Every year, floods and other natural disasters lead to the fact that hundreds of our compatriots are left without a roof over their heads. Therefore, recently, such a service as real estate insurance has become increasingly popular. After reading this article, you will learn about the most important nuances that you need to pay attention to when drawing up a contract.
Subtleties of suburban real estate insurance
Despite the almost complete identity of the risks from which country houses and city apartments are insured, in the first case there are a number of important features that are taken into account when drawing up the contract.
First of all, it should be understood that the house is a separate building with elements of engineering infrastructure. Therefore, property insurance covers not only the building itself, but also the communications brought to it.
When drafting the contract, the fact that the dangers for suburban real estate are more widespread, and sometimes catastrophic, is also taken into account. In addition, unlike an easily-priced city apartment, the assessment of a summer residence often turns into a cumbersome procedure, which involves collecting a huge amount of documentation and requiring the mandatory consideration of the nuances provided for by current legislation. So, according to the adopted laws, insurance of a country house is carried out separately from the land, as these are two completely different objects.
What determines the cost of the policy?
The pricing of insurance is influenced by many different factors, including:
- proximity to the location of neighboring buildings;
- the presence or absence of wooden floors;
- the presence of an alarm;
- criminogenicity of the situation;
- fire hazard of the area in which the house is located.
In addition, each company has its own list of factors affecting the cost of the policy. For example, the older the building, the more expensive home insurance will cost. The cost of the policy with a standard set of risks issued for the construction, the price of which is from 3 to 5 million rubles, will be in the range of 36-50 thousand rubles per year.
Possible insurance options
The contracts of most modern companies spell out such basic risks as home insurance against:
- fire;
- illegal actions (theft);
- mechanical damage caused by the fall on the building of cranes, trees and other objects, as well as as a result of an explosion of domestic gas;
- natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, floods).
When signing the contract, the client has the right to select individual risks that are most likely for a particular case. For example, it is inexpedient to insure a country house located in a flat area in which there are no ponds from floods. Therefore, this clause can be safely excluded from the contract, replacing it with some other.
When concluding a contract, you can consider several different options. In most cases, companies offer:
- full property insurance;
- partial insurance of individual elements (technical equipment, internal systems, exterior decoration, basements, built-in garages or utility rooms).
Insurers are extremely reluctant to agree to property insurance of movable objects located in the house. This is especially true for cottages, which in winter are left without proper supervision.
What documents are needed to complete the contract?
Summer cottage insurance becomes possible on the basis of an application submitted by its owner. In addition, it is necessary to provide a certificate confirming the ownership of the house and the adjacent land. In some cases, insurance companies require a technical passport of the building.
Those who wish to insure a country house located on the territory of horticultural partnership, will have to face some difficulties. Only the availability of the necessary securities guarantees compensation for damage upon the occurrence of insured events stipulated by the contract.
How to apply for a policy?
Before insurance of a country house, you should carefully read the contents of the contract and check the correctness of its execution.
It should clearly indicate the rights and obligations of both parties. It is important to study the points that state under what conditions payments will be made, and in what situations the company has the right to refuse compensation for damage.
In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the existence of the contract validity period and to the absence of blank lines. This is very important, since the missing lines can be interpreted as the insurer's desire to hide the necessary information from the client. The contract must indicate insurance amount calculated taking into account property valuation.
If the client is not satisfied with any items, he has the right not only to replace them with more acceptable conditions, but also to exclude them from the contract altogether. As a rule, disagreements arise due to disagreement with the scope of insurance or with the list of insured events.
Mortgage Property Insurance
This service is included in the list of mandatory requirements put forward by the bank to a potential borrower. Insurance of a country house purchased with credit funds is practically no different from voluntary insurance policy. As a rule, the contract provides for a standard set of risks. The presence of such insurance allows banks to minimize their own losses in case of unforeseen circumstances. As a rule, a mortgage is issued only for capital brick country houses. Typically, banks cooperate with trusted insurance companies. Therefore, each side wins from such a deal. By signing such an agreement, it should be understood that its validity period coincides with the loan terms.
Features of unfinished home insurance
Those who decide to issue a policy for a building at the final stage of construction will have to fulfill a number of mandatory requirements put forward by insurance companies. Firstly, an unfinished house should have not only walls and a roof, but also closed door and window openings. Secondly, the building should be erected on a site registered in the property or in legal use. Many insurance companies prefer to deal with suburban real estate that has passed the state registration procedure. An exception is made only for inexpensive summer cottages located on the territory of the garden partnership.
Typically, the design features of unfinished buildings are reduced to an increase in the insurance rate. In most cases, such houses are insured only against fires.
Payment Terms
All insurance companies have rules for making payments, without knowing which, a person will not be able to receive compensation due to him even after the occurrence of an insured event. First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the documentation required to confirm the right to receive payment, as well as the time period in which it must be provided to insurers. For example, in case of fire, it is necessary to call the representatives of the fire service, and when thieves enter the house, you need to contact the law enforcement authorities, which will record the incident.
Prior to the arrival of the insurance agent, it is strictly forbidden to carry out repairs that significantly complicate the process of assessing the damage caused. Payments will be made only after the insurance company receives all the necessary papers and estimates the amount of losses incurred. This usually occurs within one to two weeks.
In order to avoid possible misunderstandings, it should be borne in mind that property assessment should be carried out by independent experts. In addition, it should be understood that the policy provides the right to compensation for losses resulting from the cases provided for therein. Therefore, it is recommended to use a full insurance package.
Damage Assessment Scheme
The loss of a building means its condition in which the cost of restoration work significantly exceeds the cost of the facility itself. In such cases, the insurance company must reimburse its value fixed at the time of signing the contract. The payment amount will not include the value of the surviving property, which is suitable for further operation. Insurance companies are not required to compensate for the costs associated with the modernization of the building. The list of recovery costs will include the cost of work and building materials (including delivery).
Property insurance: reviews
People who used this service were convinced of how much it allows to protect themselves and their family from the most probable troubles. At the same time, they recommend that you carefully read the contract and scrupulously comply with all the points therein. Especially those relating to the timing of contacting the company in the event of an insured event. This will avoid a lot of misunderstandings with representatives of insurance companies.
