3 Misconceptions About Home Insurance

Your home is your castle and your refuge. You also paid a pretty penny for it! So it makes sense to protect it.

But not all Singaporeans buy home insurance to protect their homes.

Here are some of the most widespread misconceptions about home insurance.
 

Misconception #1: Fires are uncommon in Singapore

Fires are not uncommon in Singapore. In June 2018, a fire broke out in a Yishun flat, requiring the evacuation of 100 residents. This was just months after a fire in Ang Mo Kio and another in Toa Payoh.

Singapore is extremely dense, so a residential fire can affect many families. It takes just one accident in one unit to affect the entire block, or at least the homes closest to the originating unit.

No matter how careful you are, a moment’s carelessness on the part of one of the many people living in your building can set off a chain reaction that puts your home in danger.

In addition to fires, there is a rising number of residents using devices such as electric scooters, electric bicycles and personal mobility devices, which pose a risk of battery fires.

In 2017, 40 e-scooters caught fire, according to the SCDF, with one casualty suffering burns over 45% of his body when an e-scooter being charged in his bedroom burst into flames.

Despite strict regulations, buildings are sometimes found in breach of fire-safety standards. In 2017, there were 16 buildings in Singapore with material on their facades that did not comply with fire safety standards.

That makes insurance for your home important to have in Singapore to protect you from the damage that fires can cause to you and your neighbours’ homes – which brings us to misconception #2, the belief that fire insurance is adequate to protect homes.

 

Misconception #2: Fire insurance can protect your home adequately, so there is no need for home insurance

A 2015 survey by AIG found that 75% of the Singaporeans and PRs polled believed that mortgage or fire insurance would be sufficient to protect them against the loss and damage they’d suffer in a fire, flood or other unforeseen event.

However, fire insurance, including the HDB’s compulsory fire insurance policy, only protects the internal building structure and original fixtures and fittings.

It does not protect the contents of your home, including any furniture, belongings, valuables, decorations or renovations you’ve made to your home since it was built.

If you wish to receive protection for any of those, you will need to take up home contents insurance.

In order to protect your home renovation and contents fully, it is advisable to pair HDB’s fire insurance with coverage from Enhanced Home insurance for renovations and contents.

Income’s Enhanced Home Insurance offers coverage for your neighbours’ losses in the event of fire. While some insurers charge a fee for this additional coverage, it is included in the basic coverage offered by Income’s Enhanced Home Insurance.

 

Misconception #3: There is no need to take out home insurance if you don’t own the home you live in

Whether you are renting your current home or living under your parents’ roof, it does not mean you do not need home insurance.

You might not own the building or unit in which you live, but if many of the contents within belong to you, you can still benefit from protecting them with home contents insurance.

Income’s home insurance will cover you for loss or damage of belongings such as money, jewellery, laptops, pets and even your domestic helper and his/her belongings.

You might also be able to get compensated for loss of rental income or extra hotel expenses should your home become uninhabitable, which is useful whether or not you are a homeowner.

Protect your home and everything you love about it for as little as 8 cents per day with Income’s Enhanced Home Insurance.