Only 30% people have insured their homes in India: Survey

Most people in the country prefer not to spend on a home insurance policy despite awareness on the need for the cover , a Bajaj Allianz General Insurance survey said.

Around 1200 people from metros like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai , Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and non-metros like Jaipur, Surat, Nagpur, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, and other towns, took the survey last month.

As total of 60 per cent of these respondents were home owners, rest 40 per cent lived on rented space.

Around 75 per cent were aware that home insurance was essential. However, only 30 per cent of them had insurance for either their home or its contents, said the survey report.

The deluge in Jammu and Kashmir last year and the recent Nepal earthquake are reminders that natural calamities come without any warning.

Around 64 per cent of homeowners felt earthquakes and other natural calamities were the biggest risks their homes were exposed to, followed by fire (28 per cent) and thefts, burglaries (8 per cent).

Among those who lived on rent, 56 per cent believed natural calamities were the biggest threat to their homes.

Around 30 per cent of them said fire was a major risk while 14 per cent termed thefts and burglaries as risks. Home insurance penetration in the country is at a dismal 0.07 per cent.

The demand for this cover was low because the general public found home insurance products and clauses complicated and difficult to understand, revealed the survey.

It showed that most of the respondents were aware of home insurance as a risk management tool.

However, they were not well informed about the coverage that different home insurance policies offered.