What you may not have known about home insurance

There are coverages for all kinds of risks that will keep your assets safe, one of them is Home Insurance. Let us remember that Mexico is a country highly exposed to catastrophic events such as earthquakes and hurricanes, both in the Gulf and in the Pacific, whose consequences cannot be faced without support.

But not only natural disasters are a risk that a property can have; fires due to a short circuit, floods due to a leak and even breaking a neighbor’s glass, inadvertently, are situations that can occur.

Contrary to what many think, home insurance does not cover only the damage that a property may suffer due to fire, explosion, hydrometeorological phenomena or earthquakes. It also protects the contracting party from robbery with violence, domestic accidents, damages to third parties caused by family members, servants and even pets, as well as extraordinary expenses, household items and the contents of the house.

Daniel Celis, Underwriting Manager at GMX Seguros, shares some particularities and advantages that you should know about this coverage.

What is the difference between home insurance granted by a bank, when the owner is paying a mortgage, versus private insurance?

Traditional mortgage insurance only covers the equivalent of the unpaid balance, that is, what you owe at the time of the loss; while a Home Insurance contracted in a private way covers the total loss, partial loss, the contents of the property and civil liability.

It is important that they know that even when a house that is being paid for and has that traditional mortgage insurance, they can contract a Home coverage as a complement to insure the house with its contents and civil liability, with this in case of loss of the house it is protected. In its whole.

How should the amount of coverage be estimated?

It is based in regards to the building, that is, the construction and finishes. The amount that would be needed to rebuild the house in the state in which it was found must be considered. The ideal, although it is not an insurance requirement, is to have an appraisal in which the value of the construction is known separately from the commercial value.

In addition to bricks, what other coverage can be contracted?

There are several coverages that can complement your basic Home insurance, for example:

• Contents. In this case, the sum of the value of household goods must be considered, such as: furniture, household goods, electrical appliances, clothing, books, cash, values ​​and, in general, the property of a house.

Policyholders may purchase new assets, or renovate some others. In those cases, as long as the amount of the sum insured for contents is not exceeded with these acquisitions, they do not need to be declared.

It is important that when insuring it, although it is not a requirement for claims, you take a video tour or take photos to serve as support to prove the pre-existence of the insured property. We also suggest you always keep the invoices or proof of payment of your goods.

But, for example, if they have 500,000 pesos of sum insured for content, and you buy a screen for 250,000 pesos, that causes your insured sum to be exceeded and you must declare it to the insurer, to raise the insured sum and, in the event of an accident you have enough coverage.

• Assaults outside the home. This coverage applies to all family members living in the property. Support any personal property that is stolen from you, such as personal computers (not from companies or businesses), jewelry, clothing, glasses and electronic devices, in general what we bring every day.
• Civil liability, which covers damage to third parties in their property or people caused by any member of the family, who lives in the property, by your pet or the staff who works at home. It also covers the activity of the lessee and lessor, as the case may be.

Regarding temporary rent, it can be included in the Home policy, as additional coverage.

It consists, in a general way, in covering the damages that the guests or their goods may suffer, derived from or imputed to the physical state of the dwelling. For example, if the water heater explodes due to a gas leak inside the building.

Remember that Home insurance is as flexible as you need it. You can insure just the property, just the contents (if you don’t own the property), or both.

What are the additional benefits that GMX Seguros offers in its Home policy?

Emergency services in locksmith, for the opening of doors due to loss of keys and repair of locks on the exterior doors of the access to the property.

It also includes support in plumbing, for any service of failures or leaks in the hydraulic and sanitary installations that require repair. As well as in electricity, for service due to failures in electrical installations that require repair within the property; It is even considered additional funeral expenses for the policy holder.