For HDB owners. You’re welcome, insurance companies.
A fire broke out in my neighbourhood recently, which led to four taken to hospital. This incident was the catalyst in my decision to get home insurance. Now, HDB home owners are required to get fire insurance by Etiqa, so that covers accidents by fire. But, your home contents and renovation works are not covered under fire insurance. Therefore, it’d be wise to get one’s home covered for that cool customised walk-in closet, built-in book shelf, OR that upmarket curved TV you recently bought 🙂
Most home insurance plans are typically structured to cover these 3 areas:
- Building: Internal building structures, fixtures and fittings
- Contents: TV, laptops & furniture etc
- Renovation: Cost of renovation, for example, kitchen cabinets and built-in fixtures
Since most fire insurance would cover things under ‘building’, this may be optional for HDB home owners. But if you don’t want to bet on it, go on ahead to cover yourself well.
Defects Liability Period (DLP)
New HDB home owners should also note that their homes are protected under the 1-year DLP. This means any HDB fittings can be replaced and fixed for free during this period. These are HDB fittings such as the adjustable clothes drying rack, toilet fittings, floor (if you opted for it) and main entrance door/gate.
In other words, you have a 1-year grace period before you get yourself covered! For my own home, we kind of waited till the 1-year was up before getting covered.
How much does it cost?
Home insurance premiums can ranged from around $30 to $200 plus a year. This depends on your housing type (i.e. 4-room or Executive/Multi-Gen). And the sum assured. If you spent $50,000 on renovations, it would be advisable to cover that amount or more.
Now some frills
We opted for NTUC Income’s Enhance Home Insurance, because the sum assured options were suitable for our needs and provided the best value. Do check out NTUC Income’s website, they have a nice infographic to illustrate why home owners need insurance
There are also ton of our insurers in the market, so do research on what plans meet your needs. Hopefully, you’ll never have to make a claim though!
Key learning here:
Always. Get. Insurance. Always.
Any kind: Travel/ Car/ Life/ Health. Health insurance is the real ‘benefactor’ for my family. When my mom fell ill and stayed ill for long-term, we had insurance to cover most of her hospital and medical bills. Some two decades later and my mom is stable but hasn’t fully recovered. Imagine the debt we’d be in if not for health insurance.
Leave a Reply