UTILITIES
With the continued power outages driven by the inability of Eskom to generate and store sufficient energy to supply in the demand , more and more homeowners have started to install back-up power systems . These come at significant cost , especially if the homeowner also installed solar systems , which can quickly escalate up to R200 000 . And while this means that homeowners can keep the lights on , it doesn ’ t mean that they are free of risk .
We received claims for power surge damage to backup power systems weekly , which is increasing at an alarming rate . Our advice to those who are contemplating the installation of back-up power is to ensure that the installed system has built-in surge protection and if not , to ensure that the DB board is protected with surge protection .
With the massive increase in power surge claims , most insurers are imposing additional excesses and limits on these types of claims , and power surge following load shedding is at risk of falling outside the appetite of traditional insurers due to the frequency of claims .
“ I urge policyholders to ensure that they know what their policy limit and excess is .”
Another reason why claims related to backup power systems are rejected at Elite is because the buildings belong to the insured , but are not insured with the insurer . This often happens to policyholders if they have a number of properties insured with a bank .
48 OCT 2022 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine