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Every HDB Homeowner with a HDB Loan is required to have HDB Fire Insurance. This was introduced to help homeowners deal with the financial burden of repair work in the event of a fire.
At premiums of $1.50 to $7.50 for 5 years, most people treat fire insurance as an after-thought, but perhaps some attention is required here, as homeowners may not be as protected as they think. With that in mind, the team at EasyRates presents you with 3 common misconceptions about HDB Fire Insurance.
Misconception 1: HDB Fire Insurance covers my furniture and anything else in my house that may be damaged by a fire
The sad truth here is that the amount of coverage you get is really proportionate to the low price that you pay. HDB Fire insurance covers an extremely narrow segment of your home, specifically, it covers only “Building structures, fixtures & fittings provided by HDB and/or its approved developer.” Which is a nice way of saying HDB’s Fire Insurance only covers the things HDB built for you.
So, that 55” Smart TV sitting in your living room?
Well that’s not covered.
How about my kitchen cabinets, they have to cover that right? It’s a fixture!
While you’re right in saying that HDB’s Fire Insurance does cover fixtures and fittings, they only cover them if they were built by HDB. If you as a home owner hired a contractor to carry out renovations, these wouldn’t be covered.
At the end of the day, with HDB Fire Insurance, you get what you pay for. Seeing that you’re only paying anywhere between $0.30 – $1.50/ year, it is perhaps unfair to expect too much of your fire insurance policy.
Misconception 2: It’s called HDB Fire Insurance, But Surely It Would Protect Me From Things Like Theft and Burglary Too, Right?
Most of us take it for granted that we would be protected from disasters like theft or burglary right? We’re all smart and responsible homeowners who would never leave us unprotected from the worst case scenarios, right?
Well if you’re looking for something in terms of Insurance, I can assure you that there is currently no such coverage offered by your HDB Fire Insurance. As the name implies HDB Fire Insurance does not protect you from anything other than fire related damages and even then the coverage is limited.
Our point here is this, the amount of protection you receive under HDB’s Fire Insurance might be much lower than you think and you should understand that given the low cost, that’s natural.
Misconception 3: Well, At Least Fire Insurance Will Protect Us If Anyone Gets Hurt As A Result Of Fire Right?
Well… Not Really. Here’s the thing about HDB’s Fire Insurance, it’s designed to protect your home’s structure and that’s about it. If anyone is hurt during the fire or worse, dies in the event of a fire, HDB’s Fire Insurance will not cover you at all.
This is a strange quirk of HDB Fire Insurance, it protects the home, but not the homeowner or anyone else in the household when the fire occurs and that is – to me at least – a fatal flaw.
What makes a house a home? Is it the actual structure of the house? The things in it or the people? HDB’s Fire Insurance is clearly geared towards protecting the structure of the house, but perhaps there is more to your home than just the four walls that surround it.
Each item in your home represents a cherished memory of time spent together as a family. Therefore it is sad that the things that make your house a home have little to no protection under HDB Fire Insurance, since it wasn’t built by HDB.
Memories are worth preserving and it’s sad to think that it’s these very things that are the least protected in your home.
Woefully Unprotected Without Knowing It
The sad truth about it all, is that most HDB Homes in Singapore are woefully unprotected and most home owners don’t even realize it. Is there anything you can do about it? Yes, there is! Consider Home Contents Insurance to enhance the protection of your home and keep the people and things that make your house a home, safe. Home contents insurance is generally cheap while still giving you peace of mind, however, most households are unaware that such coverage exists.
An example of one of the better plans in the market is the recently launched GreatHome Insurance distributed by OCBC Bank. For just about 38 Cents a day on the Essential plan, you can get insured to the tune of $1,000,000 with coverage from burglary to overflowing pipes and even your food in fridge getting spoilt. For more information you can check them out here.
With that we hope you’ve been left with a more realistic understanding of what HDB Fire insurance is and its limitations. Think this would be good read for a friend? Share us on Facebook! Think we missed something out? Leave us a comment in the section below!
This post was proudly sponsored by OCBC Bank. Interested in Home Contents Insurance? Check out OCBC’s Great Home plan here![/vc_column_text]
GreatHome is underwritten by Great Eastern General Insurance Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Great Eastern Holdings Limited and member of the OCBC Group. GreatHome is not a bank deposit or obligation of, or guaranteed by OCBC Bank.
Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme
This plan is protected under the Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme which is administered by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC). Coverage for your policy is automatic and no further action is required from you. For more information on the types of benefits that are covered under the scheme as well as the limits of coverage, where applicable, please contact us or visit the General Insurance Association (GIA) or SDIC websites (www.gia.org.sg or www.sdic.org.sg).
Terms and conditions apply.
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