Only one in 10 residents in the UAE has home insurance, leaving the vast majority of the population uninsured, said InsuranceMarket.ae.
About 58% of home insurance claims came from the damage or loss of personal belongings, with 70% of the claims made on damages and 30% on loss of personal belongings, data from InsuranceMarket.ae showed.
For claims made against personal belongings, 83% were for the loss or damage to portable electronic devices, primarily mobile phones, with jewellery accounting for the remaining 17% of claims.
Claims on damages to building and damage to contents made up 21%, with 90% of building damage claims due to water leakage. Accidental damage accounted for 57% of all contents claims. One home owner even claimed AED900 ($245) for spoiled frozen food, the report said.
“A common misunderstanding of home insurance is that only individuals who own the apartment or villa can purchase this type of insurance. Tenants often wrongly assume that their home contents are covered under the landlord’s or building’s policies. However, tenants who rent an apartment or villa can – and should – purchase home insurance to protect their contents, such as furniture or home electronics, and personal belongings like watches, jewellery and mobile phones,” said Mr Avinash Babur, CEO of Insurancemarket.ae.
Another common misunderstanding about home insurance is that it is expensive, which is not the case, he said. “Home insurance premiums, across building, contents and personal belongings, make up only a small percentage of the total value of each item. For example, building insurance premiums range from 0.02% to 0.07% of the value of the property. So, when compared to the value of your assets and possessions, buying home insurance makes sense, offers peace of mind and undoubtedly outweighs the amount you would otherwise spend replacing items or undertaking repairs paid for out of your own pocket,” he added.
InsuranceMarket.ae is a leading digital-first insurance service provider. M
AED1 = $0.27