From the tornado in Tongaat to the heavy rains that were reported in the Western Cape, it is clear that people need to take measures to protect their properties from the inclement weather.
Bad weather can cause damage to the contents of your home, as well as the exterior of homes, and this means that you will need home or household contents cover and homeowner cover or building insurance.
Home or household contents cover
According to Christo Stoman, CFO, BetterSure Financial Consultants, home or household contents cover protects everything inside your home and, if your possessions are specified, it can cover them outside your property, too.
Having home contents cover means that if your belongings are lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed, you can afford to replace them.
Wynand van Vuuren, client experience partner, King Price Insurance said that it is critical that the contents of your home are insured for their current replacement value, not what you paid for them.
“Make sure that you have specified any high-value items that you take outside the house under your portable possessions cover, or they’re effectively uninsured.”
These items can include jewellery, phones, sunglasses, laptops, among other things.
Karen Rimmer from PSG Insure, agrees that household contents should be insured for their current replacement value.
“It is important to revise your sum insured on an annual basis to keep up with inflation and increasing costs,” Rimmer said.
Van Vuuren said that a home contents inventory can be handy to help you value your home contents correctly. Don’t just insure your house for what it would sell for, market value is not the same as replacement value.
Homeowners cover or building insurance
Homeowners cover, or building insurance as it’s often called, protects the physical structure of your home against a range of insured risks, according to Stoman.
These risks include damage caused by geysers, water, fire, landslip, floods or lightning, as well as malicious damage to the property.
Stoman said that homeowners cover is a bank requirement and protects the roof over your head.
When the bank gives you a loan, they do it against your asset – in this case, your home. This means that if your house is destroyed due to unexpected event, you are still liable to pay the money back to the bank.
“By making homeowners cover a requirement, the bank can then ensure that you have the necessary funds available to repair or rebuild your house, so that you’re not left paying back a loan for an asset that no longer exists,” Stoman said.
According to Van Vuuren, when it comes to building insurance, you need to work out what it would cost to rebuild your home, then insure for that amount.
“Buildings insurance should include the cost of rebuilding your house, including boundary walls, solar panels, swimming pool, taps and tiles. And if you have made major improvements to your home, such as adding a new room, tell your insurer, or you risk being under-insured.”
Rimmer said that for most people, their home is the most valuable asset they will ever own, and a catastrophic event such as heavy rain could ruin them financially if they are not adequately insured.
“When it comes to insuring your property, make sure that you are covered at the current building costs per square metre and make provision for any outside extras,” Rimmer said.
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