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    Tips for Fire and Home Insurance

    Fire Insurance vs Home Insurance

    Whether you're a homeowner or a tenant, you've probably heard of fire and home insurance. Many people mistakenly believe that having one is enough, but their coverage is actually quite different. Choosing the wrong plan could leave you without protection when you need it most! Read this article to understand the key differences and find the perfect plan for your home.

    What's fire insurance?

    Mainly for:

    • Homeowners

    Coverage areas:

    • The physical structure of the building: It includes the walls, ceilings and floors
    • Specified risks: Loss or damage to the building structure from accidents like fire, explosion and storms

    What's home insurance?

    Mainly for:

    • Both homeowners and tenants can purchase this individually

    Coverage areas:

    • Home contents: Damage caused by accidents like typhoons, rainstorms or burst water pipes
    • Personal effects and valuables: Accidental damage or loss of your personal effects, including those you wear outside your home
    • Personal Liability Coverage: Covers your legal liability for injury to others or property damage caused by your negligence
    • Building structure: Some home insurance plans offer building protection as an optional cover for homeowners, covering the building structure like walls
    • Pet Cover: Some home insurance plans may offer cover for pet liability, accidental death or theft of pets, typically limited to cats and dogs.
    Learn more

    Home Care Plus Home Insurance Plan

    Learn more

    Examples

    Here are 4 scenarios to help you quickly understand the differences between fire insurance and home insurance!

    Scenarios General coverage areas
    Fire insurance Home insurance
    1. A typhoon breaks your glass windows and damages your furniture ✅ The damaged glass windows, as they are part of the building's structure

    ✅ Furniture damaged by the typhoon, such as bed frames or air conditioners 

    ✅ The damaged windows (If you have an insurance plan that includes building protection)
    2. A water pipe bursts in your flat, damaging the ceiling of the unit below ❌ Not covered

    ✅ For losses in the unit below caused by the damaged ceiling

    • If it's due to natural wear and tear: Covered by the homeowner's Personal Liability coverage
    • If it's caused by the tenant's accident: Covered by the tenant's Personal Liability coverage
    3. Accidental damage to the personal effects while you're out ❌ Not covered ✅ Accidental damage to personal effects you're wearing and carrying, such as your watch
    4. Your pet accidentally bites and injures someone ❌ Not covered ✅ Your legal liability if your pet (cat or dog) suddenly goes out of control and injures a third party 

    A comprehensive and flexible home insurance plan may cover more than just home contents.
    Taking the "Home Care Plus Home Insurance Plan" distributed by Hang Seng Bank as an example, on top of the usual cover for your household contents and personal liability, the plan also protects the personal effects you have with you when you're outside your home[1][2], and even includes coverage for pet accidents and liability. Homeowners can also top up with the "Optional Building Cover" to cover accidental damage to the building structure of premises like glass windows, doors, balconies or water pipes[3].

    FAQs

    A homeowner's fire or home insurance typically doesn't cover your furniture, electrical appliances and personal liability. 
    Without your own home insurance, you might have to pay for any losses or damages yourself if an accident happens. For example:

    •  Theft of your belongings, such as a laptop, due to a break-in
    •  Your child accidentally drops a toy from height and injures someone, making you legally liable for the injury

    For example, the "Home Care Plus Home Insurance Plan" distributed by Hang Seng Bank is designed for both homeowners and tenants, and provides cover for home contents and personal liability for incidents like the above.

    When you applying for a policy, you'll find that many home insurance plans on the market have building-age limits. For example:

    • They may not accept applications for properties over 50 years old
    • They may decline to renew the policy once the property reaches 60 years of age

    For example, the "Home Care Plus Home Insurance Plan" distributed by Hang Seng Bank only accepts applications for properties aged 60 years or below, and there is no property age limit for renewal.

    Not all home insurance plans include pet liability cover, so it's best to read the terms and conditions carefully before buying.

