When it come to home insurance, let’s concentrate on actual buildings. Don’t forget things like garden sheds and green houses – policy wordings may differ from company to company, so make sure you get clarity from your insurer or broker.
Stand-alone garages or car ports must be included even if they are not attached to the house – if it’s an immovable structure it must be included. People often forget to increase the sum insured when they’ve added something new, so make a note as soon as you start building to contact your insurers. It is also good practice to notify your insurer if you are having any alterations done, so if something does go wrong during the works, your policy will kick in where appropriate.
Have a last look around outside and remember to include built-in braais, gazebos, pergolas on the patio, and things like retractable awnings. Whatever is there make sure it is insured – you never want to hear the words, “Sorry, you are under-insured, the average will apply.”
You really need to make sure you’ve got things right in your main dwelling. If you have built on a sloping site, at least part of your foundations will be higher than those of a normal house. It is far more expensive to replace a suspended Oregon timber floor than to replace concrete and carpet. Deep moulded skirtings are more costly than 75mm meranti skirtings. If you live in an older house with teak windows, they will cost 10 times more than a meranti windowframe.
Older houses will have a higher ceiling than the modern norm, so your walls will be higher, therefore your square metre rate needs to be higher. Timber ceilings are more expensive than skimmed ceilings, a slate roof is more expensive than a cement-tiled roof. If you live in a double-storey house, it will cost more to replace items on the first floor than the ground floor. The list goes on and on.
If you do suffer a fire or another equally devastating event, you wouldn’t want your solid timber cupboards replaced with melamine, or your crystal chandeliers replaced with cheap glass. Walk around your home and make notes about things that are not part of the modern norm.
Cape Town is still full of people who believe you can build for R3 000 a square metre, and thus a 200m2 house should be insured for R600 000. Unfortunately those figures applied over 10 years ago.
Hopefully you are getting the picture. The bottom line is, if you are not adequately insured, don’t expect the insurance company to pay for repair work. At the end of the day it is your responsibility to ensure that your sum insured is correct. - Weekend Argus