Tips for Signing Up for 'Nae Jip' Home Fire Insurance, More Important Amid Real Estate Surge

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] When asked to choose their number one asset, many people often mention the hard-earned house without hesitation. However, unlike compulsory insurance such as auto insurance, fewer people have subscribed to homeowners fire insurance than expected.

Recently, as real estate prices have risen, the importance of homes has grown, leading to increased interest in homeowners fire insurance.

In the past, homeowners fire insurance that simply compensated for fire damage was sufficient, but now its role as a comprehensive household insurance that covers various risks that may occur while living in the home has become important.

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance shared tips on how to choose homeowners fire insurance that can adequately cover risks from daily life to fire hazards.

Indemnity Compensation vs Proportional Compensation

The first thing to check when considering homeowners fire insurance is whether you can receive sufficient compensation in case of fire.

At this time, it is important to confirm whether the special contract you want to subscribe to uses the 'indemnity compensation' method that compensates for actual loss.

If you have subscribed to the 'fire damage' special contract with indemnity compensation, you can be compensated for the actual loss within the insurance amount limit when a fire accident occurs.

However, if you have subscribed to a special contract with proportional compensation, and the insured amount is set low, compensation is made proportionally according to the subscription ratio, which may result in not receiving compensation equal to the actual damage.

Supplementing Blind Spots in Fire Damage Special Contracts

Even if you have subscribed to a fire damage special contract, blind spots in coverage can occur. To supplement this, you can additionally subscribe to special contracts for waste transportation and landfill/incineration cost damage and restoration cost.

Generally, after a fire accident, restoring the house as a living space requires a process of removing the parts destroyed by the fire.

At this time, the existing fire damage special contract covers the dismantling and cleaning of residual materials and the cost of loading waste onto vehicles. However, it did not cover the cost of transporting waste to disposal sites and the costs required for landfill or incineration.

However, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance’s recently introduced 'Wise Household Life' product covers waste disposal costs that were previously blind spots in coverage.

There is one more aspect where people often feel the insurance payout after a fire accident is less than expected: the cost to restore the house and household goods.

This is because depreciation is deducted when compensation is paid for homeowners fire accidents. Insurance is fundamentally a financial product that restores the value at the time of the accident, so the value decrease due to depreciation is not compensated.

However, if you subscribe to a separate restoration cost support special contract, you can receive additional compensation, so this is a part you must check when subscribing if you want sufficient coverage.

Coverage Required by Relevant Laws

Damage caused by fire is not limited to property damage. Recently, due to amendments to relevant laws, additional damages may occur, so it is necessary to subscribe to special contracts that cover these as well.

The first to look at is the 'Fire (including explosion) Liability' special contract. If a fire breaks out in your home, you must compensate not only your home but also the neighboring houses damaged as a result.

In the past, this applied only in cases of gross negligence, but after the revision of the Act on Liability for Fire (Act on Liability for Fire Damage), liability for compensation arises even for fires caused by accident.

Especially if you live in an apartment or other multi-family housing, preparation for this is essential. Recently, most insurance companies offer this special contract with coverage up to 2 billion KRW.

The fire fine special contract is also necessary. According to Article 170 of the Criminal Act, fines may be imposed if a fire causes public danger.

In particular, fire fines are compensated based on the person who caused the fire. Therefore, if the fire insurance is subscribed under the husband's name but the fire was caused by the wife's fault, compensation cannot be received. To cover this gap, you can subscribe to the 'Family Fire Fine' coverage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.