For several days now, we have seen the horrific wildfires that are blazing across Los Angeles in the United States (still as of this writing).  From modest homes to mansions, to cars and trailers, the wildfires left only destruction and devastation in its path, and have been difficult to contain, due to many factors from water shortage to strong winds.

And while Los Angeles is thousands of miles away from us, we can all take a lesson from this on how and how much we use water plus ensuring our property has protection.

Whether you own your home, or rent it, it’s good to know if you have property insurance.  Pardon the pun, but this is a burning issue you should address as soon as possible.  If you don’t have one, consider getting one as a homeowner, or discussing this with your landlord for your mutual benefit.

To get you started, here are the 5 things you need to know about property insurance.

#1 Make sure you have standard coverage

Just like any insurance product, you can have the basic coverage and then add more for comprehensive coverage.  A standard property insurance will usually cover damage or losses caused by fire or lightning.  Make sure to ask the insurance company and read the fine print to know what you are paying for.

#2 If you have the budget, sign up for comprehensive coverage

Remember Typhoon Ondoy back in 2009?  Many car owners were surprised to learn that their basic car insurance did not cover Acts of God.  This meant that their cars which were submerged in floodwaters do not qualify for a claim.  With property insurance, you can sign up for allied perils such as natural disasters (earthquake, flood and typhoons), robbery, riot and strikes, and more.

#3 Get insurance for your home and its contents

It's important to insure the structure, or your home, but just as importantly, you need to insure the contents as well.  Apart from the building, include in the coverage any improvements you have made plus furniture, fixtures, appliances, personal effects and more.  It would help to have the insurance company go over the checklist with you so you do not miss anything valuable.

#4 Fire insurance is a need, not a want

With many pressing expenses, insurance is usually last in our list, or not even in the list at all.  But this is one expense that will let you sleep better at night.  According to the Bureau of Fire Prevention, an average of 9 fire incidents happen in the country every day.  The dry season which starts in March every year is also known to cause high sensible temperatures leading to an increase in fire incidents of over 21 percent.

#5 It’s more affordable than you think

You could get insurance as a homeowner or even renter’s insurance, and it can cost as low as P950 a year for P1 million basic coverage.  To get a better estimate, you can visit websites like Moneymax.ph for a free quote, or go direct to insurance providers.  Some prefer to visit their bank that also offers non-life insurance for convenience, and that’s a good idea too.  As with anything, it’s good to have several products and prices to choose from, before choosing the one for you.

With insurance, one thing you need to consider is how easy you can make a claim. If someone is offering low premium, but there’s many customer feedback that say making claims have been difficult, it may be good to reconsider. Insurance is something that we claim on emergency situations, and in those times, it is important to have a trusted institution that will help and help promptly.