EXPLAINED: HERE IS HOW THE STANDARD FIRE INSURANCE POLICIES WILL WORK
From April 1, insurance companies will be able to offer standard policies for fire and allied perils. The objective of these products is to make it affordable for smaller entities and individual homeowners to avail of covers against such disasters.
Under this standard fire segment, there will be three products:
• BHARAT GRIHA RAKSHA,
• BHARAT SOOKSHMA UDYAM SURAKSHA
• BHARAT LADHU UDYAM SURAKSHA.
Here, Bharat Griha Raksha is meant for a home, that is, the building and its contents, while Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha is meant for enterprises with a risk value of up to Rs 5 crore. Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha is meant for enterprises where the total value at risk is more than Rs 5 crore and up to Rs 50 crore.
While general insurers offer fire insurance policies for homes, offices and factories, the terms are complicated to understand for the masses. The idea behind the IRDAI initiative is to offer simplified solutions to improve penetration of fire insurance among home-owners, where it is currently less than 5 percent.
Among small enterprises, penetration is just around 10 percent for fire policies. It is also expected that the standard products would be 15-20 percent cheaper than the regular policies in the same category.
RELATED STORIES
KLP Corporate Services with HDFC Ergo gives you the lowdown on how these standard policies will work:
BHARAT GRIHA RAKSHA
This policy offers cover against a wide range of perils, including fire, natural catastrophes, forest and bush fires, riots, strikes and terrorism among others.
Further, the regulator said that this policy will also cover against bursting and overflowing of water tanks, apparatus and pipes, leakage from automatic sprinkler installations and theft.
This policy automatically also covers home contents — this will be up to 20 percent of the sum insured, with a maximum limit of Rs 10 lakh.
Home insurance policies for a house worth Rs 50 lakh could cost between Rs 7,000-9,000 premium per annum. The standard home policy could be at least 10-15 percent cheaper.
BHARAT SOOKSHMA UDYAM SURAKSHA
This policy provides cover for buildings/structures, plant and machinery, stock and other assets of enterprises where the total value at risk across all insurable asset classes at one location is up to Rs 5 crore.
The policy has several in-built covers in addition to the basic coverage. These include cover for alterations, additions or extensions, cover for stocks on a floater basis, temporary removal of stocks, start-up expenses (following a loss).
Further, it also provides insurance cover for payment of professional fees to architects, surveyors and consulting engineers.
This cover can be taken by micro-level enterprises such as offices, hotels, industries and storage firms.
BHARAT LAGHU UDYAM SURAKSHA
This policy provides cover for buildings/structures, plant and machinery, stock and other assets of enterprises where the total value at risk in one location is above Rs 5 crore but below Rs 50 crore.
The policy can be taken for all types of risks by offices, hotels, industries and storage firms.
IRDAI has said that Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha and Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha policies will be useful for the financial protection of small, medium and micro-enterprises.
From India, Bangalore
58From April 1, insurance companies will be able to offer standard policies for fire and allied perils. The objective of these products is to make it affordable for smaller entities and individual homeowners to avail of covers against such disasters.
Under this standard fire segment, there will be three products:
• BHARAT GRIHA RAKSHA,
• BHARAT SOOKSHMA UDYAM SURAKSHA
• BHARAT LADHU UDYAM SURAKSHA.
Here, Bharat Griha Raksha is meant for a home, that is, the building and its contents, while Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha is meant for enterprises with a risk value of up to Rs 5 crore. Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha is meant for enterprises where the total value at risk is more than Rs 5 crore and up to Rs 50 crore.
While general insurers offer fire insurance policies for homes, offices and factories, the terms are complicated to understand for the masses. The idea behind the IRDAI initiative is to offer simplified solutions to improve penetration of fire insurance among home-owners, where it is currently less than 5 percent.
Among small enterprises, penetration is just around 10 percent for fire policies. It is also expected that the standard products would be 15-20 percent cheaper than the regular policies in the same category.
RELATED STORIES
KLP Corporate Services with HDFC Ergo gives you the lowdown on how these standard policies will work:
BHARAT GRIHA RAKSHA
This policy offers cover against a wide range of perils, including fire, natural catastrophes, forest and bush fires, riots, strikes and terrorism among others.
Further, the regulator said that this policy will also cover against bursting and overflowing of water tanks, apparatus and pipes, leakage from automatic sprinkler installations and theft.
This policy automatically also covers home contents — this will be up to 20 percent of the sum insured, with a maximum limit of Rs 10 lakh.
Home insurance policies for a house worth Rs 50 lakh could cost between Rs 7,000-9,000 premium per annum. The standard home policy could be at least 10-15 percent cheaper.
BHARAT SOOKSHMA UDYAM SURAKSHA
This policy provides cover for buildings/structures, plant and machinery, stock and other assets of enterprises where the total value at risk across all insurable asset classes at one location is up to Rs 5 crore.
The policy has several in-built covers in addition to the basic coverage. These include cover for alterations, additions or extensions, cover for stocks on a floater basis, temporary removal of stocks, start-up expenses (following a loss).
Further, it also provides insurance cover for payment of professional fees to architects, surveyors and consulting engineers.
This cover can be taken by micro-level enterprises such as offices, hotels, industries and storage firms.
BHARAT LAGHU UDYAM SURAKSHA
This policy provides cover for buildings/structures, plant and machinery, stock and other assets of enterprises where the total value at risk in one location is above Rs 5 crore but below Rs 50 crore.
The policy can be taken for all types of risks by offices, hotels, industries and storage firms.
IRDAI has said that Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha and Bharat Laghu Udyam Suraksha policies will be useful for the financial protection of small, medium and micro-enterprises.
From India, Bangalore
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