Publications
Partners
The school holidays and Easter weekend are fast approaching and many of us will be heading away from home for a much needed break.
Of course, making sure that everything at your unattended property is insured is essential. But you must also double-check that any outbuildings you have on your property are included in your cover, as well as the contents stored within these outbuildings.
Outbuildings may not automatically be covered
Outbuildings such as wendy houses or sheds and free-standing garages are often packed with expensive tools – perhaps your bicycle or other sporting equipment, or sentimental items that you are holding on to.
However, outbuildings do not always automatically fall within your insurance and usually require specific cover. The structure may be part of your building insurance if it is specified. Similarly, the contents within may be covered by your contents insurance, but not necessarily in full.
Specify your risks
Wendy houses, for example, are usually not automatically covered as part of your contents insurance.
So be sure to specify what you are storing in your wendy house, including all items of value.
Freestanding garages are also a specified risk and usually require at least a sensor linking to an alarm on your property to be part of your cover.
Be aware of insurance requirements and specifications
Once you have the necessary cover in place, it is also important to comply with security specifications as stated in your insurance policy.
For example, if you say your wendy house has a lock and it gets broken into, there will need to be evidence of the break-in to avoid having your claim repudiated.
You must also only store what you say you are storing. If you put a brand new expensive item such as a lawnmower in there without letting your adviser or insurer know, it won’t automatically be covered under your existing policy.
The best course of action to ensure you are adequately covered is to chat to your financial adviser, who can safeguard your pocket and possessions by making sure your insurance policy is comprehensive.
*Bertus Visser, Chief Executive of Distribution at PSG Insure
