The most common insurance risks for Russian real estate are named

How to protect property from fires and floods

An insurance policy is a reliable way to protect property from a number of risks and troubles. In times of economic turbulence, more and more Russians are thinking about insuring their property against fires, floods and other unforeseen situations in order to avoid financial losses.

According to the Association of Professional Insurance Brokers, in the first half of 2023, property insurance premiums increased by 15% and reached 109 billion rubles.

As the press service of Ingosstrakh recently reported, the first place in terms of the amount of payments for the three quarters of 2023 among the company’s clients was taken by settled cases of fires – 53% of the total volume of payments. Cases of property damage by water took second place – about 29%. Another 5% of payments were for losses associated with illegal actions of third parties, and 4% for natural disasters. About 9% of the volume of payments fell on other risks, which included civil liability to third parties. In total, over the nine months of this year, the company paid out about 870 million rubles under insurance contracts for the property of individuals, analysts concluded.

How to properly insure property

Economically literate Russians are increasingly thinking about insuring apartments and country houses. The term “insure your home” is a general concept. Typically, the policy details the specific components of the property that are covered by the insurance.

These can be structural elements, such as the foundation and walls of a building. External and internal decoration is often insured: this includes built-in furniture, doors, wallpaper, tiles, etc. Prudent owners include communications and equipment in their insurance policy: boilers, pipes, plumbing, ventilation systems.

You can also insure elements of movable property: household appliances and electronics, a lawn mower or a snow blower. Often, dacha owners protect landscape items, such as bridges, fountains, fences and swimming pools, from risks.

When applying for insurance, you may need receipts and documents for property. This will help experts more accurately determine its value. When taking out an insurance policy, it is important to carefully study all the conditions: what exactly is insured and against what.

In the event of an incident, experts recommend immediately contacting one of the services to prepare the relevant documents. These may be representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, police, gas service and other organizations. Next, you must notify the insurance company about the incident within five days. In addition, it is advisable to photograph or videotape the consequences of the insured event.

Leading regions in terms of payments

According to insurance company statistics, apartments are at greatest risk of water damage: such cases account for 79% of payments in this segment for the nine months of 2023. As for private houses, 76% of payments were due to fires.

“Our statistics once again confirm that insuring your property is an important and necessary investment. An insurance policy is guaranteed to help minimize losses and repair damage. But the most important thing is that if the client has a policy, he will feel confident and protected,” explained Nikolai Tsvetnitsky, head of the loss settlement department for insurance of individual insurance programs at Ingosstrakh.

Residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and adjacent regions received the most payments under personal property insurance programs during the period under review.