6 ways to get the most out of your home and contents insurance

We started Naked to give people a product that’s fresh and transparent – a product with no conflict of interest when it comes to paying out claims. After all, insurance is about paying for a service to protect your belongings if and when bad things happen.

This article aims to answer some questions Naked customers have had about their home and/or contents policies.

And as we are all about no surprises, we thought we would share it with you to make sure your insurance works the way you expect it to.

1. Tell us about your ‘easily portable’ items

If you have home contents cover with us, you need to specify any items that are easily portable and worth more than R5,000 separately on the app.

‘Easily portable’ items are items that are specifically designed to be carried or taken out of the house with you, like your laptop or camera. They also include anything that is not typically taken out of the house with you but is small enough to be easily hidden on a person’s body like a small valuable ornament. These items are covered while at home, everywhere in South Africa and for up to six months while you are travelling outside of South Africa.

Any easily portable item that is not specified, will only be covered for a maximum of R5,000, minus your excess.

Here are a few examples of what would and would not be regarded as ‘easily portable’:

2. Remember to also specify any items you want to be covered for accidental damage under ‘Items over R5,000’

With home contents cover, everything in your home is covered for any weather-related events, theft, and fire. However, accidental damage caused by you or anyone living under your roof is not covered unless the item is specified in ‘Items over R5,000’.

For example, let’s say you have a flat-screen TV worth R20,000. You accidentally knock it over and it’s smashed to smithereens. This loss will not be covered under your standard contents policy unless you specify the flatscreen under ‘Items over R5,000’.

3. Insure your home’s contents for what it would cost to replace it as new today

Since launching our home contents cover we have found some of the Naked tribe insuring their stuff for less than what it’s actually worth. This is usually unintentional and is sadly only discovered at claims stage. It may sound harmless, but when it comes to claiming you won’t receive the insurance payout you were expecting. For example, if you only insure your stuff for 80% of what it's actually worth, you will only get 80% of your claim paid back to you. Here’s an article that explains the importance of insuring your contents for the right amount.

Review the value of your contents at least once a year or whenever you make any big purchases. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to put a value on your contents.

4. Make sure you have your invoices, valuation certificates or other proof of ownership on hand for your valuable items

This is something that we’ve found sometimes comes as a surprise to people when it comes to claiming.

When you claim for valuable items we will ask you to provide proof of ownership and sometimes valuations, for example on jewellery.

If you do not have the invoice or the bank statement that shows the purchase any more, consider taking pictures of the specific items in your house, showing serial numbers etc. On jewellery it is best to get a fresh valuation certificate from your local jeweller – this will also help you to make sure that you are still insuring your jewellery for the right amount.

5. Insure your building for what it would cost to rebuild it from scratch

Imagine your whole stand being hit by a wrecking ball that flattens every structure on it, leaving behind only rubble. To make sure you have sufficient cover on your building, you need to insure your building for what it would cost to restore your whole property to its former state before the wrecking ball did its damage.

This would include rebuilding your home with all its fixtures like: tiles, carpets, cupboards, built-in appliances, light fittings, etc. The cost would also include any outbuildings, pools, cottages, perimeter fencing, tennis courts, and driveways.

In addition, you need to include an allowance for making the site safe, demolishing any bits still standing, removing the waste and any professional or municipal fees that will need to be paid along the way.

6. To cover your actual physical geyser, boost your geyser cover

Electrical/traditional geysers and renewable energy systems are covered for any potential damage that is caused by an external event like a fire, storm or a falling tree. But keep in mind that this is only the case if the value of your geyser or renewable energy system is included in the total insured value of your home.

At Naked we do offer you the option to boost the cover of your electric/traditional geyser for bursting and leaking for an extra premium each month. As for renewable energy systems, we don’t offer any cover for bursting, leaking or wear and tear. In general, most insurance policies offer no cover for wear and tear or electrical/mechanical breakdowns.