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Home Insurance in the Philippines – Protecting One of Your Most Valued Assets

Just as recently as February of this year, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines. Some places experienced mild tremors that were barely noticeable but a few areas felt strong movements enough to destroy roads and houses.

The Philippines is actually prone to earthquakes because of our geographical location. There are numerous active faults since we are one of the unlucky places to be in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

And as if that was not bad enough, this country is also where a lot of typhoons like to pass through. We experience these strong winds twenty times a year on average. Furthermore, our tropical climate makes the risk of homes getting caught on fire higher due to the intense heat. Damages to property have therefore always been part of our growing concern.

Can We Do Anything About It?

Given all that, it would be plain common sense for anyone living in the Philippines to insure their homes. Most of us consider our homes as our most precious asset and sometimes our biggest investment. It is built through our perseverance, dedication and hard work. It is where we shelter our families and possibly everything important to us.

But we can do nothing to stop natural disasters from wreaking havoc to our beloved homes. The most that what we can do is be ready so that we can spare ourselves from the financial nightmare of devastating calamities.

Earthquakes, typhoons, flood, fire, lightning - there’s no way we can be a hundred percent sure we are shielded from these perils. And the sad truth is that once any of them strike to bring our homes down, if we are not prepared it will be a struggle to rebuild. So really, we should be starting to ask ourselves some important questions.

What if an earthquake or typhoon totally destroys your home? Do you have the financial resources to build again? How do you think it will affect your life and your family if that were to happen? Have you ever considered insuring your home against earthquakes and other disasters?

By now I hope you’re seeing how important it is to consider getting a home insurance policy. Let’s discuss this idea a bit further.

What is Home Insurance?

A home insurance policy is an agreement or contract that provides financial protection for a particular property. The insurer provides funds to the beneficiary to rebuild or repair the house damaged or destroyed due to reasons covered by the agreement.

The cost of home insurance commonly depends on how much it would cost to rebuild the house together with some other items attached to the policy. The homeowner can specify add-ons to the insurance package to expand the protection coverage.

What Do You Have to Consider?

There are factors that you have to consider before buying an insurance policy for your home.
  • You have to think of the kind of policy that you need based on the level of protection that you actually want.
  • How much annual premium do you have to pay? This is affected by factors such as the location of your house, how old it is, how big it is and even the number of rooms in it.
  • You have to know the estimated worth of your house and the things in it to be included to the insurance policy.
  • Think about where your house is located. Is it prone to risks such as flooding or landslide?
  • Be ready with your personal information, from your employment history down to your previous addresses because the insurance company will conduct their background investigations.

Importance of Insuring Your Home

Primarily, the benefit of insuring your home is the protection from financial losses in case of property damage caused by earthquakes, fire and other inevitable calamities. Having an insurance policy for your home will definitely give you peace of mind because whatever unforeseen disaster may arise, you know that your home is insured and that the insurance will take care of it.

However, before you decided to buy a certain home insurance policy, make sure to do extensive research. Talk to the agent. Check their policies, the inclusions, benefits and the claiming process. It would also help to check the company’s reputation in the insurance industry. Get feedback from people you trust about a particular insurer you’re speaking with. It never hurts to be cautious.

You may also shop around to compare policies of different insurance companies. When you do this, you’ll have the chance to choose which among the products available will give you the best value for your money with the best coverage to offer.

Photo Credit: Photo Dean (Creative Commons)