accident that befell us in the form of a burst pipe with hot water gave acceleration to this process.

After the liquidation of all the consequences of this terrible flood and a little breath, the first thing that was done was finally issued insurance. Moreover, literally 10-15 minutes and a little money were spent on this entire procedure. A real trifle in comparison with the moral and material costs that the family faced after flooding not only their own, but also the neighbors' apartment.

The insurance was issued by the insurance company via the Internet and paid for by card. The insurance policy also came to the email. Didn't have to go anywhere. Why did I decide to talk about it? Yes, simply because, perhaps, some of you also cannot decide: do you need to insure your home or is it all a waste of money.

The question, of course, everyone decides for himself. But here's what I understood in connection with all the events that took place. If such a thought arises, you should not discard it just like that. Perhaps it is the Universe itself (intuition or whatever you want to call it) that sends you signs and warns of danger. I ignored these "messages". For which she paid.

In our country, home insurance is voluntary and not mandatory. And, in fact, this process is just gaining momentum, being almost in its infancy. Compared with European countries, where 80-90% of the population simply does not imagine a situation where their housing would not be insured (as well as other aspects of life, such as health, life), then only 5-7% of Russians enjoy home insurance coverage. However, many insurance companies develop and offer a variety of programs related to home and property insurance.

First of all, the question arises: where to insure an apartment and how to choose an insurance company. Before concluding an agreement, it is necessary, at least superficially, to familiarize yourself with various offers on the market, study the ratings and reputation of insurers. Indirect evidence of the company's reliability can be a variety of insurance risks, various types of insurance, the ability to draw up insurance programs for individual needs.

And already, based on your priorities in choosing risks, paying attention to the cost of insurance and the proposed tariffs, you can look for the most suitable offers. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the final individual tariff, due to the existence of various multiplying factors, may differ from the base rates.

When purchasing an insurance policy, an appropriate agreement is concluded between the insurer (an organization that provides insurance services and undertakes to compensate for damage in the event of an insured event) and the insured (a person who insures his home against certain misfortunes he has chosen).

In addition to the insurer and the insured, third parties may also be involved in this transaction: those from whose actions you suffered (for example, neighbors who flooded your apartment), and those who, on the contrary, suffered as a result of a misfortune that happened in your apartment and suffered material damage (for example , through your fault, the neighbors ruined the repair).

Objects of insurance

It is possible to insure a house, apartment, any real estate, against anything: from fire, lightning strikes, from flooding with water from heating, plumbing, sewer systems and when extinguishing fires, from leaks from the roof, from robbery and theft, from the risk of using household appliances, from the explosion of household or main gas, during natural disasters and even such very exotic risks as the fall of meteorites. And it can also be civil liability in the operation of housing by apartment owners.

At the same time, you need to understand that it will not be possible to insure everything at once. But having carefully studied the list of risks offered in standard policies, it is possible to supplement and adjust it.

Home insurance programs

Insurance is presented on the market in the form of classic products and in the form of "boxed" programs, in which sets of risks are selected individually for each object. For owners of typical real estate: dachas, middle-class apartments, inexpensive cottages, according to experts, “boxed” programs are well suited, in which conditions, insurance amounts and risks are already predetermined. Depending on the specific situation, a ready-made “box” is selected.

Such an insurance program is convenient for the client in many ways:

low cost
Pre-determined (fixed) reimbursement amounts presented for selection
No need to pre-describe the property
Possibility to issue insurance on the website of the insurer online.

At the same time, when choosing a product, of course, you need to take into account the risks that are covered by this product. For example, in the "boxed" options, such an option is often missing, such as insurance of an apartment against leaks through the roof of a multi-storey building (relevant for residents of the upper floors).

The classic insurance program is no less popular option. Its advantages are better service and wider coverage. The cost of a classic insurance policy is always calculated individually and is determined by the number of insurance objects included and depends on the amount of insurance coverage. At the same time, an inventory of the property and its preliminary assessment are carried out.

When issuing a policy, its owner is provided with additional options. This is payment for the cost of a hotel during the restoration of housing that has suffered as a result of an insured event, compensation for losses from rent, the ability to insure valuable property, non-residential space, self-propelled vehicles, landscape design elements.

Specific insurance products include insurance of real estate purchased at the construction stage (financial risks are insured when construction is delayed or the contractor goes bankrupt), buying an apartment on the secondary market (contract) or mortgage.

There is another type of home insurance - this is voluntary insurance, with which we can automatically insure our property. To do this, you just need to pay a fee, included in a separate line in the payment for utilities. This contribution is small. But, of course, in this case, the set of insurance risks, as well as the amount of compensation, are very modest.