    For example, the "Home Care Plus Home Insurance Plan" distributed by Hang Seng Bank can provide cover for you and your pet (cat or dog). Key benefits include:

    • Pet liability: Covers your legal liability if your cat or dog suddenly gets out of control and causes third-party bodily injury or property damage
    • Pet accident cover: Provides cover for the accidental death or theft of your cat or dog, as well as their funeral services
    • Emergency pet boarding: Covers the cost of emergency boarding if your home becomes uninhabitable due to an accident[4]

    The fire insurance arranged by your building or estate management typically only covers the building's structure.
    In case of an accident, the "fire insurance" payout may not be enough to fully cover the actual repair costs for the structural parts of the insured property. You should assess your needs and consider whether you require additional fire insurance cover.

    Some home insurance plans on the market also extend cover to the building structure. For example, the "Home Care Plus Home Insurance Plan" distributed by Hang Seng Bank offers an "Optional Building Cover" to cover accidental damage to the building structure of the premises [3] . If the compensation from the fire insurance isn't enough, the "Optional Building Cover" will apply and cover the remaining insured loss.

    Explore our products

    Home Care Plus Home Insurance Plan

    • Protects against damage to household contents caused by accident or other covered accidents
    • Covers loss of rent, temporary accommodation, as well as worldwide personal liability
    View details
    Policy wording applies. Home Care Plus Home Insurance Plan is underwritten by Chubb Insurance Hong Kong Limited ("Chubb").

    Footnote

    Other point(s) to note

    1. The above general insurance plan ("this Plan") is underwritten by Chubb Insurance Hong Kong Limited (“Chubb”) which is authorised and regulated in Hong Kong SAR by the Insurance Authority. Chubb reserves the right of final approval of the policy issuance. Hang Seng Bank Limited ("Hang Seng Bank") is registered as an insurance agency by the Insurance Authority (License No.: FA3168) and authorised by Chubb for distribution of this Plan. This Plan is a product of Chubb and not Hang Seng Bank. Upon application to this Plan, insurance premium will be payable to Chubb, and Chubb will provide Hang Seng Bank with commission and performance bonus as remuneration for distribution of this Plan. The existing staff remuneration policy on sales offered by Hang Seng Bank takes into account various aspects of the staff performance instead of focusing solely on the sales amount.
    2. In respect of an eligible dispute (as defined in the Terms of Reference for the Financial Dispute Resolution Centre in relation to the Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme) arising between Hang Seng Bank and the customer out of the selling process or processing of the related transaction, Hang Seng Bank is required to enter into a Financial Dispute Resolution Scheme process with the customer; however, any dispute over the contractual terms of the insurance product, underwriting, claims and policy service should be resolved directly between Chubb and the customer.
    3. The above information is intended to be a general summary for reference only. Please refer to the policy wording for exact terms, conditions and details of the exclusions.
    4. The case studies are for reference only. All claims are subject to necessary documents review and approval. Please refer to the policy wording for detailed terms, conditions, and exclusions.

    Remark(s)

    1. Enjoy a free upgrade to double the maximum benefit (total HKD60,000 per year) for your personal effects and valuables during the insured journey if you also hold a valid Travelsure Protection Plan policy.
    2. Personal Effects means any of your personal belongings which was physically carried or worn by you at the time of loss or damage anywhere in the world, but shall exclude cash or any kind of Money, or any Sporting equipment while being used during the course of Sporting activity, Mobile Phones, any kind of computers or tablets, computer systems and accessories.
    3. Excess for water damage to Contents Cover and Optional Building Cover:
      • Building age of Premises 40 years or below: HKD800
      • Building age of Premises 41-50 years: HKD5,000 or 10% of adjusted loss, whichever is higher
      • Building age of Premises 51 or above: HKD5,000 or 15% of adjusted loss, whichever is higher
    4. Uninhabitable means the condition of the Premises being unsafe for inhabiting and will require a period of time which exceeds twenty-four (24) hours, for the reinstatement of the Premises to be inhabitable.