Flooding in the apartment is unfortunate, but we need to determine a few things before assigning the responsibility for damages from an insurance point of view. 

• Who owns the apartment?

Building insurance covers the damages to the structure itself. So if the walls, electric sockets, and other physical features of the apartment have been damaged, then the apartment owner will have to file for claims. However, building insurance does not cover the contents of the house. You need to have Home Content and Personal Belongings cover. These covers are encouraged for those renting and not buying property in the UAE. In this way, if the apartment's contents are damaged, the renter can file for coverage.

• Cause of flooding

If it was due to a natural calamity like heavy rain, then both the building insurance and home content insurance can be claimed without much hesitation. However, if the flood was caused due to malicious intent or by accident due to negligence of the property, then it will be hard to claim on any insurance policy.

• What things got damaged?

You need to see if you have building insurance for damage to the structure. For damage to the apartment's contents, you need to have home content, and personal belongings cover.