Fire and natural disaster insurance

Fire insurance is the oldest and most widespread type of insurance. Originally, it only covered material damage caused by fire or a related hazard. Over the years, the scope of fire insurance has become increasingly broader.

Given that fire insurance is widely held among the population, the legislator has repeatedly linked certain compulsory guarantees to taking out non-compulsory insurance.

Basic cover in fire insurance

Unless otherwise agreed, fire insurance covers the insured property against damage caused by:

• fire
• lightning
• explosions
• implosions
• falling or striking air navigation equipment or objects falling or being thrown from it
• collisions with any other vehicles or animals

(art. 115, law of 4 April 2014)

All fire insurance that covers simple risks must include cover against damage resulting from:

• an attack or a labour dispute (Annex RD 24 December 1992)
• a storm (Annex RD 24 December 1992)
• a natural disaster (art. 123 law of 4 April 2014). Nevertheless, the fire insurer may refuse to provide cover against flooding and against overflowing and backflow from public sewers if it covers a building, part of a building or the contents of a building that were constructed more than eighteen months after the date of publication in the Belgian Official Gazette of the royal decree classifying the area in which the building is located as a risk area (art. 129 law of 4 April 2014)

"Simple risks" are defined in Article 5 of the RD of 24 December 1992 implementing the law of 25 June 1992 on terrestrial insurance contracts.

Frequent extensions of the fire insurance

Most fire insurance policies also cover damage caused by:

• the effect of electricity on electrical installations and appliances (e.g. damage to electrical appliances as a result of overvoltage, or the resulting loss of the contents of the freezer (defrosting)
• smoke or soot
• water damage caused by a broken pipe, overflowing gutters, sanitary facilities or household appliances, water infiltration through the roof, frost (provided that the necessary precautionary measures have been taken)
• broken glass (e.g. windows, veranda)
• damage to the building (e.g. doors, windows, garage door) caused as a result of a break-in, vandalism or  an accident (this cover might only apply if optional theft cover has also been taken out)

Additional cover

Fire insurance also covers other costs related to a claim:

• salvage costs: the costs arising from measures to prevent or mitigate the consequences of the damage (e.g. the tarpaulin stretched over the roof after it has been damaged to prevent water infiltration from causing further damage)
• the costs of storing your assets for the duration of the reconstruction of the building (e.g. at a furniture repository)
• the costs of demolishing damaged property, whether or not necessary for reconstruction, and the transport of the rubble to a landfill site
• the accommodation costs when the premises became uninhabitable, plus the costs of assessing the damage
• the redundancy of immovable property (also known as loss of use), when the insured building is rendered uninhabitable during the period of reconstruction or repair
• third party recourse: extra-contractual civil liability if an insured claim extends to the property of third parties (for example, a fire that spreads to another home)

Optional cover

Please note: theft and vandalism cover as well as cover for indirect losses which covers miscellaneous losses, costs and damages you suffer as a result of the incident (administrative hassle is optional cover) are optional covers.