Standard Insurance
For what you own and what you owe.
Standard personal insurance protects two sides of your life.
What you own. Your home, car and other belongings. As well as what you might owe others should you have caused them harm or damage to their property.
Assets
Buildings
It is essential to understand what your insurance policy defines a building as. Usually, it is the actual structure with all fixtures and fitting and other named structures like driveways, gates, fences, fixed swimming pools, outbuildings, satellite dishes etc. Check your policy to ensure your building falls within the ambit of cover provided by your policy.
Also, make sure you disclose non standard building construction. Examples of non standard building construction include thatch, wood, prefab etc. Please contact Chadwicks if you are unsure. The main events covered by residential building policies are Fire and Storm. Always check you have read the policy exclusions. An example of a risk that is excluded is “Wear and Tear” or any gradually operating cause.
The correct setting of your sum insured is crucial, to avoid Proportionate Underinsurance penalties applying at claim stage. Invariably, the sum insured must always represent the cost to rebuild, inclusive of VAT and all costs like professional fees, demolition etc. An annual professional evaluation of your building is prudent to ensure your sum insured is correct.
Main Coverable Events
- Storm
- Fire
House Contents
Essentially, the assets that remain, should you be able to turn your building upside down, are the House Contents. The main insured events covered under House Contents are Fire, Storm and Theft. Always check you have read the policy exclusions. An example of a risk that is excluded is “Wear and Tear” or any gradually operating cause.
The correct setting of your sum insured is crucial, to avoid Proportionate Underinsurance penalties applying at claim stage. Invariably, the sum insured must always represent the New Replacement cost, VAT inclusive, of all the House Contents, from your teaspoons right to the big ticket items like flat screen TVs, audio equipment etc.
It is advisable to frequently revisit your sum insured for House Contents, particularly when new assets are acquired, to ensure you are not proportionately underinsured. A proper valuation of this sum insured is prudent to ensure your sum insured is correct. Chadwicks can provide you with inventory forms, to make it easier for you to do this very important value at risk exercise.
Main Coverable Events
- Storm
- Fire
- Theft
Motor
| Comprehensive | Balance of Third Party (Fire and Theft) | Third Party Only |
|---|---|---|
| The most complete cover, including accident to the car, theft and liability to third parties arising out of the use of the car. | Covers theft and liability to third parties arising out of the use of the car. Accidental damage to your car is not covered. | Covers only liability to third parties arising out of the use of the car. Accidental damage to your car and theft are not covered. |
| Most expensive premium option. | Slightly less expensive than Comprehensive. | Most cost effective premium option. |
Apart from the cover options above, clients may choose from these optional extras.
- Insurance cover when travelling outside of South Africa’s borders. This additional cover may include the cost of repatriation to South Africa, should the loss occur outside South Africa.
- Special cover for 4x4 owners.
- Car hire, up to a specified number of days, following a claim (accident or theft) to the insured vehicle. Insurers basically provide a hired car, usually after 3 days.
- Vehicle credit shortfall (“Top Up”) insurance cover, which covers the outstanding payments (beyond the specified policy indemnity) to the finance house.
- Basic Excess Waiver.
- A Voluntary Excess (to reduce the premium).
- Cover for extras fitted at the factory or aftermarket, e.g. canopies, tow bars, bull bars, mag wheels etc.
All Risks
An All Risks insurance policy is essentially cover for all loss or damage to specified property, subject to the listed policy exceptions. Some typical exclusions are wear and tear, mechanical or electrical breakdown, inherent vice and theft from unattended vehicles. Be sure to read your policy to ensure you are aware of all the exclusions.
Away From The Premises Cover
Most insurance policies will restrict the place of loss to the premises only. An All Risks policy, however, is designed to cover your property on and away from the premises, in terms of the items specified in the schedule, which is a big advantage. Typical items insured under All Risks include portable property such as cell phones, laptops, projectors, iPods etc. Insurers will generally load the premium slightly for this cover, as their risk exposure is higher.
Pleasure Craft
Watercraft come with their own unique set of risks and yet are similar to a motor car when it comes to insurance, in that policies usually differentiate between accidental damage to the pleasure craft, passenger liability and liability caused to third parties out of the use of the boat, like pulling a water skier, for example. Just think what can go wrong.
- Most policies only cover a certain specification of craft, usually with a maximum length accepted around the 5m to 8m mark. Make sure you comply with the length requirement and other specifications of your policy.
- Policies generally include the inboard motor as part of the hull. Outboard motors, however, need to be specified, as do other accessories like water skis and electronic equipment. It is important to determine how your insurer defines the hull.
- The sum insured is not straightforward. Insurers usually set it differently depending on the age of the vessel. Proportionate Underinsurance applies if the sum insured is incorrect at claim stage.
- Policies typically limit how far out you can venture, usually to a radius of around 20km from the shoreline. Check your policy and stay within the defined radius.
- You will need a valid skipper’s licence to use the vessel under shipping legislation and you will need to comply with all other relevant legislation.
- Theft of outboard motors, jet skis, wet bikes etc. is usually not covered if left unattended. Check your policy conditions on this.
Liability
Liability
As a natural person, you are exposed to liability risks to third parties every day, even if you don’t leave the comfort of your own home. For example, your pet dog may attack and bite a visitor to your house, causing grievous bodily injury or death.
Personal liability essentially looks to cover your personal liability towards third parties, usually on a worldwide basis. This cover is a very important part of your insurance package.
The financial consequences of your legal liability are infinite. The example above points to this. It follows that you should opt for the highest possible sum insured. Extended Personal Legal Liability does just this. It extends your sum insured by millions of Rands and widens the cover slightly, all at a nominal premium cost.
Personal Accident
Personal Accident
Personal short term insurance policies are able to cover eventualities like death and permanent disability, following accident to insured named persons.
This is facilitated by selecting a sum insured for the insured eventuality, on a named person basis.
