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Home Insurance Coverage Overview
MoneyHero provides you with a comprehensive list of different home insurance plans on the market, making it easier for you to compare their coverage and premium prices. While insuring your home through MoneyHero, you can also enjoy exclusive discounts and benefits!
Home Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
What are the factors that should be considered when purchasing home insurance?
- Third-party liability coverage: If the insured, their tenants, domestic helpers, or pets are negligently involved in accidents that cause bodily injury or property damage to others, the insurance company will assume the relevant liability and compensation. For example, if a burst water pipe damages the elevators of a building and affects neighboring units accidentally, all of this falls within the scope of third-party liability coverage. As it’s difficult to estimate the amount of third-party liability compensation which could be significant, getting home insurance can help protect a resident from a sudden pecuniary burden in the event of unfortunate accidents.
Coverage limits per item: When purchasing home insurance, apart from just looking at the total coverage amount, you should also study the limits per item (general and valuable items). For example, in Generali's "Home Package Insurance," the limit per item is HK$50,000, and in bolttech's "HomeCare Insurance," if the property is damaged due to fire, floods, typhoon, explosion, theft, or accidents, the maximum compensation per item is HK$150,000. Therefore, remember to pay attention to the compensation amount for each item and the situations to which it applies when purchasing home insurance.
- Excesses: It is worth noting that even if you have purchased home insurance, some insurance companies may require the policyholder to pay a deductible or excess when accidents occur (e.g. if the deductible is HK$500 and the loss is HK$4,500, the insurance company will only compensate up to HK$4,000). For example, in AIG's "Premium Home Plus – Enhanced Version," the excess for each and every non-water damage is HK$250 or 10% of the adjusted loss, whichever is higher, and in Generali's "Home Package Insurance," the excess for each and every claim for loss of or damage to third party property is HK$500. Therefore, when purchasing home insurance, pay attention to whether the plan requires payment of an excess.
Do tenants need to purchase home insurance?
Buying home insurance is not only a responsibility for homeowners but also for tenants. If unfortunate accidents (e.g., explosions, fires) or natural disasters (e.g., storms, typhoons) cause property damage, general home insurance can cover the insured's property losses. Tenants who have purchased home insurance can obtain coverage based on the terms of the policy.
Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, tenants also need to consider whether their home insurance includes third-party liability coverage, as tenants are also responsible for injury or property damage caused to other people by negligence. For example, if a window falls off, and causes injury or property damage to a third party, the amount involved in the compensation can be significant. By purchasing third-party liability insurance, tenants can obtain coverage according to the policy terms.
What is home insurance and what are the common coverage areas?
Home insurance provides coverage for loss or damage to household belongings. Some common coverage on the market are:
Loss or damage to household belongings due to accidents: such as due to explosions, fires, storms, floods, ceiling leaks, burst pipes, or theft. The loss or damage does not necessarily have to occur inside the home. Household belongings include furniture, electronic appliances, and even items like mobile phones, tablets, and laptops.
Temporary accommodation expenses for residents who need to move out due to accidents requiring home repairs: (e.g., needing to rent serviced apartments due to fires or stay in hotels due to water leaks inside the home during a typhoon)
Loss or damage to household belongings during renovation/maintenance periods: such as water leaks in the unit during renovation.
Do you need to purchase home insurance? What are the benefits of buying home insurance?
Regardless of the unit holder's identity (homeowner or tenant), the type of unit they own (e.g., private apartment, village house, public housing, tenement building, etc.), and its age, it is necessary to purchase home insurance.
Although policyholders need to pay the premiums regularly, the insurance company will assume responsibility on behalf of the policyholder when accidents occur. For example, it’s hard to estimate the amount of the compensation and legal liabilities resulting from a window falling off that hit someone or damaged someone's property, but if a successful claim is made to the insurance company, it can help save unexpected expenses.
Water pipe leakage coverage is usually categorized into Property loss due to water leakage and Maintenance cost of pipe, different insurance companies provide different level of coverage:
| Insurance Compny | Property loss due to water leak | 24 hours emergency service (Maintenance cost of pipe) |
|---|---|---|
| Allied World | ✓ | Water draining system maintenance |
| AXA | ✓ | Referral only* |
| Dah Sing | ✕ | Water draining system maintenance |
| FWD | ✓ | ✕ |
| MSIG | ✓^ | Referral only |
| Prudential | ✓ | ✕ |
| Zurich | ✓ | Water supply system maintenance |
*The relevant cost will only be covered if the pipe is your own improvement but not the original structure.
Besides, if the water from the burst pipe damages the property of your neighbour, such as the apartment downstairs, AXA will cover your liability for such damage.
