Virtually everyone in Singapore owns an IKEA Billy Bookcase or Lack Coffee Table. Now, there’s one more offering to add to IKEA’s long list of products — home insurance.
IKEA HEMSÄKER is a home insurance policy, underwritten by Etiqa Insurance, that protects your home and its contents. That means that if your home is damaged in, say, a fire, you’ll receive compensation. The policy also offers personal accident insurance for incidents that happen at home.
Let’s see whether HEMSÄKER lives up to IKEA’s reputation for affordable products that punch above their weight.
IKEA HEMSÄKER home & personal accident insurance review (2020)
| IKEA HEMSÄKER home insurance | |
| Premium per year | $59 |
| Renovation | $50,000 |
| Home contents | $50,000 |
| Burglary | $5,000 |
| Personal liability | $500,000 |
| Accident at home | $50,000 |
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Read also: HDB Fire Insurance vs Home Insurance – What’s the Difference?
IKEA home insurance overview
At first glance, IKEA HEMSÄKER looks like a normal home contents insurance policy.
Home contents insurance is meant to protect the contents of your home (as opposed to the structure of the building). That means it covers your belongings, furniture, appliances and any fixtures you have added, whether through renovations or otherwise.
These items are protected if something happens to your home. So, you don’t get compensated if you lose your laptop because you left it behind on the MRT, but you do if it gets damaged in a fire or burglary at home.
Other perks include personal liability insurance, which pays your legal costs if you get sued for something that has happened in your home. For instance, if a fire occurs at home because someone forgot to turn off the stove and then damages your neighbours’ homes in turn, you will be protected from legal liability if they sue you. This is typical of home contents insurance.
One thing that stands out is that HEMSÄKER also comes with accident at home insurance, which basically operates like personal accident insurance for any mishaps that occur in the home. So, you get a payout if someone in your home dies or gets injured due to an accident at home.
Read also: Floods in Singapore — Does Your Car or Home Insurance Cover Flood Damage?
IKEA home insurance – how does it stack up?
HEMSÄKER’s annual premium of $59 places on the lower end of home contents insurance policies on the market. In other words, it’s pretty cheap.
Admittedly, the home contents coverage is pretty bare-bones. The coverage amounts are decent compared to those of other plans in the same price range, but you don’t get lots of extra perks such as coverage for alternative accommodation or removal of debris.
On the other hand, you do get personal accident coverage, which is usually not provided at this price point, or has to be added as an optional rider at an extra cost.
Overall, that makes IKEA HEMSÄKER a decent option for those who are looking for affordable insurance and also want personal accident coverage. Those who are looking for more complete home contents coverage or who already have personal accident insurance should look elsewhere.
IKEA vs FWD home insurance
FWD is the HDB’s newly-appointed fire insurance company, which means many households are required to buy fire insurance from them when they purchase an HDB flat. They also have home insurance, which is optional.
The premiums FWD is charging for their home insurance are similar to IKEA’s HEMSÄKER’s, with just a few bucks’ difference.
However, one key difference is that FWD’s policy does not cover you for personal accidents in the home. If you want personal accident protection, you’ll have to pay more for a rider, which will bring your premium above that of IKEA HEMSÄKER’s.
On the other hand, FWD does come with some perks that IKEA HEMSÄKER’s does not, such as coverage for alternative accommodation expenses and storage if your home becomes uninhabitable, as well as loss of rent or legal costs for a tenancy dispute if you are a landlord.
IKEA vs Tiq Home Insurance (Etiqa)
Etiqa is underwriting IKEA HEMSÄKER, but they also have their own home insurance policy, which is at a similar price point.
The main difference is that Tiq Home Insurance does not offer personal accident insurance, but does offer broader home contents claims categories, such as emergency cash allowance to pay for basic necessities, get alternative accommodation and replace locks and keys, as well as coverage for unauthorised transactions on stolen ATM or credit cards.
Tiq Home Insurance also offers an optional add-on for personal cyber insurance protection, which protects you from things like identity theft and cyber fraud.
Choosing between IKEA HEMSÄKER and Tiq Home Insurance seems to be a case of whether you prefer to have personal accident coverage or be able to make home contents insurance claims in a wider range of scenarios.
IKEA vs MSIG Enhanced Home Plus Insurance
MSIG is a well-known premium insurer, so it comes as no surprise that MSIG’s Enhanced Home Plus Insurance is in a higher price bracket.
The basic home contents cover offered by their policy is the same as IKEA HEMSAKER’s, at over $50,000.
But they offer much broader coverage, such as compensation for the cost of staying in alternative accommodation and loss of rent. Heck, they even cover you for deterioration of frozen food, fraud by domestic helpers, monthly service and conservancy fees and accidental death of your dog or cat.
On top of all that, they offer not only home contents coverage but also worldwide accident protection of up to $50,000 in case of death, and offer a hospital cash benefit. By contrast, IKEA HEMSAKER offers up to $50,000 in the event of an accident happening in the home resulting in not just death but also permanent disablement.
Who should buy IKEA HEMSÄKER home insurance?
IKEA HEMSÄKER home insurance offers a basic policy at a wallet-friendly price point.
Its main strength compared to other policies at the same price point is the inclusion of personal accident protection.
On the other hand, its main disadvantage is that its other categories of coverage are rather bare-bones. So, you will be protected from damage to your furniture, belongings, appliances and renovations, but not in other areas such as finding alternative accommodation.
Like IKEA’s furniture, this is a serviceable option if you want basic home contents protection as well as personal accident protection at home without actually having to fork out the cash for a separate personal accident policy. As all residents and visitors of your property are covered while on the property, it is more worth it if you have a large household, tenants and/or frequent visitors.
On the other hand, if your priority is just to protect yourself from the costs and inconvenience of something happening to your home itself, you will find more complete coverage with other insurers, either at the same or at a higher price point.
What do you think of IKEA HEMSÄKER? Do you think they should just stick to selling furniture? Share your views in the comments below.
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