Homeowner's insurance (Part I)
Homeowner's insurance (seguro del hogar) covers:
- The house itself
- Everything inside
…against a huge number of different risks at your choice. Of course there are more or less complete policies and insurance contracts. Just to mention some of the risks that may be covered by a homeowner insurance: fires, explosions, rays, fumes, electricity shortcuts, super voltage, escapes, inundations, leaks, thunderstorms, icing, robs, vandalism, salvation measures… expenses for fireman work, salvage, provisional accommodation, documents reposition, cleaning, surveys, placement of glasses…
The premium of the policy will depend on the value of the house itself, the valuation of covered objects and the risks you are guaranteed against.
There is no law obligation for homeowner insurance in Spain. Many banks, as a condition to borrow you money for the purchase, requires you to insure the mortgaged house at least with the minimum level of guarantee in order to protect the object till the loan is returned.
This type of Insurance is the one which causes more claims, according to the reports of the General Government Office of Insurance and Pension Funds.
By the time of contracting the home insurance is extremely important to tune the most regarding the continent and the content, because otherwise the contract would be ill-suited to reality, causing possible problems in the future.
The market offers many varieties of home Insurances; even the same Company usually offers several options for potential claims that may arise in the home. It is necessary to do a reasonable study of the different products and see which one is most appropriate to the needs of the user.
The insurance contract needs to be written in a document (policy) and need to cover a number of details:
- Full name or names of the contracting parties and their home, as well as the designation of the insured and beneficiary, if any.
-The insured concept.
-Nature of risk covered.
-Insured objects and location of same.
-Sum insured or scope of coverage.
-Amount of premiums, surcharges and taxes.
-Maturity of the premiums, place and method of payment.
-Duration of the contract, indicating the date and time you begin and end their effects.
- If an agent is involved in the contract, the name and type of agent needs to be mentioned too.
The documentation of the policy consists of two documents of great importance and should be reviewed before the actual signing of the contract. These should identify clearly the exceptions and situations where the insurer will indemnify the beneficiary of the insurance (these are the general and special conditions of the contract).
The vast majority of insurance claims tend to be motivated precisely because consumers assume that certain risks are covered when they are not. As you may know… the clue is in the exceptions of the General Conditions.
It is most advisable to do a “proposition of Insurance” this proposition has no binding character for the consumer and once the offer is made by the Insurance Company, it will be active for fifteen days.
The Insured contract period will be determined by the policy, which may fix a time not exceeding ten years. However, the period may be extended one or more times for a period not exceeding one year each time. The parties can oppose the extension of the contract by written notification to the other party. This needs to be made within a period of two months prior to the completion of the current period of insurance.
Caños de Meca ( Cadiz) beach by cabezadeturco at Flickr.com