Environmentally orientated upgrades can pose an insurance problem

While it is sound thinking to follow the current trend and install as many environmental upgrades in your home as possible (because, with water in the Cape Town area so scarce this is the right thing to do and the savings on electricity and water will in the long run give substantial savings) those going this route and fitting solar heated geysers, heat pumps, rain water collection and grey water systems should realise that insurers will see these as part of a home’s infrastructure not as part of its contents. If, therefore, they have been installed without the insurance company being informed, the home owner may find, when he makes a claim, that those items are not insured.

It must not be assumed that the insurance company will see them as part of the original policy even if they were there from the start says Marina Loubser, the CEO of Uzoko Brokers, the Alexander Swart Property in-house insurance manager. Furthermore, if they are told, they will often feel entitled to charge extra on their premiums.

Certain home owners, says Loubser, have lost out on their insurance claims when one or other of these installations went wrong and the reason for this is that they did not keep the insurer up to date with their upgrades. Others have lost out because they never realised that such items were insurable.

What is more, says Loubser, the insurers will usually be reluctant to insure any installations which do not have SABS or similar accreditation – and if such items are used they may severely limit the amount they are prepared to pay on claims regarding them.  Insurers may also insist that the installer is registered with the appropriate body governing his trade. In addition, they will probably want proof that regular maintenance has been carried out on all installations.

Geysers, with their regrettable potential eventually to get old and then burst, says Loubser, can be particularly problematic although they are automatically covered by most insurance policies. Some insurers will insist that an extra premium be paid on any additional geysers in the home. 

It is important that home owners check with their insurers or their brokers what is and what is not covered in their policies. Policies vary from one company to another and so do prices – which is one of the many good reasons for employing an experienced broker with knowledge of this subject.

For further information please contact Marina Loubser on 083 304 8824 or by emailing her on marina@uzukobrokers.co.za