The most popular property insurance is the standard fire insurance policy. The fire insurance policy offers protection against any unforeseen loss or damage/destruction of property due to fire or other perils covered under the policy. The different types of property that could be covered under a fire insurance policy are dwellings, offices, shops, hospitals, places of worship etc and their contents ; industrial/manufacturing risks and contents such as machinery, plants, equipment and accessories; goods including raw material, material in process, semifinished goods, finished goods, packing materials etc in factories, godowns and in the open; utilities located outside industrial/manufacturing risks; storage risks outside the compound of industrial risks; tank farms/gas holders located outside the compound of industrial risks etc

What a Fire Policy covers :

Thought it is called ‘Fire Insurance’, apart from the risk of fire, it also offers cover against lightning, explosion/implosion, aircraft damage, riot, strike and malicious damage, storm, cyclone, typhoon, hurricane, flood and inundation, impact damage, subsidence and landslide including rockslide, bursting and/or overflowing of water tanks, apparatus and pipes, missile testing operations, accidental leakage from automatic sprinkler installations, bush fire etc.

What a Fire Policy excludes :

A fire insurance policy usually does not cover a certain amount known as “excess” under the policy. Loss or damage caused by war and warlike operations, nuclear perils, pollution or contamination, electrical/mechanical breakdown, burglary and housebreaking are excluded. Certain perils like earthquake, spontaneous combustion etc can be covered on payment of additional premium. Fire insurance policies are issued for one year except for dwellings, where a policy may be issued for long term (with a minimum period of three years).