Accidents and incidents like robberies, floods, fires and burst geysers can all cause damage to your personal possessions. Fortunately, a household contents insurance policy can help to shield you from these misfortunes.
If some of your belongings are destroyed, damaged or stolen, your household contents insurer will pay for your stuff to be repaired or replaced. However, you need to keep in mind that an insurance policy is a legal agreement, so you need to keep your side of the bargain. This will help facilitate fast and full settlement whenever you need to make a claim.
Sumarie Greybe, the co-founder of the digital short-term insurance platform, Naked outlines some tips to ensure you have the best chance of success in the event of a claim.
Responsibilities
First of all, you need to take good care of your possessions. Most insurance policies stipulate that you need to protect your items from damage and theft as best as possible. For example, leaving expensive tools lying outside with the gate open can be considered reckless or negligent, so your insurer will have grounds to reject your claim if they are stolen.
You must also ensure you comply with the security requirements outlined in your policy. Many home contents policies insist that you install an alarm linked to a security company or fit burglar bars on all opening windows and security gates on doors.
They may also stipulate that claims will be rejected unless you actually use these security features. For example, if you don’t have the required security, your claim might be rejected when your home is burgled. The same would apply if you go out and forget to lock all the doors and arm the alarm.
These conditions vary from one insurer to the next, so make sure to check your policy wording.
Underinsurance
Avoid underinsuring by checking that your household contents are insured for their replacement value. Underinsurance is when your belongings are insured for an amount that is less than what it will cost to replace everything as new.
When it comes to claiming, you won’t receive the insurance payout you were expecting. For example, if the total replacement value of your household contents is R100 000 and you are only insured for R50 000, the insurer will only pay out half the amount claimed for any item.
Keep an inventory of all your belongings that you want to insure, and update your cover at least once a year to keep up with inflation. Check the replacement costs of the items online or visit dealers that keep similar items for sale for the latest prices.
Be sure to keep your details up to date. If you are moving house, getting a new TV or upgrading your home security, you should let your insurer know as soon as possible. Any of these could affect your premium. Also, your new appliances might not be covered if you don’t update your policy to include them.
Greybe says that some insurers might want to inspect your home contents to ensure that all the items on the inventory exist and determine whether there is any pre-existing damage.
“Depending on the specific items, they may require you to provide a valuation certificate or a recent proof of purchase, either at the start of the policy or when you claim. This may simply mean using an app to take and upload some pictures. Do this as soon as possible, even though there is usually a grace period.”
Portable items
Make sure your items are covered, whether they are at home or away from home. Some household contents policies will cover portable items like laptops or cellphones at home, even if you don’t specify the item individually, with the option to cover them away from home at an extra premium.
Other policies require you to supply the details of all your easily portable items – even if they don’t leave the home – if you want to have them covered at all.
To ensure you have the cover you’re expecting, ensure you provide all the details asked for when you sign up for the policy, and check the details in the policy wording.
Claims
Report incidents as quickly as possible after they occur. You should report damage, accidents or theft to your insurer as soon as possible. If you’re the victim of a robbery, vandalism or another crime, you should also report it to the SA Police Service at your earliest convenience. You’ll need the case number to claim from your insurer.
Always pay your premiums on time. Although there is a legal grace period of at least 15 days to pay your premium every month, paying on time will ensure there are no complications when making a claim.
Ombud
If you feel your insurance company has let you down after a claim, you can raise a grievance with the customer service department within 270 days of the date on which the insurer made the claims decision you disagree with.
Be sure to keep accurate records of all your interactions with your insurer and exhaust the escalation steps in its customer complaints process. Then, if you don’t get a resolution, you can turn to the Ombud for Short-Term Insurance here to help mediate a solution.
Writer : Sarah-Jane Meyer