To conclude a contract, each insurer develops its own list of documents:

Statement. If the policy is issued by the representative of the insured, he is also paid insurance compensation upon the occurrence of an insured event (therefore, a notarized power of attorney must be presented at the conclusion of the contract). When drawing up a contract online, this document is also required upon the occurrence of an insured event.
The passport
Documents confirming the ownership of housing and property (invoices, checks, valuation reports).
In addition to presenting the required documents, it may be necessary to inspect and evaluate housing, a preliminary inventory of property conducted by an insurance agent.

How much does it cost to insure an apartment?

To navigate the price, you need to study the rules of insurance in different companies and proceed from the fact that the price corresponds to the quality of services. Experts advise contacting large insurance companies that are known for their business reputation and high financial rating.

Depending on various factors and the risk package, the insurance rate for apartments is approximately from 0.15% to 0.45%. For example, the annual cost of insurance for a small standard apartment (coverage of 1.5 million rubles) will approximately amount to 2.2 thousand rubles.

For suburban real estate - insurance rate from 0.45% to 1.5%. For a house insured for a million rubles, you will have to pay approximately 4.5 thousand rubles a year.

The market is in demand for "boxed" products with insurance coverage up to 500 thousand rubles with average tariffs - from 0.25% to 0.45% (depending on the size of the insurance amount). For such a policy, its owner will pay about 1.5 thousand rubles a year.

When calculating the cost of a mortgage insurance policy, it takes into account what the external walls, ceilings and partitions are made of, as well as the age of the house. Insurance is more expensive if the house is older. The presence of a geyser, a fireplace, a sauna in the house increases its cost.

If you have any difficulties with determining the sum insured, you can contact an independent expert appraiser or an insurance agent. When declaring a significant insurance value, one must be prepared to confirm its amount with documents.

Owners of large country houses are unlikely to manage without the help of an expert. While for inexpensive suburban facilities (dacha buildings in garden partnerships), express insurance programs are quite suitable.

For how long can a home be insured?

As a rule, housing is insured for a year. Although other options are possible. For example, it is possible, for some other period, when the owner will not live in the apartment, or, say, for the period of repair of a neighbor's apartment located above the floor.

But is it possible to consider such an option as savings? Insurance experts believe that this is not always advisable. For short-term insurance, the cost of insurance is calculated according to the scale of short-term insurance. And as a result, in comparison with the cost of annual insurance, the client will purchase more expensive insurance. Since insurance for a month is more expensive.

It will be much more profitable to reduce the cost of insurance by selecting more probable risks for each object. Why insure, for example, against theft of the interior decoration or design of the apartment.

The subtleties of insurance

When applying for an insurance policy, experts recommend:

contact reliable insurance companies
feel free to ask questions and find out everything that is not clear
do not make the cost of the insurance policy the main criterion when choosing a company (savings can result in big losses)
if possible, try not to eliminate the consequences of the insured event before the arrival of the insurance agent, so that the assessment of the extent of the damage caused is more fair
carefully read the insurance rules, paying attention to such aspects as:

Mechanism for assessing the damage caused (the amount of compensation depends on this parameter)
When, where and how to report an insured event
List of risks stipulated by the contract
Conditions and procedure for the payment of insurance, the terms during which the damage is compensated, after the provision of all required documents
Reasons for refusal to pay damages.

Let's dwell on this point in more detail. Imagine that you, having insured yourself against various misfortunes, regularly paid insurance premiums, and suddenly, when that very unforeseen event occurred, you did not inform the insurance company about it in time or did not find the time and effort to collect the required full package of documents.

What will happen in this case? You will simply be denied insurance coverage. Because untimely filing a statement about an event with a company is one of the reasons for refusal. The contracts clearly spell out a clause on the immediate appeal to the insurer, who must hotly pursue an examination before compensating for the damage. An excuse for a slow insurer can only be a good reason, for example, a business trip, illness. In this case, it is possible to restore the term, but in a judicial proceeding.

The second most common reason is incorrectly executed documents or incomplete ones. At a minimum, an inventory of the damage caused must be attached to the application for an insured event and this must be documented.

The third reason is fraud. You should not try to deceive the insurer and extract more compensation from him by providing false information about the extent of the disaster and overestimating the cost of damage. And worse, by initiating an insured event or resorting to any illegal actions. This can not only serve as a reason for refusal, but also lead to criminal liability in some cases.

You can be left without payment due to the negligence or negligence of the insured and the owner of the property (a common example: the landlord fell asleep with an unextinguished cigarette, which provoked a fire), if this is proven by an examination. Another reason is that due to carelessness when signing the contract, your case may not correspond to the risks indicated in it.

Take care of yourself and your property!