Rainwater Damage and Insurance: Are You Covered?

Written by Sahar

Rainwater Damage and Insurance - Are You Covered

We discuss how much your motor insurance and home insurance provides for rainwater damage due to Dubai rain.

Rainwater damage due to Dubai rain has become a sore point over the past few years. Cloud seeding is essential to provide the region with some much-needed rain. However, the city is prone to rainwater damage and flooding.

Rainwater damage is mostly sustained by:

infrastructure
buildings
residences
motor vehicles

Damage to infrastructure is taken care of by the state. Property and vehicular damage, on the other hand, is not.

So who provides for rainwater damage in these situations. The answer is insurance companies. Vehicles and property are personal assets and can be insured against damage of any kind.

But how straightforward is insurance coverage against rainwater damage?

Drive with Confidence – Get Insured!

Rainwater Damage and Motor Insurance in Dubai

Motor insurance in Dubai is mandatory. Yet this does not cover a lot of people against rainwater damage to their vehicles. This is because a lot of people opt for third-party liability insurance instead of comprehensive insurance which is more expensive.

Third-party liability insurance only covers damages to the third-party involved in an accident with you. It does not cover damage to your own vehicle.

Comprehensive coverage does protect you from damage though it is a little expensive to do so. However, it doesn’t cover everything. Confusing? Let us explain.

Comprehensive motor insurance is essentially very basic. It protects your vehicle against damage on the road. But policies have options of additional features which are included at a higher cost. One of these is insurance against Natural Calamities.

motor insurance car insurance against Dubai rain flooding — Rapid Repair Auto Center

Natural Calamities

Natural Calamities cover is the additional feature you include in your car insurance policy when you want to secure your vehicle against unexpected natural disasters. However, they don’t cover every natural disaster.

Natural Calamities as a term is very vague, and deliberately so. People only know that they are covered for natural calamities. They don’t investigate further. Natural calamities don’t always cover for flooding or rainwater damage.

You need to look through your policy. If you aren’t covered for flood and rainwater damage talk to your insurance provider to see if they can be and at what cost.

In the circumstances that the cost is too high, or the insurance provider doesn’t have an option for rainwater damage in their policy you can look for a new policy and provider all together that does.

Another thing to take note of is the past claims rate of insurance companies in the UAE as far as flooding due to heavy Dubai rain has been concerned. In the floods of 2010, only 40% of insurance providers had coverage against flood damage and could claim restitution. Therefore, make sure your insurance provider has a good claims approval record for natural calamities.

Find Your Perfect Policy!

Conditions Under Natural Calamities

Insurance providers have certain conditions that need to be followed for an easy claims process. These need to be kept in mind when selecting an insurance process.

The car must be parked during the natural calamity and not driven around
The car must not be moved, and the doors must not be opened during the calamity
The Authorities must declare the event a natural calamity otherwise it will be treated as extreme weather and rejected
A police report must be submitted that ascertains as to the condition of the vehicle

An important consideration during the claims process is your rate of the deductible on the policy. If you’re deductible is high it is very likely you will be strapped with the entirety of the cost of repair. You need to make sure your deductible isn’t very high so the onus of the payment is on the provider.

Rainwater Damage and Home Insurance in Dubai

Unlike car insurance, home insurance is not mandatory in the UAE. Because of the transient nature of many residents in the UAE, not a lot of people opt to get home insurance. Because the property isn’t insured, damage due to Dubai rain can’t be claimed.

Home insurance usually covers rainwater damage and flooding. However, to reiterate, you need to read the small print of the natural calamities clause to be sure. In home insurance, rainwater damage is not considered the same thing as flooding. You need to talk to your insurance provider to clarify exactly what is covered, and in what specific circumstances.

There are two types of home insurance you need to know about.

Building Insurance

This includes your building, the front and back yards, attached gardens and lawns, any pools on the property, the wall surrounding the property, gates and any other structures within.

Property owners should buy building insurance. Mall owners, parking garage owners, should also get this insurance so they can cover the cost of any damage due to rain, or any other water-related accidents.

Home Content and Personal Belongings Cover

These covers are designed for people renting a home, or an apartment in the UAE.

Home contents cover insures the contents of your home like electronics, furniture, appliances etc. Personal belongings cover insures your personal property such as clothes, jewellery, laptops, phones etc.

We hope these tips were helpful. To find out more about rainwater damage and insurance call one of our insurance experts. They have all the answers to your queries.

Affordable Rates!