Secure Your Happy Home with 4 Essential Types of Insurance
Make your home a happy one by learning how home protection, mortgage, domestic helper & pet insurance plans can keep your home & loved ones safe & secure.
Owning a home is a significant milestone for most of us, in fact it’s very likely the biggest investment we’d make in our lives.
The thing is, buying a physical house is only the first step into making it your home.
Just think about it, your home is a place far more significant than a place to sleep in — it’s where you return after a long day out to feel safe, comfortable, and well-protected. This environment of a happy home needs to be fostered and created, not simply with furniture and appliances.
One of the most underrated aspects of building a home is the importance of having adequate protection — namely having stability and security against unforeseen events. For this, we turn to insurance plans — and don’t worry, these are often pretty affordable.
Let’s take a look at some of these 4 types of insurance that go hand-in-hand to make your home a happy and secure one.
Understanding home protection insurance — Remember, it’s not the same as fire insurance
When it comes to protecting your home, it is often assumed that the fire insurance mandated by HDB or your condo’s MCST might be sufficient. However, home protection insurance such as Income Insurance's Home Ultimate Protect and Enhanced Home Insurance offers a broader safety net.
You see, fire insurance fundamentally covers the structural aspects of your home, and often only covers the building’s structure, not the contents within your home or renovations that home protection insurance covers.
Do take note that renovations are improvements and additions made within your home in the form of fixtures and fittings. This can include flooring and all carpentry you’ve added yourself — which are likely not covered by fire insurance, depending on their policy conditions and exceptions.
What you want to consider is an insurance plan that covers other aspects — not just the aforementioned home contents and renovations — but also structural protection and liability protection against damages to neighbouring properties in the event of a fire.
Our Enhanced Home Insurance plan offers protection for your house building1, its contents2 and renovations3 against fire4, burst pipes5, theft6 and more.
Additional benefits that could further offer peace of mind include:
- Coverage for accidental loss of or damage to the mirrors or fixed glass (which form part of the building or renovations).
- Replacement of locks and keys, conservancy charges, loss of rental income and hotel expenses, the removal of debris and more. View details.
- Flexibility to decide how much coverage you want for your home, avoiding both over-insurance and under-insurance.
But that’s not all – view the full list of additional benefits here.
How much home insurance coverage is enough?
So then, how much home insurance coverage should you opt for? Here are some pointers to help get you going:
- Assess your home and home contents value: Calculate the cost of replacing your home contents, or even rebuilding your home. This can include the cost of renovation, furniture, and other gadgets.
- Factor in inflation and asset value: Think about inflation and the increasing value of your possessions over time. Do you have valuable art, watches, or rare collector items that could be worth much more over time?
- Be careful not to be under-insured: If the cost of reinstating your whole place is S$500,000, but you’re only insured for up to S$300,000, then you’re under-insured and can only claim 60 percent of the full sum for building and renovations. Sounds straightforward, right? The catch is that by being under-insured, even if your repairs cost S$200,000 (less than the sum assured), you’re only able to receive a claim of 60 percent of that sum as well, i.e. S$120,000.
Thankfully, we make the planning process hassle-free for you - getting a quote from us is a straightforward, online process.
Protect your finances with mortgage term insurance
While home protection insurance covers the physical structure and contents of your home, Mortgage Term Insurance focuses on the financial aspect. Mortgage term insurance is a type of protection plan that provides coverage that reduces over a limited period of time, which is usually timed to the remaining duration of one’s mortgage loan.
It ensures that your mortgage repayments are taken care of should the unexpected happen to you, alleviating financial strain on your family. This coverage is especially crucial if you are the primary breadwinner or if your household relies heavily on your income.
Our Mortgage Term Insurance ensures your loved ones are not left with the burden of mortgage repayments in the event of death, terminal illness, or total and permanent disability (TPD before age 70). This helps to maintain your family's financial stability and ensures that they can continue to live in their home without the added financial stress of mortgage payments.
How to choose the right mortgage term insurance
- Coverage amount: Consider covering the total outstanding balance of your mortgage loan.
- Policy term: Choose a policy term that corresponds with the remaining duration of your mortgage loan. Income’s Mortgage Term Insurance allows you to choose a policy term from 5 to 35 years.
- Premium amount: Compare premiums to find a policy that fits within your budget while offering sufficient coverage.
Have a maid? Then domestic helper insurance is a must
Hiring a domestic helper in Singapore comes with responsibilities, including mandatory maid insurance to ensure your helper has access to medical care and financial protection in the event of accidents, illnesses, or other unforeseen events.
Maid insurance isn’t just about protecting your helper, however. It also helps safeguard you from potential financial and legal complications arising from your helper’s medical expenses, liability coverage, wage compensation when your helper is unable to work when she is hospitalised, and also repatriation costs should that situation arise.
For instance, Income’s Domestic Helper Insurance offers a comprehensive and hassle-free solution for you. Some highlights include:
- Preferential rates for medical consultations: Get preferential rates for general practitioner and specialist consultations, plus compulsory 6-monthly medical examination through MediPass app7.
- Letter of Guarantee8: Enjoy hassle-free convenience with no upfront deposit required for hospital admission. We will also pay for your helper’s hospitalisation expenses directly to the hospital on your behalf.
