"Covers everything" – no such home insurance policy exists, and if someone promises you that, it's worth asking a follow-up question. Every policy has a scope of cover, has limits, and has exclusions. The good news is that none of this is secret – it's all knowable, and here's the map to it.
- Core cover typically includes fire and natural perils, water damage from pipes, and burglary – the exact list varies from insurer to insurer.
- Add-ons tailor the protection to your own circumstances: glass breakage, liability, assistance, garden items, solar panels and the like.
- Exclusions and limits aren't small-print traps, they're the boundaries of the product – worth getting to know before you sign, not at claim time.
The typical core layer
The foundation of most products is fire and natural perils cover: fire, explosion, lightning strike, storm, hail, snow load, cloudburst and the like. On top of that sits the most common claim in Hungarian homes, water damage from pipes, along with burglary and robbery cover. What counts as core and what as an add-on in any given package varies by insurer – which is why, when comparing, it is worth looking at packages by content, as shown on our Coverage page.
What the core layer has in common is that definitions matter: the same word – storm, leak, burglary – can mean something different from one set of policy terms to the next. That's why the precise answer to "what does it cover?" is never the name of the package, but the list of insured events in the terms and how they're defined.
Add-ons: the layer that fits your life
Add-ons are what turn a template contract into yours: glass breakage, personal liability (if you cause damage to someone else – say, your neighbour gets flooded), assistance (a tradesperson sent out by the insurer), and the range covered by garden items, solar panels and smart devices. Some people find several of these unnecessary – and for others, these are exactly what's missing when a claim happens. A good package isn't the longest one, it's the one that fits your circumstances.
Two quick examples to illustrate: in a tenth-floor panel flat, liability cover (because of the neighbours below) and glass breakage typically matter more than garden add-ons; in a house with a garden, on the other hand, cover for outbuildings, garden furniture and solar panels moves to the front of the queue. So the same "generous package" is spot on for one home and wasted premium for another.
What it typically does NOT cover
Three recurring categories. First, wear and tear or lack of maintenance: a leak from a roof that's been dripping for years, or replacing a corroded pipe, typically isn't an insured event – a sudden, unexpected loss is. Second, special risks: earthquake and flood come with their own rules, waiting periods and limits – we cover this honestly in our special risks article. Third, intent and gross negligence. For the full picture, see what's typically excluded.
Limits: where the extent of "covered" matters
Something falling under cover doesn't mean it's covered without limit: valuables and cash and certain types of damage typically carry per-event or annual limits, combined with a deductible (deductible logic). When comparing offers, we line these up side by side precisely because this is often where the real difference lies between two packages that look "the same". Five good questions to ask before signing: you'll find them here.
A question about your own home? Run the numbers in minutes with the online calculator (in Hungarian), or book a free 20-minute consultation →
