•••
CO L UM N
PITFALLS
PART 9
WILLIE LOUW
IN SHORT-TERM INSURANCE
WHEN I STARTED WRITING THIS SERIES OF ARTICLES I WAS CONVINCED
THAT ALL MATTERS RELATING TO SHORT-TERM
INSURANCE COULD
BE COVERED IN THREE
OR FOUR ARTICLES.
HOWEVER, THIS IS THE
NINTH ARTICLE AND
THE END IS STILL NOT IN
SIGHT.
I
t proves once again that shortterm insurance with all its conditions, exceptions and limitations
- the pitfalls - is not so simple.
We are currently discussing the
Fire type Divisions and in Part 8
we discussed the Home Owners
Division, namely the residential
building and all structures of a
household nature which may have
been erected on the farmyard.
In this issue we focus on the
Division Householders or
Household Contents, which is
once again limited to all items of a
household nature.
Readers should take note that
this division (similar to Home
Owners) is subject to the averaging
or under-insurance principle and
items should therefore be insured
at replacement value.
HOME OWNERS
Due to the extent of the cover and
extensions under this division, we
32
will have to discuss it in more than
one article.
However, it is important to
look at the definitions contained
in the policy conditions to make
very sure of what exactly is defined
as residential dwelling contents:
• All items of a household nature, while kept in the private
dwelling and domestic outbuildings on the said premises,
in the policy (it includes all
items which would fall out
should the house be turned
upside down!) It includes, inter
alia, clothing, jewellery, groceries as well as garden tools in the
garage / outbuildings.
• Personal possessions of visitors
of the insured or co-insured
person while in the private
dwelling of the insured person,
on condition that:
- Such items are not otherwise
insured (in other words,
should the visitor have his
own home owners insurance,
he would have to claim
against such insurance).
- The liability of the insurer is
limited, e.g. R2 000.00 or
2% of the insured amount
(Santam Agri-policy).
• Personal possessions of any servant employed by the insured
on a full-time basis while such
possessions are in the building
as specified under Division
Householders, subject to the
following:
- Loss or damage as a result
of theft is excluded, unless
the theft goes hand in hand
with burglary in a material,
Feb/Mar 2016 • SENWES Scenario
visible and forcible manner.
- The liability of the insurer is
once again limited.
The policy often refers to the
fact that liability is expanded to
include co-insured persons. Coinsured persons include the spouse
of the insured person as well as any
other relative of the insured person
and his/her spouse who may live
with them.
Where the policy refers to the
private residence of the insured
person, it means the building of
the private residence of the insured
person of which:
• the construction, e.g. walls, is a
brick construction and the roof
is a corrugated iron roof; and
• the location, e.g. the name of
the farm and the district, are
reflected in the annexure to the
policy.
The aforementioned factors are
taken into account when calculating the premium, since a dwelling
with a wooden construction poses
a much higher fire risk while a
dwelling in the close vicinity of an
informal settlement poses a hig \