Before you decide which plan to buy, you have to first consider the "Household Content Cover". The maximum benefit could vary from HK$500,000 to HK$1,500,000 and some insurance companies' coverage are depending on the property area.
| Insurance Company (Plan) | Home Content Cover |
|---|---|
| Allied World(Plan I) | $600,000 |
| AXA (SmartHome Optimum) | $750,000-$1,500,000* |
| Dah Sing (Plan B) | $600,000 |
| FWD (Easy HomeCare ) | $500,000 |
| MSIG (Plan B) | $750,000 |
| Prudential (Harmony) | $500,000 |
| Zurich (Standard) | $750,000-$1,250,000* |
| CHUBB MyHomeGuard Plan A - High Risk House | $300,000 |
*Varies from gross floor area
In addition, each company will set a maximum limit for each property. Usually, there are two types of property including "Personal effects" and "Valuables". Most of the insurance companies will set a maximum limit for "Valuables" in between HK$150,000 to HK$ 250,000 per year.
| Insurance Company (Plan) | Personal Effects Cover^ | Valuables Cover^ |
|---|---|---|
| Allied World（Plan I） | $30,000 | $10,000 |
| AXA（SmartHome Optimum） | $150,000 | $15,000 |
| Dah Sing (Plan B) | $3,000 | $15,000 |
| FWD (Easy HomeCare ) | $100,000 | $10,000 |
| MSIG (Plan B) | $100,000 | $15,000 |
| Prudential (Harmony) | $50,000 | $10,000 |
| Zurich (Standard) | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| CHUBB MyHomeGuard Plan A - High Risk House | $100,000 | $10,000 |
^Each item
One of the benefits of buying a home insurance is your personal belongings could be covered even you are not in Hong Kong (when you are in a business trip or travelling around the world). The benefit is up to HK$5,000 to HK$20,000. However, only MSIG, Dah Sing and Prudential provide free covereage for worldwide personal belongings, and Zurich provides optional plan with additional price so you could choose the coverage that suit you the best.
| Insurance Company (Plan) | Personal Effects and ValuablesCover |
|---|---|
| Allied World (Plan I) | $5,000 |
| AXA (SmartHome Optimum) | $30,000 |
| Dah Sing (Plan B) | $15,000 |
| FWD (Easy HomeCare ) | Not applicable |
| MSIG (Plan B) | $11,250 |
| Prudential (Harmony) | $10,000 |
| Zurich (Standard) | Optional coverage, depends on additional premium (free coverage for mobile, tablet and laptop) |
| CHUBB MyHomeGuard Plan A - High Risk House | $2,500 |
Besides, majority of insurance companies will list the coverage and maximum limit per policy year for "Loss of Personal Money", "Unauthorized use of Credit Card" and "Loss of Personal Documents" separately.
| Insurance Company (Plan) | Loss of Personal Money | Unauthorized use of Credit Card | Loss of Personal Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allied World (Plan I) | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| AXA (SmartHome Optimum) | $2,500 | $10,000 | $1,500 |
| Dah Sing (Plan B) | $1,500 | $3,000 | $1,000 |
| FWD (Easy HomeCare) | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| MSIG (Plan B) | $2,500 | $10,000 | $1,000 |
| Prudential (Harmony) | $2,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 |
| Zurich (Standard) | $5,000 | $20,000 | $5,000 |
| CHUBB MyHomeGuard Plan A - High Risk House | $2,500 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
Each insurance companies has its own handlig for the coverage of domestic helper's effect. For example, Allied World and FWD list in details the maximum coverage for each item in each policy year but MSIG only lists the maximum coverage. Besides, domestic helper's effect is included in household content coverage in Prudential, CHUBB and Zurich's plan, while it is excluded in Dah Sing Insurance's plan.
| Insurance Company (Plan) | Domestic Helper's Effect Cover (Maximum Limit/year) | Domestic Helper's Effect Cover (Maximum Limit/item) |
|---|---|---|
| Allied World (Plan I) | $10,000 | $2,500 |
| AXA (SmartHome Optimum) | $25,000/each helper | $1,000 |
| Dah Sing (Plan B) | X | X |
| FWD (Easy HomeCare ) | $5,000 | $1,000 |
| MSIG (Plan B) | $5,000 | Not applicable |
Dah Sing home insurance includes "Pet Cover" which cover medical expenses of your pet including out-patient and laboratory test. Dah Sing Plan B & Plan C could provide maximum of HK$3,500 benefit per year. Maximum cover for outpatient expenses is HK$300 per day, while maximum cover for X-Ray and Laboratory test is HK$2,000 (HK$1,000 per visit per day).
However, this is an optional coverage with HK$600 premium per year for each pet.
You could enjoy up to 20% discount by buying home insurance via Moneyhero for Allied World, Zurich and Dah Sing Insurance Plan now!
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