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Nexus stresses need for home insurance

DUBAI — Industry experts yesterday stressed the importance of property owners having home insurance, which covers the costs of a house and its contents, and of replacing personal belongings during untoward incidents such as fire.

But Nexus, financial services advisory firm, told Cityscape 2007 that home insurance penetration rates are less than five per cent in some Gulf countries.

"This suggests a significant number of under-insured and uninsured properties across the region," it said in a Press statement at the end of the three-day Cityscape.

It noted that 60 per cent of residents in the UAE are aged between 20 and 40, the prime demographic for first-time homeowners. It said that the Gulf states are also seeing huge growth in their real estate markets.

"However, while these factors suggest a sustained property boom, the long-term stability of the property market could be compromised without greater awareness of the importance of home insurance," the statement said. Mahmoud Nodjoumi, CEO of Nexus, noted that a house is the family's most valuable asset and a source of future stability, "so protection for that asset should be a top priority".