Fire insurance for a newly built 3 story wooden house in Nagoya

[regular]

Dear all,

I am moving to a newly built 3 story wooden house in Nagoya. I was quoted 10 year insurance policies approaching 30 man in premium costs, but they protect against fire + flood + typhoon etc. I got confused and am so asking for collective wisdom. Should I take a 10year insurance policy for fire protection only or should I also go for typhoon etc. I checked kakaku.com but am still confused. Which fire (and or typhoon etc. ) insurance do you recommend?

Almost new to the forum but spent half of my life in Nagoya.

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

[TokyoWart]

That seems expensive. My home seems to me to be mostly wood but is technically classified as "木骨モルタル(some kanji I can't read 'cause its too small)スレート葺". I have a policy from Tokio Marine Nichido which I got through work (no idea if that meant I got a discount but I doubt it). I pay 11,510 yen a month. It covers 28 million yen in home value, 13 million yen in possessions and an extra 1 million yen in valuables. That certainly covers fire damage and even earthquake damage but I am less sure about the specifics of what would be exlcuded in case of an earthquake. I actually had a break-in robbery once but did not make a claim for the 75,000 yen to replace the glass door they broke since they only stole some Thai baht from my sock drawer (my point is, I'm not sure how cooperative Tokio Marine would be if I actually had to make a claim).

[regular]

Thank you for the specifics. 11,510 yen a month means almost 14 man annually. I thought I was quoted a one-time payment of 30 man for 10 years of insurance protection.

[TokyoWart]

Wow! My mistake! We also own a home in the US and the yearly insurance charge is a little over $1000 for around $400K total coverage. It’s definitely wood construction and close to a fault line which hasn’t been active in recorded history. I can’t imagine a 10 year policy or any policy that only cost 30,000 yen/year. Good for you!

[RetireJapan]

I had to take out fire insurance to get my mortgage, but I ended up reducing the proposed 140,000 policy to 40,000 -for ten years

https://www.retirejapan.com/blog/real-estate-in-japan/

[regular]

Ben,

Your link didn't mention which provider, what kind of plan it was, and what is covered. I want to look at those details so that I can choose an appropriate insurance plan.

Am I right to think that you were able to lower the cost at a onetime payment of 40000 yen that takes care for 10 years of premium?

[RetireJapan]

Yes, both the bank and the insurance agent were assuming I would take the product they recommended, but instead I asked them what the bare minimum would be and it turned out to be 40,000 yen. This does not cover a lot, including accidental damage to neighbours, etc. but as I wrote we live in a concrete tunnel so I find it hard to imagine a scenario where we would need most of the cover

Not recommending the product, but rather pointing out that it is possible to pick and choose.

[AinT]

One point that surprised me when we got our home insurance, make sure you are getting all cases covered in regards to fire and earthquakes. We had to have specific insurance for:

1. Fire damage (general ignition)
2. Damage caused by an earthquake
3. Fire damage caused by a fire caused by an earthquake <---?!?!

Also note that if you live in an apartment building it is a separate insurance to cover damage caused to others' apartments by emergency personnel extinguishing a fire at your apartment. For example, if the water used to put out your fire damages the apartment below yours you need another insurance for that.

I don't remember exactly how much we pay but it's in the region of 15,000 per year I think.

[regular]

I am being approached by an old and convincing male to get my fire insurance from Rakuten.
Does anyone have any positive or negative experience of dealing with Rakuten for this kind of insurance?

[Petronius]

I would just go to Kakaku and compare the prices. I would only use a sales person if you cannot understand what you are buying and need explanations.

I ended up with Sony as it was the cheapest for the coverage I was looking for for my mansion:
- 10 years contract for coverage of Fire and Water leakage
*no coverage of belongings
*coverage of damage to adjacent units
- Annual contract for double coverage of earthquake, that I plan to cancel once the remaining loan is low enough

I do not own anything fancy or expensive that I couldn't easily replace so I didn't want to cover personal belongings. Middle floor of a mansion means that the risk for typhoons, snow and tsunami are also very low hence no coverage.