​Diwali - the festival of lights is here! This festival brings the entire country together and spreads a spectacular show of light and colour throughout. Buying sweets, cleaning and decorating our home, shopping for gifts and new dresses are some of the few tasks we indulge to make this festival as grand as it is. People celebrate Diwali with great zeal and happiness across the country. They light candles, bust crackers, prepare sweets, buy gifts, and meet their loved ones.

Emotions are often not linked with the rupee value of the gift, but the idea which goes behind it shows your fondness to your loved ones and your concern for their well-being. The custom of gifting stimulates the right emotions for your near and dear ones and shows your gratification by providing them with long-term security.  The choice of gifting them an insurance plan vis-à-vis jewellery, clothing or crackers is yours.

As much as everyone seems to enjoy this festival, a few of you may have concerns about the damage stray firecrackers might inflict on your property. There have been several cases where houses, godowns, and shops have caught fire because of the hazardous nature of these mini explosives. So, even if you are enjoying and gorging on sweets and other delicacies, you can’t help but keep a close watch on potential fizzing rockets into the midnight sky. All the more, with the way things are wired in India, it just takes a small spark to start a raging fire of epic proportions. To put such fears to rest, you have to take a step to curb it. Well, this is the situation where home insurance comes to your rescue.

What is home insurance?

A basic home insurance policy covers fire and allied perils, including lightning, storm and flood. A comprehensive householder’s package policy also insures the contents of a house against burglary, damage, and mechanical or electrical breakdown. There are several reasons why you should have a house insurance policy-

Coverage against natural and human-made calamities – A home insurance policy protects your house against damages caused due to natural disasters, such as floods, lightning, storms, earthquakes, typhoons, etc. Also, the plan covers your home from human-made hazards and anti-social activities, alike. These are acts such as thefts, strikes, riots, other activities caused out of malicious intent, etc. Also, it financially enables you to recover from the loss and rebuild your home.

Protection against damage caused to your valuable assets and personal belongings – A house insurance policy offers coverage against damage of contents kept inside the insured house, including various precious, expensive, and essential belongings like jewellery, furniture and electrical goods.

It is never too late to make the right decision. We all know that precaution is better than cure. And by buying a house and content insurance, you might just save yourself from an unexpected loss. But before you decide on purchasing home insurance, it is essential to shop around. Different companies in the market offer policies with various features and accordingly the annual payment for them is different. It is thus essential to understand the elements of the plan before you decide on one.