The Philippines is no stranger to natural disasters – typhoons that have caused myriad floods through the years, heavy volcanic eruptions every now and then, and earthquakes that affect especially the cities and towns located near or within fault lines at a large-scale level. There are also widespread accidents or crimes like fires and thefts especially among homes in high risk locations.
With this being said, it's only wise to invest in a good home insurance plan to secure everything you've worked hard for.
What's Included in Your Home Insurance?
It all depends on the package you choose. Some packages only cover your home, while others cover other properties, including appliances, furniture, fences or sheds, paintings, clothing, or jewelry. Meanwhile, there are also insurance packages that cover medical expenses from property damage due to unforeseen disasters.
You really have to figure out what you need in particular: do you have an expensive art or jewelry collection to protect? Are you an owner of a commercial building? Is your village located near a fault line or a coastal area? Do you check most of these boxes and would like to avail of an all-encompassing insurance package? Whatever you may need, pick the package that suits you best and matches your budget too.
Why You Should Get Home Insurance
Many Filipinos think that insurance is just a waste of money, but it's actually an excellent investment especially when you think of long-term goals. Home insurance comes in handy when you find yourself and your family (or whoever lives with you in your current home) in the middle of a disastrous situation that savings or other types of earnings cannot simply cover.
Home insurance offers the following benefits to those who avail of it:
• Property protection
• Safety from financial losses
• Exception from excessive evacuation costs
• Fulfillment of requirements by mortgage lenders
• Stress reduction
• Affordability (depending on the package or company you choose)
Average Cost of Home Insurance
Most people would be surprised to know that home insurance can actually cost within the range of PHP 700 to PHP 3,000 only. However, for those who really need good damage protection, the cost typically is in the millions category, with a usual limit of PHP 10 million.
Types of Home Insurance
There are many types of home insurance, including the general insurance packages such as homeowner's insurance and commercial property insurance for your home or commercial space, as well as flood insurance and earthquake insurance for natural disasters, and fire insurance and burglary/theft insurance for accidents and crimes.
1. Homeowner's Insurance
One of the most popular types of insurance is the homeowner's insurance, covering repairs, replacements, or damages in the home that you've worked hard for. This type of insurance can also cover uneasily replaceable items like furniture. Homeowner's insurance can give you that peace of mind that you'd need especially when it comes to protecting your valuable and hard-earned properties.
2. Burglary/Theft Insurance
This type of insurance compensates you from the losses due to theft. Depending on the package, this type of insurance can cover theft, which involves all acts of stealing including those who have resided or currently reside in the home, or burglary, which is taking the properties of someone else through home invasion. There are also insurance packages that cover both theft and burglary.
3. Fire Insurance
If your property is prone to catching fire and incurring serious damages because of it, then it would be best to get a fire insurance package that's best suited for your property. It's good to find an insurance company that allows you to customize the benefits so that you get all that you'd need.
Make sure that your insurance package provides ample replacements and the needed amount of repairs, or a larger scale reconstruction of your damaged property if you'd like.
4. Commercial Property Insurance
For entrepreneurs, property protection is a necessity. Businesses are huge investments that must be secured without spending a business owner's entire savings for damages due to crimes, accidents, or natural disasters. Those who would hugely benefit from this type of insurance plan include manufacturers and retailers, as well as service-oriented businesses, or even non-profit organizations.
For a commercial property insurance package, ensure accounting for the value of the building itself and other physical assets within the property, too. Some factors that you can also take into consideration include weather conditions, vulnerability to theft or burglary, accidents or natural disasters, and the quality of engineering and architecture, among many other factors.
5. Earthquake/Volcanic Eruption Insurance
Belonging in the Pacific Ring of Fire, our country is more prone than others to disasters, being one of the many casualties as a result of the many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions taking place yearly. If your location is high risk, i.e. near or on a fault line, or near an active volcano, then it's wise to avail of an earthquake and/or volcanic eruption insurance.
6. Flood Insurance
The country is most known to be paid yearly visits by typhoons and even supertyphoons – as a matter of fact, the Philippines has around 20 typhoons every year, with 5 of those typhoons being highly destructive and damaging to properties, livelihood, and actual human lives. This means that 1 out of 4 typhoons in the country can take your home, business, or even your family away.
To protect yourself from the devastating results of a typhoon, which is typically flooding, then it would be a good step ahead to acquire a flood insurance package, so that your house and your source/s of livelihood would be protected and covered for by your insurance provider, instead of shelling out your personal savings.
Home Insurance Companies in the Philippines
Below are 10 insurance companies in the Philippines that offer insurance packages for the disasters, accidents, and crimes listed above. To know more about the packages and services they offer, you can click or tap on their names to be led directly to their official websites.
• AXA
• AIG
• Malayan
• FPG
• OONA (formerly MAPFRE)