Which way has the wind blown in the dacha and cottage insurance market?
In Russia, with the arrival of warm weather, a new dacha season has begun. This means that it’s time not only to get gardening tools and seeds out of the sheds, but also to think about the safety of your country home. What new risks are worrying summer residents today, why frame country houses are insured 10% more expensive than others, what specialized services have appeared in mobile applications were told by experts at the round table “Closer to Nature”, which was held at the MK press center.
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According to Igor Aleksandrov, director of the Housing and Property domain of Ingosstrakh Insurance Company, over the past ten years the consciousness of Russians moving out of town for the summer has changed a lot. Many have realized that a country house is a serious asset, which, like any investment, requires protection, including insurance.
The interest of summer residents in insurance was additionally provoked by weather anomalies, which occur with alarming frequency in different corners of our country. Reports of floods and fires have not left the front pages of newspapers and magazines this year. And the quality of the walls of a house does not always save you from trouble. For example, last January there was a period when most of the stone houses in the Russian Federation were burned by fire. Although usually houses made of wood suffer more often from this threat.
Plus, over the course of two years, foreign and domestic building materials have risen significantly in price in Russian stores and bases. And many owners of suburban real estate clearly realized that they would not be able to compensate for damage on their own in the event of an emergency.
According to Alexandrov, this spring the most in demand is classic insurance with inspection and assessment of property (house) at market value. This product accounts for 90% of sales. Coverage includes all major risks (fire, short circuit, any water damage, natural disasters, mechanical damage, aircraft crashes, terrorism). According to statistics, in 2022, classic home insurance cost an average of 11,900 rubles; in 2023, its price tag increased to 12,900 rubles. Moreover, if in 2022 the average cost for which houses were insured was at the level of 3 million rubles, then in 2024 this figure increased to 3.5 million rubles.
“We noticed an interesting trend in analytics — when insuring new houses, we increasingly began to experience losses due to errors of builders and designers,” noted Alexandrov. — This is due to an acute shortage of personnel in the primary construction market. Therefore, new risks have appeared in the product line — errors during operation and errors by developers. And people, especially those who do not understand construction technologies, willingly add these risks to insurance, despite the fact that they increase its cost by 10%. Military risks are also popular (+15% to standard insurance).
In recent months, according to Igor Alexandrov, insurance premiums for owners of frame houses have increased. The fact is that they, as a rule, are heavily stuffed with engineering equipment and heating sources, including fireplaces and stoves.
Another interesting trend is gaining momentum — residents of Moscow and the Moscow region, due to a shortage of quality supply on the market of the Moscow region, continue to actively buy land plots and cottages in neighboring regions. This season, the most houses were insured in the Tver region. To meet the increased demand, the most advanced insurers have created their own mobile applications for remote inspection of appraisers and submission of electronic applications.
When choosing an insurer and a product, Aleksandrov advises, first of all, to decide on priorities. If an insurance contract is needed only to fully compensate for possible damage in case of trouble, then classic products are preferable. With inspection, assessment, determination of the value of property from the maximum set of risks. If an insured event occurs, they will help to quickly restore the damaged object without additional investments.
Simple actions (inspection, assessment, description) hide the competencies and professionalism of the insurer, its accumulated experience and statistics. “Only a large insurance company with extensive experience and an impeccable reputation can process data in a high-quality manner and “package” it into a product convenient for the client,” believes Alexandrov.