My Brazilian in-laws & I are just beginning the process of remodeling an apartment in Copacabanna. This is taking place because of a small electrical fire that happened in one of the rooms. After the fire, I learned that my in-laws didn't have homeowner's insurance. They said that it was common in Brasil to not have insurance because you pay your premiums for years, then when you need them, they don't pay.

Does anyone have any information on reputable insurance companies? I would really like to have insurance for the remodeled place, but of course I don't want to get taken to the cleaners if I really need them.

Thanks for any info you may have.

Homeowners insurance is practically non-existent in Brazil. I will check with the brokers and get back to you within a week.

Still no news. Three brokers haven't returned my calls yet. They must be really anxious to do business...

Ok, thanks for looking into it for me. I would think
not being able to get property insurance makes people
a little nervous about investing so much money in
property in Rio, but then again, maybe the lure of
relatively cheap property is too great.

Gregory,

You are welcome. I lined up some direct numbers for insurance companies and will be calling them up starting on Monday. Hope they are a little more responsive then third-party brokers...

Homeowners and other types of property insurance are simply not common practice here.

Basic HOI costs R$300 per year and covers fire, explosions (gas...) and lightining strikes I have an appointment for Thursday at the insurance office and will get detailed charges for additional
coverage and conditions then. Please, e-mail me or post any specific questions you might have.

Thank you,
Boris

Wow, that's great. Pretty cheap.

I guess my main question would be if it only costs
R$300, why isn't HOI more popular?

Oh, I just thought of a few more:
1) Is there a difference in coverage available for a
house vs. an apartment? (my in-laws own an apartment)


2) Is liability insurance available in case you're
sued?

3) What if a fire from your apartment damages someone
else’s apartment? Will the liability insurance cover
that?

4) For an apartment, are you covered if someone else
in the building has a fire and your apartment gets
damaged?

5) Are you covered for smoke damage from question #4?

6) Is there special insurance for rental property vs.
non-rental? Liability insurance?

Boris, I’m guessing that you currently don’t have HOI.
Because you have an appointment for Thursday, does
that mean you’re considering getting it? Would you
feel secure that the company will be there for you if
you need them?

I just talked to my in-laws and apparently American
Express offers some form of HOI. I haven’t found any
details about it yet, but when I do, I’ll shoot you an
email.

Thanks,
Greg

Boris,
I sent an email reply to your message with some questions. Hopefully it will post here.

Also, I just found out that my in-laws are looking into getting HOI from American Express. Here is a link in case anyone is interested:

http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif/cda/page/0

The insurance agent I was to meet with today cancelled the meeting. The Real Estate Agent I was to interview didn't show up nor called. Another agent called, but didn't show up. Parcel shipped to USA on Monday (allegedly) was found today sitting at the airport, while I was faxed airwaybill with outmost assurances
that the package is ready to be picked up in Newark...

Still, last night smashing victory over Costa Rica (5:2) makes it all worth it ... And I finally picked up my laptop almost three weeks after an estimated two day minor repair....

R$40, 000.00 Coverage available to apartment owners for R$36 per year. Covers furniture, equipment, clothes, and other apartment contents damage caused by fire, gas explosion, and lightning strikes.

Looks cheaper and better then the one offered by Banco do Brazil (same coverage, but for R$300 per year).