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