Not many people will forget the natural disaster that occurred in Padang, West Sumatra, several months ago, when a earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale flattened most of the city.
One of the most tragic locations in the city was Hotel Ambacang, which was one of the leading hotels in Padang and turned into a pile of rubble.
Thousands of people lost their property. The lucky ones were insured, but most were left with deep disappointment as they had no insurance or forgot to renew their policies.
House insurance seems to be less popular here than car insurance. Ten years ago, most people never even thought about insuring their property, considering it a waste of money.
Most people reasoned that nothing or nobody could damage or tamper with their residences. On top of that, natural disasters were regarded as rare occurrences.
However, various recent natural disasters have changed people's minds and they are now starting to take out property insurance as their homes are their most valuable assets. Property insurance is now believed to protect not only their homes and the items within, but also other obligations attached to people's property.
Insurance can be taken out not only on houses but also on apartments, condominiums and offices. Of course, apartment owners do not insure the buildings because the building owners take care of that, but just the value of the individual apartment and its contents.
In the case of rented property, just the contents can be insured. Insurance also protects against theft.
There are many types of insurance offered by numerous insurance companies. However, the protection provided is basically the same.
Coverage can be taken out against property damage, personal property floater, personal liability, medical costs and additional living expenses.
Not all insurance policies provide total coverage in Indonesia as apart from the building and its contents, other protection is provided at extra cost or on a separate policy.
For example Zurich Home is an insurance coverage product offered by PT Zurich Insurance Indonesia. It covers protection against fire, lightning, riot, theft, etc. It does not cover all kinds of natural disasters, but only earthquake, volcano eruption and tsunami.
Next to the aforementioned protection, Zurich Home also offers other attractive benefits, such as insurance to cover temporary accommodation, medical and hospital care as well as loss of servants' belongings.
It is only those who can afford it, such as middle- and high-income earners, who cover their property with insurance. However, lower-income earners can cover their property with micro insurance, which has a bright future. Such insurance products have been launched by Asuransi Wahana Tata, which claims that its micro insurance products are the first in the world to give protection against flood.
Asuransi Wahana Tata holds the insurance policies of Hotel Ambacang, Hotel Maryani and Plaza Andalas in Padang. Besides its micro insurance products, Wahana Tata has another micro insurance product that is affordable for the lower segment, called Kartu Perlindungan Siaga Satu Manggarai, which translates as Manggarai Alert One Protection Card. The company's press release states that this micro insurance product is for protection against flood.
However, one has to carefully decide which company they want to take out a policy with and which product to invest in. While there are still many who regard it a waste of money, because it is not a tangible product, insurance companies actually offer peace of mind and freedom from worry.
