Building insurance is a very secure way to cover your asset from damages. In truth, several things could go wrong in your house, from fire to, structural flaws, natural disasters, explosion, and many more. Purchasing building insurance in South Africa is the best way to secure your buildings in the locale. This article contains an overall knowledge of everything you need to know about building insurance in South Africa.
What is building insurance in South Africa?
This is insurance that takes care of any damage that happens to your house. It covers many causes and disasters within and out of your control. They cover all costs up to the penny spent on calling a fire brigade. It also compensates money spent on acquiring temporary accommodation if your house is uninhabitable after the incident.
Building insurance is the safest way to secure your building assets. Therefore banks now insist you have one before obtaining a home loan.
What are the items and types of damages covered by building insurance in South Africa?
There might be variations in your contract, therefore it is necessary you go through its details. However, building insurance generally covers damages caused by:
- Explosion, storms floods, fire, and earthquakes
- Vandalism, theft, and attempted theft
- Frozen and burst pipes
- Subsidence
- Vehicle or aircraft collisions, and other damages specified in the contract.
Regarding damaged items, building insurance generally compensates for:
- Damages to the structure of your property
- Garages, sheds, and fences
- Cost of replacing housing items such as cables, pipes, and drains
- The full cost of rebuilding your house (not always, and could vary depending on your contract)
Is building insurance in South Africa the same as home insurance?
There are three types of property insurance, which are building, contents, and home insurance. These three are not the same, therefore building insurance is not the same as house insurance. The difference is that building insurance protects the fabric of your home (roof, wall, windows, garage, etc.), while house insurance, on the other hand, protects both your property structures and the items in it.
Content insurance protects only the contents in the building like gadgets, white goods, curtains, etc.
What are the benefits of obtaining building insurance in South Africa?
Some of the benefits of obtaining building insurance are:
- Reduced stress:
purchasing build insurance takes away the stress and logistics related to fixing damages to your house.
- Peace of mind:
if they insure your building, you have peace of mind knowing that you canāt incur unbearable losses. Also, in a case when the house becomes uninhabitable, your insurance company sort out alternative accommodation. In all, building insurance gives you peace of mind.
How much building insurance do I need?
The recommended advice is that you insure your building for the sum that it would cost to completely rebuild it. They call this āsum insuredā. This amount is not the same as the value of your home should you sell it, or the price you purchased it. The cost of rebuilding a home is generally lesser, therefore you should not under or over insure yourself.
You can seek professional advice from bodies or persons that provide such, or better still, simply purchase the unlimited cover. Unlimited cover saves you from the stress of working out the rebuilding cost but poses the risk of your overpaying. If you have an exact valuation on rebuilding cost, you can shop for cheaper policies around that better suits your needs.
Are there any disadvantages to purchasing building insurance in South Africa?
The major disadvantage of purchasing building insurance in South Africa is the added expense of insurance. You can keep making premium payments for a long time, and never really benefit from it except your building damages.
Conclusion
Purchasing building insurance in South Africa affords you all the peace of mind and financial security that you need. It ensures your building is well maintained and funds any damages covered in the contract. With building insurance, they protect you from future expenses that your building may incur.
