A lot of people think: “it will never happen to me so why should I bother?”

There is at least one fire a day in Cape Town and at some stage there’s a good chance it will happen to you. A fire could reach your home, in the next fire gone lose or when the power comes back on after an outage an appliance might overheat and catch fire.

According to the Short Term Insurance ombudsman, it is your responsibility to ensure that your property is properly maintained and correctly insured.

The fine print on most policies places the onus on the owner to be properly insured, so dig out your policy and check that you have cover for what you need and for the correct amount. Ask your broker for help with this.

Also ensure that your home is safe. Hot water geysers, roof leaks, cracks, poor paintwork, damp issues, poor drainage, unsafe electrics and faulty plumbing are singled out in 8 Common Problems in South African Homes by John Graham.

Look out for unsafe electrics in the form of: broken light switches and fittings; lack of an earth leakage unit; exposed wiring – especially in the roof; damaged distribution boards; plug points too close to baths, showers or kitchen sinks; and incorrect earthing.

Article credit: http://womanonline.co.za/Lifestyle-detail/why-insurance-is-important