Business Bureau, Gulf Today

Real estate expert Walid Al-Zarouni stressed the need for real estate insurance in the United Arab Emirates, as a means of protection for residential buildings and their contents to protect them against potential dangers. This should be dealt with as a top priority not a luxury.

Al Zarouni, who heads W Capital Real Estate Brokerage Company, said that real estate insurance is one of the forms of property insurance that covers the losses and damages caused to a house resulting from fire, explosion, theft or any accidents that lead to house damage or loss, in line with the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.

“Despite the importance of this type of insurance, many residents in the UAE are indifferent about home insurance when buying or renting real estate,” he said.”

“Ignoring insurance poses high risk and other consequences for landlords and tenants alike. We have in mind many devastating examples,” he added.

Dubizzle’s survey recently showed that users’ information and habits revealed that insurance is not one of the priorities of home seekers in the UAE. The survey showed that 63% of the respondents do not have home insurance, meaning that the majority are vulnerable to major losses and damages.

When asked if they were interested in home insurance, 75% stated they were not, while 18% said they were not sure. It turns out that only 30% have full knowledge of the benefits of insurance.

Walid Al Zarouni added that the common belief that real estate insurance is the responsibility of the owner, is not true. From a juristic point of view, the owner is only obligated to provide home insurance if it is mortgaged, as the policy will only cover the physical structure of the house and not its contents.

Al Zarouni stressed that insurance should be the next step immediately after buying or renting real estate, because it can protect against potential future losses.

“The UAE takes all precautions and measures to avoid fires, theft, earthquakes or floods, such things may often happen. It is necessary to be careful about such accidents, as a fire 20 or more above your floor may affect you,” Walid Al-Zarouni added.

He called for the paying attention to cope with the real estate insurance programmes, which provide detailed information about the property and the type of damage that will be covered.

The beneficiary is required to read the minute details to be familiar with what can be covered in their plan, including the limits of policy regarding all household properties.

Real estate insurance is a binding requirement for obtaining a mortgage loan from most of the UAE banks.

There are 50 licensed companies in the UAE, which provide customer-tailored insurance policies for homeowners, according to the “Bayot” real estate platform. W Capital Real Estate Brokerage was established in 2007 in the United Arab Emirates, specialising in real estate development, buying, selling, renting as well as consulting services for real estate companies.

Since its inception, the company has sold over Dhs200 million of properties to major developers. Walid Al-Zarouni is the founder and Chairman of W Capital Real Estate Brokerage. A certified real estate expert from the Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA).