Of course there are certain procedures that you need to follow when making a
household insurance claim.
Firstly, you need to notify your insurance company of your intention to claim
as soon as possible after the need arises. If you have suffered theft, you will
need to report the theft as soon as possible, and supply a case number to the
insurance company.
If you have more than one insurance policy, or you have add-on insurance,
you'll need to work out which policy to claim under. Your insurer or insurance
broker can help with this, so don't hesitate to contact them.
Fill in the claim form giving as much detail as possible, and make sure that
you are completely honest and thorough. When you fill in the form, you need to
specify what was stolen, damaged or lost, and give cost estimates for each item.
Once you have submitted your claim form with all this information, the
insurer will send a claims assessor or loss adjuster to check up and make sure
that you were complying with the policy terms at the time that you suffered your
loss. For example, if you have a major security system, but you went out without
turning on your alarm and leaving your front door wide open, you may have
trouble getting paid out.
Once the adjudicator has assessed your claim, you will be paid out. If you
are unhappy with your payout or the way in which your claim is handled, you can
contact the South African insurance industry ombudsman to seek redress.
Be careful
In order to have a smooth claims process and to get the full benefit of your
insurance policy, there are certain things you need to be careful of. Your claim
can be invalidated for a number of reasons, so make sure that you do everything
by the book. Above all, avoid supplying false information.
You also need to make sure that your insured items are properly maintained.
If a piece of equipment fails and damages your property, for example, if the
equipment was not maintained properly, the insurer could refute your claim.
Also make sure that your home security systems are working properly - test
them regularly.
Email
Print
