Bharat Griha Raksha – Standard Home Insurance Policy

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has introduced a standard home insurance policy that will cover the risk of fire and allied perils for certain risks. The IRDAI has issued a detailed guideline on 4th January 2021 that the Standard Fire and Special Perils (SFSP) policy provided for in the erstwhile All India Fire Tariff (AIFT) 2001 will be replaced by the new Bharat Griha Raksha policy that every insurance company must have to offer that are carrying on fire and perils insurance business from 1st April 2021.

What is Bharat Griha Raksha Policy?

This insurance policy offers cover against the wide range of perils as mentioned below.

  • Fire
  • Natural calamity like Storm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane, Tornado, Flood, Tsunami, Earthquake, Landslide
  • Forest, Jungle, and Bush fire
  • Riots
  • Strikes
  • Malicious damages,
  • Terrorism
  • Bursting and overflowing of water tanks, apparatus, and pipes
  • Leakage from automatic sprinkler installation
  • Impact damage of any kind
  • Theft

All the above will cover under the policy within 7 days from the occurrence.

Not only this, but the policy also covers the ‘General Home Contents’ without any need for a separate declaration. The coverage amount for such home content would be 20% of the sum insured for the building subject to a maximum of ₹ 10 lakhs. If you wish to cover home content for more than ₹ 10 lakhs, then you can opt for a higher sum insured for general content by declaring the details.

Bharat Griha Raksha Policy Features

  • Covers the majority of the fire and perils
  • Also, cover the general home content
  • Optional cover of valuable contents like jewellery and curios
  • Personal accident of the insured and spouse due to an insured peril
  • Complete waiver of underinsurance

Bharat Griha Raksha insurance policy also offers insurance for valuable contents like jewellery and curios. So if you want to get your valuable stuff insured, you can get the same covered under this policy by paying an extra premium.

There is also an option for add personal accident of the insured and spouse due to an insured peril under the policy.

The main benefit of the policy is it also gives a complete waiver of underinsurance. Underinsurance means if the sum insured declared by the policyholder is less than the actual value of the property in question, then the policyholder’s claim will not be settled proportionately but up to the sum insured that is declared.

Let’s understand this with an example. If you have insured any of your general home contents like television, fridge, washing machine, etc. for a sum insured of ₹ 1 lakh. whereas the actual value is ₹ 2 lakhs, the policy will still pay the entire sum insured i.e. ₹ 1 lakh.

There are some policies that may just pay ₹ 50000 saying that the insurer has declared the value on the lower side so the payable amount is just ₹ 50000 and not the full insurance amount i.e. ₹ 1 lakh.

Bharat Griha Raksha vs Traditional Home Insurance Policy

Bharat Griha RakshaTraditional Policy
Covers wide range of natural calamity and perilsCovers limited natural calamities
Offers additional coverage of General Home ContentYou have to opt it separately
Optional coverage of valuable contentA separate policy is required
Optional coverage of the personal accidentA separate policy is required
Complete waiver of underinsuranceUnderinsurance clause is applicable
Easy to understand and applyComplex terms and conditions
The standard policy offered by all insurance companyPolicy terms are different for different policy

FAQs – Bharat Griha Raksha Policy

What is so special about this policy?

This is a standard home insurance policy offered by all the insurance company. So there will be no confusion on the policy terms and conditions. It will be same across the insurance companies.

Do I need to opt for the separate policy for theft and burglary?

No, this policy covers the theft and burglary both event.

What is the timeline under which I have to inform the insurance company?

You need to inform the insurance company about the event within maximum of 7 days from its occurrence.

Are there any policy riders?

Yes, there are 2 optional riders i.e. valuable content and personal accident coverage.

Is there any policy amount upper limit?

No, there is no policy amount upper limit. It is on the basis of the value of the home insured.

Conclusion

Bharat Griha Raksha is a standard home insurance policy meant for the coverage against natural calamity or any other unwanted event. I have bought a new house and will be going to shift into that in a few months. I was looking for the home insurance policy and while googling, I found the IRDAI has introduced a guideline for the home insurance policy. Now by going through all the features of the policy, I will surely opt for this one for my new house.

I hope the above information will help you to make an informed decision on the home insurance policy. If you have any questions, you may write the same in the comment box below. I will surely answer your question related to this policy.

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