“As you review your household discretionary expenditure, it’s important to remember that your home, everything in it and your car are likely to represent your life’s work and your family’s security, so don’t risk a catastrophic loss when times are already so tough. Fire, crime and accidents are still part and parcel of life,” says Yolanda Barnard, George Branch Manager at Aon South Africa, an insurance brokerage and risk advisors.

If you’re reviewing your insurance cover, talk to an Aon broker to help you restructure your cover and achieve savings and efficiencies where they are to be found. Important aspects to consider include:

• You may find that you are still driving less than you were pre-pandemic and lower mileage generally means lower risk of an accident. Speak to your broker about whether you qualify for a lower premium from your insurer based on your reduced risk. Remember that if your vehicle is financed, your vehicle finance provider will require that it is comprehensively insured.
• Just like your car, your home and contents are still exposed to the risks of fire and crime so make sure that your key assets are covered for a worst-case scenario. Many people believe house fires are uncommon, however they are one of the leading claims causes and happen more often than people realise, with devastating consequences.
• You might elect not to cover certain items that you could more easily replace – for example you may have spare cell phones after upgrades meaning that the loss of a phone could be easily replaced. In this instance, you can elect to take on certain risks and self-insure, but only do so with the advice of your broker.
• If you live in a secure estate, or if you have extra security measures in place, you may qualify for a lower premium due to the reduced risk to the insurer.
• Do a thorough review of your insured inventory and make sure you are not paying for cover for things you no longer own – you may find old phones and electronic devices, sporting equipment and so on are still specified on your policy.

“When it comes to reassessing your cover, there’s no beating the help and guidance of an expert insurance broker to protect your best interests, point out all the important aspects of your cover, ringfence any exclusions or conditions and highlight what the general market trends are. They are also adept at negotiating with your insurer to get you the cover that you need and can afford. Meeting with your broker to reassess your covers and plug any holes for potential underinsurance is key to making better decisions about your risks,” concludes Yolanda.