Your home means the world to you — it is your comfort zone, your sanctuary, your getaway. And you would do anything to protect it. But safeguarding just the structure of your home is not enough. Afterall, your home is not only brick-and-mortar; your home is all the things that are in it — all your precious possessions, all your collectibles, your music system, your furniture, your electronic items, and all the little and big things that you own.The safety of your possessions should be of paramount interest to you. After all, why should you suffer a financial loss due to any untoward incident that can destroy your property?

All the reasons why you need property insurance

In today’s times, the property is at risk from several factors. The smart thing to do is to insure it against any eventuality, rather than bear a huge burden after a disaster. Unfortunately, most Indians think of household and property insurance as a wastage of money, thinking there is nothing much to worry about. We just do not perceive any risk to our possessions; we always seem to think that untoward incidents happen to other people, not to us.

However, it is the time to change this thinking, as the risk factors have gone up considerably in recent times. Here’s a list of just a few reasons why you must buy property insurance now.

Natural disasters

Natural calamities are on the rise, and if global warming reports are anything to go by, they will become worse with time. That means cyclones will be more ferocious, floods more devastating, storms more dangerous and earthquakes more severe. Floods in September 2014 destroyed hundreds of houses and caused a staggering loss running into several crores. The Chennai floods have spooked people, and the realization has dawned on them that urban areas are just as vulnerable as rural areas. But natural disasters did not destroy structures only; they also destroyed what was inside the structures – the household goods and possessions of people who owned those houses.

Crime and criminal behaviour

And what about crime, and the risk of theft and burglaries?Despite the best of safety mechanisms, housebreaking and robbery continue to be frequently reported in big and small cities. You go on a trip, or go out of town to attend a wedding, or go on a vacation, or visit your family or friends in another city, and come back to a burgled home, with cash and jewellery and electronic appliances missing. Maybe, your safety alarm tripped. Or the thieves knew how to neutralize it. Or your watchman himself turned out to be a criminal!

The cases of house break-ins have witnessed a rise in the last few years. In 2014 and 2015, four home burglaries were reported in Pune. In the first two months of 2015, more than 250 burglaries were reported in the city. Come summer, and the burglary cases are at an all-time high. In March 2015, 249 house break-ins and thefts were reported. 

Accidents

What if a fire breaks out? Yes, you are very careful and take all kinds of precautions, but the fire is something that spreads easily from flat to flat. You might be careful, but your neighbours might be the most careless and irresponsible people you have ever met. A fire starting at a neighbour’s house can engulf your place too.

And the bad news need not always come from outside. Your expensive things might suffer internal damage. The very popular brand of a washing machine that you bought from a reputed dealer might just develop a mechanical snag, rendering it unusable. Or you might accidentally spill coffee on your laptop while the creative juices are flowing as you work on your maiden book. Maybe, your children are hyperactive and think the sitting room can be substituted for a playground. A mighty kick to the football and your priceless sculpture crashes to the floor, breaking into tiny pieces. And while you love your pets, they can be pretty destructive too. Your dog thought it was chasing a rabbit, but, in reality, he jumped on your music system. The sound of the crash cannot be music to the ears!

Conclusion

In short, anything can happen. And the destruction caused can leave a big hole in your pocket. But you don’t need to live with the constant stress and worry about your structure and content being destroyed. You can protect your possessions by taking property insurance for an appropriate sum, depending on the number of goods you want to cover. A householder’s package policy will protect the contents of your house against burglary, damage, and mechanical and electronic breakdown. It is better to bear some expenses now, and buy insurance cover for your property, then incur a lot of expense laterwhen an untoward incident takes place.