East Rand declared natural catastrophe zone by insurers

“As at lunchtime on November 10, over 150 claims had already been lodged in Aon’s call centre alone,” said Mandy Barrett, Manager of Personal Lines Marketing & Sales at Aon South Africa.

“Some insurers has set up facilities at salvage yards for vehicles that were submerged to be immediately assessed.

“Huge property losses have also been incurred, especially in the vicinity of the Jukskei River which burst its banks during the storm.

“While it’s still too early to quantify the extent of the damage today, expectations are that these will be significant and that claims handling will be kicked into high gear to deal with the influx.”

According to Aon South Africa, risk advisors and insurance brokerage, in the last four years, weather-related damage has cost the insurance industry a staggering R2.5billion in losses.

“While severe weather is not an uncommon occurrence in South Africa, what makes the events in Gauteng particularly noteworthy is the net retained exposure that the province represents.

“Gauteng’s built-up area constitutes only 0.5 per cent of SA’s land surface area, but due to the fact that the area is so densely populated, Gauteng constitutes 35 per cent of the exposure to catastrophic events such as hail storms and flash floods. ”

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Barrett said many consumers still believe that they are more insulated from extreme weather conditions such as hail storms, floods and strong winds, so they tend to cut their cover on the flawed premise that extreme weather events are too unlikely to happen.

“You certainly don’t have to live in the vicinity of a dam, lake or river to experience floods as the events of November 9 proved.

“If we look at the five years especially, climate change looks set to continue to play havoc. One of the most important learnings that consumers can take out of the recent weather catastrophes is to assess whether they are properly covered for worst case scenarios before it is too late.

“In this regard, a professional broker plays an invaluable role in guiding you through a proper needs analysis, interpreting the policy terms and conditions, helping you mitigate your risk, and in turn managing your premium costs.

“Insuring your most important assets – likely to be your vehicles, home and everything in it – and your ability to recover from a major catastrophe, should be approached in the same way as investing in the stock market – you’re unlikely to do it without professional advice,” said Mandy.

According to Aon, severe weather conditions, from golf ball-sized hail to heavy rainfalls and flooding are a far more regular occurrence and will continue to increase in frequency and voracity.

“Consumers need to make sure that their insurance policies cover them comprehensively, not only for the damage, but for any alternative arrangements that need to be made while the damage is being repaired.”