Alexander Forbes Insurance Discusses Flood Damage Cover

Flood damage cover does not cover damage resulting from failure of routine maintenance Millions of Rands in damages due to recent floods.

The heavy rain fall in recent weeks in South Africa has resulted in a high death toll and damage to property that has climbed to millions of Rands already.

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has said that a total of 70 people have been killed, and nearly 8,500 people have been displaced across the country.

In addition, damages incurred have topped R356 million.

The Managing Director of Alexander Forbes, Gari Dombo said that South Africans would have the damage to their property covered by their own insurance company.

"Most standard policies should cover damage caused by storm, flood, wind, water hail or snow as well as the cost of consequent rain damage to your home's interior or its contents," he said.

He called for homeowners to be patient as insurance groups deal with assessing the damages so that they could make payouts as quickly as possible.

Dombo reminded South Africans that while their policies are equipped to pay out after weather disasters, they will not cover damage that was caused because policy owners ignored regular maintenance to their properties.

"Insurance does not cover damage resulting from a failure of routine maintenance," he said. "If homeowners fail to conduct reasonable maintenance, a loss may not be considered unexpected, and in some cases insurers may reject the claim outright."

Homeowners should check their property regularly for repairs and maintenance. For example, iron roofs should be screwed on tightly and gutters should be kept unblocked.

All these will help homeowners have their claims honoured and not rejected.