Water shedding insurance risks – here’s how to keep your home covered

Water shedding and supply cuts can also affect your home insurance, in a similar way to load shedding, and Gauteng residents need to acquaint themselves with the risks, considering the recent problems with their municipal water supply.

These problems include stage 2 water restrictions, intermittent low water pressure in some areas, and increasingly frequent water outages.

Residents must take care to ensure these problems don’t result in loss to their homes and personal property, Ernest North, co-founder of the fully digital insurance platform – Naked, says.

“Dry, hot weather and a shortage of water brings with it a range of risks. While some of these risks will be covered by a buildings and home contents policy, maintenance-related issues and incidents related directly to extreme weather are often excluded.

He advises consumers to keep these steps in mind to reduce their risks of loss or damage to their homes and property:

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Turn off your geyser during water shedding

Water outages may increase the possibility of a geyser failure or breakdown and North says leaving the heating element on while the geyser tank is empty will likely increase the speed at which the geyser deteriorates.

Therefore, if you know the water supply will be switched off, turn the geyser off at the distribution board (DB board) and only turn it on once there is full water flow.

Your buildings policy will usually cover the replacement or repair of your geyser if it breaks due to an event like a fire or a storm, North says.

“In some policies, geyser cover is an optional extra and you must check that you are covered.”

Most policies will also pay out if the geyser leaks or bursts due to wear and tear and your home contents policy will reimburse you if a burst geyser causes damage or loss of your household items.

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Close the taps to avoid flooding 

It is easy to forget that you had the taps running to wash the dishes or run a bath if the water supply is cut without warning.

If you pop out of the house for a few hours and the water supply is restored, it could mean you return to a flooded home. Your buildings policy will cover damage to your carpets, ceilings, wooden flooring and other structural parts of your home.

Your home contents policy will cover items such as your furniture, appliances and electronics. The owner of the home is responsible for the building cover to make sure the building and its fixtures are covered in case something bad happens, while the contents cover is the responsibility of the person renting the place.

Your landlord’s insurance will not cover the damage caused to your personal belongings.

If you live in an apartment block, your neighbours might hold you or your landlord liable for any damage they suffer due to you leaving your taps running.

You may have to cover the costs of any repairs or replacements and, therefore, it is good to have an insurer in your corner, specifically for liability cover.

If you own a flat, the body corporate or managing agent will usually buy building insurance on behalf of all owners.

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Minimise fire risks 

Although fire is not as big a risk for Gauteng residents as it is for people in the Western Cape, dry weather substantially increases risk for homeowners across the country.

Building insurance covers the risk of fire, but bear in mind that your insurance contract requires you to take reasonable steps to avoid or minimise loss.

For example, storing combustible materials near building structures might be seen as negligent. If there is a fire warning and you have time to safely evacuate, you must pack any especially valuable items, such as expensive jewellery to take with you.