In the case of a fire, or in the case of water damage, if you have insurance then your
situation is not the best but not all that bad, either. On the other hand, if you do not have
insurance, you will find yourself “eating up” your savings or depending on the kindness of
your neighbors and friends, and this is probably a much worse situation.
Just to give you an idea, a “small” damage usually sums up to several tens of thousands of
shekels, and a “normal” damage may even reach several hundreds of thousands of shekels.
If you have a mortgage, your mortgage insurance probably includes building insurance, as
well.
It is highly recommended that you also insure the contents of your home, through the same
insurance company.
By consolidating your insurance coverage with a single company—when filing a claim, you
will avoid the frustration of going back and forth between insurers, each of which passes the
responsibility onto the other.
For example—is a cupboard included in the building insurance or in the insurance of the
home contents? Which company is responsible for removing burnt contents from the
home—the company providing the building insurance (since it’s impossible to restore the
damaged floor without first removing the contents) or the company who insures the
contents?
Do you live in a rented apartment but have not insured your home contents?
You’d better read this story:
A customer of ours from the city of Kfar Sava recently called us after a fire incident that was
caused by a short circuit in her electric kettle. She was renting the apartment and was the
mother of a young family. There were no smoke detectors in her home, and much damage
was caused.
The homeowners filed a claim with the insurance company from which they had purchased
the building insurance.
The insurance company was willing to compensate the homeowners for the damage caused
to the apartment; however—the insurance company then sued the tenants for causing the
fire with their kettle. The damages amounted to approximately 80,000 ILS!
If the homeowners and the tenants had both purchased insurance—and, most certainly, if
they had both been insured at the same company—the tenants would not have had to pay
for the damage.
So, even if all of your furniture is second-hand and you are planning to stay in the apartment
only briefly, our experience shows that insuring your home contents (and, of course,
installing smoke detectors) can save you tens of thousands of shekels and a great deal of
misery.