March 10, 2016
Around 93% of respondents of a recent survey conducted by ICICI Lombard General Insurance do not own a home insurance policy. This is despite the fact that 62% of those surveyed were aware of the benefits of a home insurance policy, a company statement said.
The survey also revealed that most home owners did not feel the need to get their homes covered and 59% of the respondents said that they would buy a home insurance policy if the premiums were lower and the claims process was made easier. The survey was conducted across a user base of 2,000, half of whom were in the age group of 36-40 years. 62% of the respondents acquired their homes only in the last three years. “Home insurance, as a segment, is hugely under-penetrated. Although a home insurance policy can help ease the financial burden that arises out of severe disasters such as floods, storms, earthquakes and riots,” ICICI Lombard chief Underwriting and Claims Sanjay Datta said.
A separate survey conducted on 1,200 people by Bajaj Allianz General Insurance last May, in metropolises like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and cities like Jaipur, Surat, Nagpur, Jalandhar and Chandigarh, found that the demand for home insurance was low because people found the products and clauses complicated and difficult to understand. One reason for the complex insurance policy is that many insurers add on features and caveats to a standard fire insurance policy to make a packaged home insurance policy.