- Coverage for pre-existing medical conditions9: If your helper is employed for more than 12 months in Singapore, we will cover her for hospitalisation for pre-existing medical conditions9.
- Wage compensation: Claim wages compensation if your helper is hospitalised or on hospitalisation leave and is unable to carry out her duties (up to 30 days). Available for Standard or Enhanced Plan.
For your fur-ever family, don’t forget pet insurance
For all dog and cat owners, having a pet as a companion is integral to building your happy home.
While there are plenty of moments that make up great memories, being a pet owner is not all sunshine and rainbows – one may learn that when picking up your pet litter at the park!
Besides, your pet will also require veterinary or medical treatments from time to time. Some common conditions that your pet might face include gastrointestinal issues and skin conditions, among other ailments. Veterinary bills for these conditions can be substantial, making pet insurance a wise investment. This will allow you to help provide them with the best care when needed without causing a strain on your finances.
What to look out for in pet insurance
- Coverage limits: Understand what’s the maximum payout.
- Exclusions: Know what’s not covered under the plan – for instance, which conditions are covered and age of your pet.
- Premium costs: This is important so you can find the plan that delivers the best value for your requirements.
Our Happy Tails Pet Insurance provides comprehensive coverage, so you can focus on taking care of your pet with less financial strain. Here are some highlights:
- Coverage for surgical expenses due to your pet’s injuries, sickness, specified hereditary and congenital conditions10
- Chemotherapy benefit for your dog and cat, with coverage more than most insurers11
- Enjoy No Claim Discount of up to 15% if you have not made any claims in the preceding 3 consecutive years or more
So, what will you do to safeguard your happy home?
Comprehensive insurance coverage is essential to protect your happy home. Home protection, mortgage, domestic helper, and pet insurance complement each other to provide all-around protection for your family.
Looking to get a quote or have more questions? You can speak to our insurance advisors to work out a plan tailored to your needs.
1Building means the following:
For Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, condominiums, apartments or cluster houses, it will include the building structure (but not the foundations), fixtures and fittings based on HDB’s or the property developer’s standard specifications. This means we will not cover areas you do not own or which are not provided just for your use. For example, this can include shared areas such as corridors, car parks, stairways, lift lobbies and swimming pools.
For landed properties such as bungalows, semi-detached and terrace houses, it will include the building structure (but not the foundations), garages, outbuildings, swimming pools, terraces, footpaths, driveways, gardens, gates, fences and other private areas you own and which the public do not have access to.
2Contents means any physical and movable household items or personal belongings, including but not limited to money, valuables, bicycles, and personal mobility devices, kept within the premises that belong to you or your family members. Certain items are excluded from this definition. Please refer to the policy contract for the exclusions and the benefit sub-limits for each type of content.
3Renovations means improvements and additions made within the premises by you or any previous owner or tenant in the form of fixtures and fittings. For example, this could include flooring, built-in wardrobes and kitchen cabinets. They do not form part of the building cover.
4Fire is an insured event.
5Bursting or overflowing of domestic water tanks, apparatus or pipes in your premises (but not damage to water tanks, apparatus and pipes and expenses for tracing the source of the leak). The premises must not be left unoccupied. Unoccupied means when the premises have not been lived in by you, or by a person authorised by you, for more than 60 days in a row.
6Actual or attempted theft as long as force and violence are used to get into or out of the premises. You must not leave the premises unoccupied. Unoccupied means when the premises have not been lived in by you, or by a person authorised by you, for more than 60 days in a row.
7The application (“App”) is owned, hosted and managed by MY-INSURER PTE LTD, a service provider of Income Insurance Limited (“Income”). Income may from time to time change the service provider or terminate this service without prior notice. Income is not responsible for the contents of the App, the consequences of accessing the App, any transaction in the App and the services provided in the App. The App, the service and the benefits therein are not part of any insurance policy.
8This Letter of Guarantee (LOG) service is only applicable if your domestic helper is hospitalised at a Singapore government restructured hospital. The LOG limit will be up to a maximum of $60,000 per year and the LOG amount issued will depend on the actual hospital bill and is subject to our policy terms and conditions and individual hospital guidelines.
9Covers pre-existing medical condition provided your domestic helper has been working in Singapore as a foreign domestic helper for more than 12 months in a row.
10 If your pet is below six years of age at the start of the first policy year, we shall cover the following specified hereditary and congenital conditions after a 12-month waiting period from the start date of the policy, provided they are not pre-existing medical conditions:
(i) Hip and elbow dysplasia
(ii) Luxating patella
(iii) Glaucoma
(iv) Cherry eye
(v) Intervertebral disk disease (IVDD)
(vi) Conditions which require femoral head and neck excision
11 This comparison does not include all similar pet insurance plans.
This article is meant purely for informational purposes and does not constitute an offer, recommendation, solicitation or advice to buy or sell any product(s). It should not be relied upon as financial advice. Please seek independent financial advice before making any decision.
The precise terms, conditions and exclusions of any Income Insurance products mentioned are specified in their respective policy contracts. The policies are 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 Income Insurance or visit the GIA/LIA or SDIC websites (www.gia.org.sg or www.lia.org.sg or www.sdic.org.sg).
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