Handbag insurance: Why you should consider it, and other faq answered

It’s a well-known fact that a woman’s handbag is her life. We have a need to always have our most important items on hand should we need it, meaning everything from our ID books, wallets, makeup bag and lipstick, sunglasses, phone and earphones, perfume – well basically everything but the kitchen sink is in there.

And as we all know, smash-and-grabs and hijackings are a common occurrence in South Africa – especially as we head into the silly season.

If you’ve ever violently parted with your handbag before, you will know just how much it costs when you have to replace everything. Your makeup alone will probably set you back more than R2,000, not to mention the time and admin it will take to get new bank cards, a new ID and new Rewards cards to all your favourite shops.

Losing the contents of your handbag is a major financial and administrative headache, but by insuring your bag, you can at least be assured that all the contents inside it will covered and paid out should you have an incident.

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Chief Actuary at Momentum, Rudolf Britz answers some common question about handbag insurance:

Must items be specified?

Insurance companies typically cover items like prescription glasses, sunglasses, makeup, perfume, your purse and wallet, so there is no need to specify a particular item.

Britz says every insurer has its own terms and conditions, which you should take note of before taking out the handbag cover.

“At Momentum Insure, we will not cover cellular phones and personal documents like your driver’s license and ID, as well as bank or credit cards.”

How much will be paid out for a handbag when stolen?

That will depend on the amount noted on your policy schedule.

How do you apply for handbag insurance?

This will depend on your chosen insurer, but at Momentum, the optional woman’s benefit is available on any Momentum Insure policy and includes handbag cover and breast cancer cover. So, if you have a car insurance policy or a household contents policy, you can select the woman’s benefit on any of the two.

Is the cover only for one specific handbag?

No. Britz explains that this is a general cover for your handbag and you will be covered even if you use a different bag every day. It’s important to remember that you won’t get the payout for a Gucci handbag, if your bag and its contents was insured for the price of a non-designer bag.