Avoid Common Insurance Mistakes

In the last year, the short-term insurance Ombudsman stated that he received over 10 000 formal complaints. Most of them were about motor and home insurance. His report said that the Ombudsman overturned only 30% of the complaints. They boiled down to insurance mistakes on the part of the buyers of insurance policies.

Evidently many policy holders appear do not understand the terms and conditions of their motor and home insurance policies. Being aware of common insurance mistakes might help you.

Understand and Read your Insurance Policies

Policy holders need to understand their level of cover and also the circumstances around the requirements to ensure successful claims. If consumers did this, they would avoid possible rejection of the claim. There are a few common reasons why insurers reject insurance claims. They are:

●  Insurance Mistakes – Home Contents

Many home owners fail to insure ALL the content of their home. They tend to take out insurance policies and then renew it every year. But they fail to take the steps in updating the level of cover, even though they have purchased new things for their home.

●  Insurance Mistakes – Not Doing Maintenance

Many home owners fail to maintain their homes properly. Some insurance policies only cover damage from unforeseen events as they consider maintenance to be the responsibility of the owners. They are unlikely to consider claims that result from poor maintenance or even neglect.

●  Insurance Mistakes – Faulty Alarm Systems

It is very important that home owners test their alarm systems regularly to make sure that they are working properly. Insurance policies stipulate that the home owner is responsible for keeping alarms in full working order. If theft occurs at your home and your alarms were not working properly, then your insurer will most likely reject your claim. With load shedding, it is important to check that battery back-up is available and working.

●  Insurance Mistakes – Driving unlawfully

If the authorities catch you driving whilst under the influence of narcotics or alcohol, or you don’t even have a driver’s licence then you are a participant in criminal offences. Your insurance could actually be invalid immediately. If you are caught driving negligently so that it results in damage or destruction, your insurance claim will more than likely be repudiated.

●  Insurance Mistakes – Vehicle not Roadworthy

If your windscreen wipers don’t work correctly or your tyre treads are under the legal limit, you are increasing the likelihood of accidents happening. Should you be in an accident where your vehicle was not in full working condition and that it contributed towards an accident, then your insurer will most likely reject your insurance claim.

●  Insurance Mistakes – Unsafe Overnight Parking

Owners of motor vehicles need to ensure that the methods suggested in the insurance claim are in place. If you are going to be parking in an unsafe place, you need to inform the insurance provider to ensure that you are still covered in the event that your car is stolen or broken into.

●  Insurance Mistakes – If you are not the regular driver

If the policy states that cover is only for a certain driver, then the claim will be successful only if that specific driver was behind the wheel when an accident or incident occurs.

Bearing these helpful tips in mind and reading and understanding your insurance policy will save you the frustration of having your claim being rejected.

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All info was correct at time of publishing