We are going to cover a few sections on insurance which will be in the following categories:

Car Insurance

There are 3 basic types of insurance, where some companies may have a customized product but they all fall in the following three categories:

1. Comprehensive Insurance
2. Third party, Fire and Theft
3. Third party only

Comprehensive insurance covers everything. If you have an accident with another car, its covered. If you have an accident with a tree, its covered. From fire to hail all accidental damage to your car is covered. You need to confirm with your insurer if you are covered for hail damage, as that is an optional extra for people in the highveld as coastal conditions rarely get hail.

Third party, Fire and Theft is a much cheaper option, but you are not covered for motor car accidents. If you cause an accident, and the other party claims from you for the damages to their vehicle you are covered, but your own damages will not be covered. If your car gets stolen or catch on fire you will be compensated for your loss.

Third party only is the cheapest option, but none of your own damages is covered. This will work for very old vehicles and you are worried that you may cause other people damage. Or if you are able to afford any damage to your car but you need third party insurance including public liability this is the option for you.

Home Content Insurance

This is for all loose contents within your house. If you are unsure of what this is, imagine turning your house upside down and shaking it, everything that will fall out ... is home contents. You must make a careful assessment of the value of your house content as underinsuring can lead to severe penalties. Lets take an example, if you insure for R100 000 of content, and you suffer water damage on everything in your living room, the assessor will come out and determine the value of your home content. If he finds that you in fact have R200 000 worth of items, it means you are 50% under insured and only 50% of your claim will be entertained. So take time and carefully establish the value of all your possessions.

Portable Possessions Insurance

This forms part of your home content insurance policy and includes everything that you may carry in and out of the house. This includes jewelry, laptops, cell phones and the likes. If the value of the item is less than R2000 it should be automatically covered. This is a guideline and should be confirmed with your insurer. If its worth more than R2000 it is good to specify the items. Lets take golf clubs for example: If you have a bag (R700), 2 woods (R5000) and irons (R4000) it can come close to R10 000. Specify it by brand, and keep all receipts as it will be needed for claims. It costs a little bit more but is then insured for theft from your golf club, or car boot. If you can and the item has a serial number be sure to submit that like in the case of a cell phone EMEI number.

Buildings Cover

Buildings cover insures the building itself. If you have a fire that completely destroys the building, you will be compensated. Your geyser and pool equipment will form part of this cover. It is recommended that you get the valuation from the bank that you have a bond with and insure it for the same value. Remember to make sure that you or your bank does not allready have buildings cover on the building or property as it will mean you are double insuring the building.