What you should get for the insurance premium you pay

What you should get for the insurance premium you pay

Short-term insurance cover is one of life’s necessities: when things go wrong, insurance makes it right again. This is the time you want something extra - and no excuses. Insurance that looks for reasons to pay claims, rather than not. So it’s important to know if the insurer you are with provides adequate cover for most eventualities and whether they’re really there for you when you need it most. If you’re thinking of switching insurers, here are some questions to ask to help you pick the right cover.

Do I have the right type of insurance?

There is no right or wrong type of insurance but it’s good to know your options if you’re looking to reduce your premiums or switch insurers. Remember that most insurers will let you waive the basic excess on your vehicle or reduce your excess amount in order to lower your premium. Just be sure to save some money to pay towards a shortfall should it be necessary.

Santam offers three types of cover for vehicles. These are:

• Comprehensive insurance: Like the word says, this is your all-encompassing, ‘all-in’ cover for accidental loss or damage to your vehicle, including third party liability.
• Limited (fire, theft and hijacking): This covers accidental loss or damage to your vehicle, including third party liability – but only if the loss or damage is as a result of fire, lightning, explosion, theft or attempted theft, or hijacking. Any other damages to your vehicle will be for your own account.
• Third party only: The bare minimum insurance you should have, this covers the amount for which you are legally liable for to cover damage caused to a third party’s property (if the liability relates to the vehicle).

Do I have enough insurance on my car?

For many of us, ‘enough’ insurance is guided by what we can afford. Insurers typically look at the market value of your car when working out your premium. Seeing that a vehicle’s market value depreciates each year, it’s a good idea to regularly check in on the insured amount of your car.

Is your car financed? Then make sure you know what will happen if it is stolen or written off. If your car is insured at market value and the settlement value is less than what you owe the loan company, then you will have to pay in quite a large amount of cash to settle the shortfall. To protect yourself against this scenario, you might want to add credit shortfall cover to your package.

Are my house contents and buildings adequately insured?

Did you know that a large majority of South African homes are currently underinsured? It is easy to underestimate the value of your home contents and building. For example, a R200 000 payout might feel like an enormous amount of money, however if you really start adding up every single item, room by room, you may be shocked how ‘little’ that actually is. Use our online inventory calculator to get a better idea of all the things you own and may want to replace. You can also use our online building replacement cost calculator to find out the replacement value of your house and other structures. Visit www.santam.co.za for more information.

What else am I getting from my insurance?

Insurance is something that pays out when things go wrong, but your insurance company should also be there for you every day to help you avoid dangerous situations or help you out of a pickle. Ask yourself if your insurer offers useful additional services such as 24/7 roadside assistance, a free locksmith service, a plumber if a pipe bursts, and so on? Are they rewarding your loyalty with a no-claims bonus or other incentives? Do they have a good track record of paying claims?

For Santam, insurance good and proper means looking for reasons to pay you, rather than not. This is not just a statement - it’s one of the reasons consumers voted us the most reliable personal insurer when it comes to paying claims.

Now that you’ve properly relooked the cover you have vs. the cover you need, maybe it’s time to change insurance companies? Switching is quick and easy - speak to your intermediary  or call us on 0860 444 444 for a free quote. If you’d like to make amendments to your existing insurance policy with us, download the Santam app or visit our client site.