By staying on top of your insurance policies and updating them where necessary, you can make a big difference to the amount of cash you fork out every month. Picture: Rawpixel/Freepik
Durban - Spring is a time of new beginnings and is viewed as a chance to start spring cleaning your home, your garden, and even your finances.
You might be unsure of where to start the process of spring cleaning your finances, but updating your insurance policies can be a good jumping-off point.
“By staying on top of your insurance policies, you could be saving yourself money, and it’s especially important to ensure your cover is fit for purpose as many people start returning to the office and life is slowly going back to normal,” says Wynand van Vuuren, the client experience partner at King Price Insurance.
Here are five tips from the experts on how you can review your insurance policy:
1. Update your personal details
If there has been any changes in your personal circumstances in the past year, it’s important that you, as the insurance policy holder, update your insurance policy accordingly.
This information, such as the correct addresses for where your car is parked during the day and at night, can have a huge impact on your monthly premium.
“If you’re spending more time at the office, make sure your insurer knows this. It’s also important that the correct regular driver is registered, especially if you’re sharing a car with a family member,” says Van Vuuren.
2. Check your current cover
Go through your insurance policy properly and ask yourself the following questions:
– Are you paying for assets you don’t own anymore?
– Are you paying a premium for jewellery that is stored away in a safe and never worn outside of the house?
– Do you have shortfall cover on cars that are have already been paid off?
– Are still paying last year’s premium even though your car’s a year older?
– Do you work from home, or is your home always occupied?
According to Van Vuuren, by demonstrating lower risk, people can save money.
“You can also reduce your risk and your premium by installing additional security measures like electric fencing and an alarm system linked to armed response,” Van Vuuren says.
3. Make sure that you have cover for your home and portable contents
It is critical that the contents of your home are insured for their current replacement value, not what you paid for them.
“Make sure that you have specified any high-value items that you take outside the house under your portable possessions cover, or they’re effectively uninsured.”
These items can include jewellery, phones, sunglasses, laptops, among other things.
Karen Rimmer, Head: Distribution of PSG Insure, agrees that household contents should be insured for their current replacement value.
“It is important to revise your sum insured on an annual basis to keep up with inflation and increasing costs,” Rimmer says.
According to Van Vuuren, home contents inventory can be handy to help you value your home contents correctly.
4. Ensure that your house is fully covered
Van Vuuren says don’t just insure your house for what it would sell for, market value is not the same as replacement value.
It is vital that you work out what it would cost to rebuild your home and insure that amount.
“Buildings insurance should include the cost of rebuilding your house, including boundary walls, solar panels, swimming pool, taps and tiles. And if you have made major improvements to your home, such as adding a new room, tell your insurer, or you risk being under-insured.”
Rimmer says for most people, their home is the most valuable asset they will ever own, and a catastrophic event such as a fire could ruin them financially if they are not adequately insured.
“When it comes to insuring your property, make sure that you are covered at the current building costs per square meter and make provision for any outside extras,” Rimmer adds.
5. Combine your policies
“Insurers love clients who insure all their things under one policy,” Van Vuuren says.
“If you cover your home contents and a car, you will probably pay less. You will also benefit from a multiple car discount if you cover two or more cars – up to 20%, in some cases.”
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