FWD Home Insurance Review (2023)

Designed for homeowners and renters seeking a low premium plan with wide coverage and helpful benefits.

Home insurance plans are designed to cover the financial costs of home disasters, such as a fire, gas explosion, burst water pipes or damage suffered due to burglary.

Besides having to deal with the fallout of the incident, affected occupants likely need to seek alternative living arrangements while the home is made liveable and secure again.

Hence, it is important to have a home insurance plan that deals with not only the immediate disaster, but also offers critical assistance in the aftermath.

One such plan we found is FWD Home Insurance, which combines flexible coverage and a slew of helpful benefits, and is available to both homeowners and tenants alike.

Let’s take a closer look.

Pros and cons of FWD Home Insurance

Pros	Cons
Flexible coverage up to S$100,000	Face value of maximum coverage is relatively low
Premiums relatively low and affordable	Sub-limit of S$1,000 per event for home contents. (However, no sub-limit for furniture, domestic appliances and home audio visual equipment.)
Separate claims limit for building, renovations and contents per event
Comes with additional benefits including: - Alternative accommodations expenses - Incidental expenses - Personal liability protection - Rent protection - Accidental or unexpected situations - Home assistance services
Available for both homeowners and renters

Key features of FWD Home Insurance

#1: Separate claims limit for building, renovations and home contents

What makes FWD Home Insurance really stand out is that the plan allows up to three separate claims limits per incident - damage to building, repair or renovations and home contents.

This means that although the face value of your plan is comparatively low, capped at S$100,000, you do not have to chop up the amount among these three different but crucial areas. Which ultimately translates to greater control and flexibility in how you apply your claims.

#2: Additional benefits catered to immediate and prolonged needs

FWD Home Insurance also comes with a slew of additional benefits and services that would prove useful for anyone facing disruptions in their living arrangements.

While standard features such as allowances for alternative accommodation and storage of personal belongings; incidental expenses arising from the loss of use of one’s home and personal liability protection are included, the plan also adds rent protection for both landlords and tenants, as well legal costs arising from tenancy disputes.

Lastly, your policy will also come with four useful home assistance services - air-conditioning, plumbing, electrical and locksmithing. You may engage up to S$100 worth of each event per policy year.

#3 No excess charge in the event of a fire or burst pipes

Should the cause of your home disaster be a fire or burst water pipe, you will not be charged any excess that may be included in your policy.

Important exclusions to note

FWD Home Insurance may offer a broad range of cover and benefits, but like all insurance plans, there are exclusions.

We have highlighted some of the more noteworthy ones, under which any claims will be rejected. For a full list of exclusions, be sure to refer to the policy documents.

Deliberate, malicious acts, negligence or failure to avoid or minimise injury or damage by you or your household members
Damage arising upon the order of public or government authorities (such as legal forced entry by the police, etc)
Loss or damage while your house is undergoing construction, reconstruction or repair
Loss or damage arising from illegal acts (such as unauthorised structural changes, etc)
If your house had been vacant for more than 60 days

For whom is FWD Home Insurance best for?

With its flexible coverage, wide range of benefits, useful additional services, you’d expect to pay a pretty steep premium. However, this is not the case.

FWD Home Insurance is actually one of the lower-priced home insurance plans out there, and this is partly due to its cap on claims on home contents, building and renovation. Claims for each category maxes out at S$100,000 - a comparatively low sum - but this is tempered by the ability to separate your claims into their specific categories.

This combination of broad coverage and low premiums make FWD Home Insurance a solid choice for homeowners and/or renters seeking inclusive protection at good value.

Plan tiers, premiums and latest promotions

Below, we’ve summarised FWD Home Insurance plan tiers for a quick and easy reference. The full details are available here.

For the most part, the plan’s benefits are identical for both landlords and tenants. The only notable difference is this: Landlords can claim for loss of rent, whereas Tenants can claim for legal costs arising from a tenancy dispute.

Item covered	Claim amount
Loss or damage to home contents; removal of debris	S$20,000 to S$100,000
Loss or damage to renovations; removal of debris	S$20,000 to S$100,000
Loss or damage to building; professional fees and removal of debris	HDB (depends on flat type): S$45,000 to S$120,000 Landed property: S$200,000 to S$1,000,000
Alternative accommodation expenses (capped at S$300 per day)	Up to S$15,000, or up to S$35,000, depending on sum assured for home contents.
Incidental expenses, conservancy charges, replenishment of firefighting equipment	Up to S$5,000, or up to S$10,000, depending on sum assured for home contents.
Expenses arising from unexpected situations: - Loss or damage to home contents while being stored in temporary residence - Accidental damage to fixed mirrors and glass - Personal liability cover for you and family members	Up to S$500 per item, capped at S$5,000 Up to S$1,000 Up to S$500,000
Rent protection	For landlords: Up to S$3,000 per month, max 3 months For landlords and tenants: Up to S$3,000 cover for legal costs arising from tenancy dispute
Home assistance services (air-con, electrical, plumbing, locksmith)	Up to S$100 per event, max of 4 events per 12 month period

How much does FWD Home Insurance cost?

	1-year (S$60,000 coverage)	3-years (S$60,000 coverage)	1-year (S$80,000 coverage)	3-years (S$80,000 coverage)
HDB 5-room	S$105.23	S$268.34	S$118.01	S$300.94
Condo (3-bedroom)	S$130.19	S$331.99	S$145.79	S$371.77
Landed	S$169.43	S$432.04	S$196.86	S$502.01

To estimate yearly premiums for your own dwelling, head on over to FWD’s handy online premium estimator.

What promotions are there for FWD Home Insurance?

If you’re going to sign up for a plan, don’t miss the following promotions. Do note that relevant terms and conditions will apply.

FWD Home Insurance Promotion: Use promo code SSHOME to get a 35% discount on your plan. Valid till 24 November 2024. T&Cs apply.

Also receive chances to win S$50,000 Cash! Valid till 22 December 2024. T&Cs apply.

Apply Now

How to claim

Should you need to make a claim under your policy, you may do so at FWD’s personal claims page. Follow the online instructions to sign in and submit your claim.

If you need further explanation, you may refer to the step-by-step guides included on that page.

Alternatively, you may contact FWD via:

Email: contact.sg@fwd.com
Hotline: +65 6820 8888

Protected up to specified limits by SDIC.

Note: This is only product information provided. You may wish to seek advice from a qualified adviser before buying the product. If you choose not to seek advice from a qualified adviser, you should consider whether the product is suitable for you. Buying an insurance product that are not suitable for you may impact your ability to finance your future healthcare needs.

If you decide that the policy is not suitable after purchasing the policy, you may terminate the policy in accordance with the free-look provision, if any, and the insurer may recover from you any expense incurred by the insurer in underwriting the policy.

FWD Home Insurance (Review): Comprehensive Cover At Low Premiums

Alevin K Chan

Designed for homeowners and renters seeking a low premium plan with wide coverage and helpful benefits.

Pros and cons of FWD Home Insurance

Key features of FWD Home Insurance

Important exclusions to note

For whom is FWD Home Insurance best for?