This kind of mistake is just one of many which could cost you dearly when a crisis hits and you are stuck with the bill.

CLICK BELOW to apply to receive a variety of car insurance quotes and request to include home insurance in your cover. By combining the two, you can stand to save on your monthly premium.

Five Home Insurance Mistakes You Should Avoid

1. Underinsuring Your Home

If your house is underinsured, there are serious financial consequences when disaster strikes. Have you renovated, updated or bought new household contents without updating your policy?

Many homeowners only buy enough home insurance to cover their mortgage, which is far less than the actual value of the home. Similarly, you may buy insurance that is the same as the value of the house. The problem arises when you have to rebuild part of, or your entire home which then costs more than the value of your policy (including labour).

2. Over-insuring Your Home

In the same vein, you could be over-insuring your house whereby the cover you have taken out is more than you would ever need.

The best point of action is to have your home appraised to find out its true value. An insurance broker can also tell you exactly what your insurance needs are and the value to insure your house for.

3. Assuming You Have Flood, Mould and Sewage Backup Cover

Never assume you are covered for everything when taking out home insurance. As mentioned earlier, home insurance is not a “tick the boxes” kind of insurance.

Many homeowners have fallen short when assuming that all policies covered household issues like mould, sewage backup, and flood damage. Make sure you read your policy carefully to ensure you are covered for every situation.

4. Not Understanding a Deductible

What exactly is a deductible in a home insurance policy? It is the amount stipulated in your contract that you are liable for in the event of a claim before the insurance provider pays out the rest of the claim. Think of it as the car insurance world’s ‘excess’.

The problem arises when people think a deductible is a flat rate when, in most cases, it will be a percentage of the total insurance value. The deductible, therefore, becomes much higher than you would have thought. Make sure you ask what kind of deductible you will be liable for.

5. Going With The First Insurer You Find

Insurance can be confusing and may make you want to get it over and done with as soon as possible. But, like any insurance, it is always better to compare insurance quotes from a variety of insurance providers. You should start to see how different insurance providers charge different amounts for the same coverage.

Remember, home insurance is pretty much until the day you decide to sell your house, so even a slight decrease in monthly premiums can make a big difference.

Emphasis is on the need to shop around for insurance companies before you make your final choice. This is especially important when it comes to cost. For the exact same coverage you will find that different insurers charge differently. Even though the difference may be minimal, when the regular payments are added up, there is a big difference.

The post 5 Expensive Home Insurance Mistakes You Should Avoid appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

In the midst of all of this,  some local restaurants have started charging patrons for tap water. According to chairperson of Fedhasa Cape, Jeff Rosenberg, restaurants aren’t allowed to charge customers for water.

So we might need water to drink, but do we really need water to grow our food? A Cape Town design studio has made ‘waterless’ cooking a reality.

Fighting The War On Water

South African and Dutch food designers, known as S/Zout, have created three waterless dinner experiences in Cape Town. These events will take place from 23-25 January and will seat a maximum of 87 guests per sitting. Each guest will represent a litre in the maximum number of litres allocated to each person per day. The City faces the worst drought in centuries with level six water restrictions in full effect.

The aim of the waterless dinner project is to show people how delicious ‘waterless’ food can actually taste.

The food served uses salt-tolerant crops farmed using seawater, fresh produce which has been grown without essential-use water.

The shocking truth is that up to 69% of all fresh water is used for farming around the world. This doesn’t leave much water for other essential processes.

Here’s a video by local vlogger, Adam Spires and local comedian, Siv Ngesi, discussing the truths behind the water crisis:

What’s On The Menu?

Guests who attend the waterless dining experience can expect to enjoy food made from only foods produced in sea water. The following produce has been grown successfully in sea water and will be used to make the cuisine:

• Carrots;
• Tomatoes;
• Potatoes;
• Lettuce;
• Cabbage;
• Strawberries;
• Onions;
• Garlic.

Although the menu has yet to be confirmed, some of the sea water delicacies include the following:

• Salt water soda;
• Lettuce ketchups;
• Seaweed bacon;
• Cabbage cake iced with carrot jam.

The Finer Details

Not only will be people experience the thrill of trying something new and delicious, but ticket proceeds will go to a great cause.

Last year, a fire destroyed the Veld and Sea Institute in Scarborough. The institute focuses on educating people on sustainability.

The outside area of the centre was destroyed- this is where many of the classes took place. The money raised will be used to repair the damage caused by the blaze as well as removing any alien vegetation in the area that is able to spark another fire.

How Much Is It? 

Tickets cost R550 per person and can be bought from Quicket here.

Where Is It? 

37 Parliament Street, Cape Town. The event starts at 7pm and ends at 11pm.

*For more information about the event or the tickets, you can email: h@studio-h.co.za

The post Is Waterless Dining The Way Of The Future? appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

1. Add a granny flat or cottage in your garden, on top of your garage, or as another story on top of your home. You could always rent this out for extra income, use it for storage, or have a lovely place for guests to stay.

2. Expand the rest of your property by landscaping your garden, add a pool, pond, shed, braai pit, waterfall feature and more.

3. Natural wear and tear on a home requires maintenance and every couple years may require a refurbishment of the interior with new paint, new floors, new carpets, and new fittings.

4. Renovate your kitchen or bathroom, add that waterjet jacuzzi bath or add that classy granite topped island to your kitchen. This will improve the selling features of your home while adding some luxury to your daily living.

5. Create a recreational area, build a new play room onto your home for the kids, add a thatch covered lapa, add a tennis court and more. Life is best spent with the people that matter, make your home somewhere special for your family and friends to share memories.

©Diane Moalem for Compare Guru

The post 5 Life Changing Ways To Renovate Your Home appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

In this building that we call home, we store everything we own. We can protect it from burglars with burglar bars and electric fences and armed response and spotlights and razor wire and security cameras – this is beginning to sound like a home in Johannesburg suburbia – and guard dogs and a moat and a fancy alarm system…

But how do we protect our homes from natural disasters and anything else that’s outside of our control?

First, we’ll have a look at the different types of insurance available to help you along. Then, we’ll offer some tips to assist you in making the right choice.

While You’re Here: Think Like A Burglar And Avoid Becoming A Victim

Essential Insurance For The Home: Building Insurance

Homeowners get three main types of insurance to choose from. These are Building Insurance, Household Contents Insurance and lastly, Personal Valuables Insurance.

The first of these may go by many names. Call it Building Insurance, Home Insurance or Homeowners Insurance; they’re pretty much one and the same thing, and possibly the most important type of insurance on this list. As the saying goes; home is where the heart is, and covering your greatest asset is important.

Few people could afford to pay a massive lump sum on home repairs in the event of catastrophic damage, which could be caused by anything from fire, flooding, lightning, heavy winds or an earthquake.

Building Insurance ensures that the physical structure of your home or business is covered against these types of risk.

From flooding due to a huge storm, a burst water pipe or even a geyser, water damage is one of the most frequent occurrences that impacts a home. Fire is right behind it, from a raging wildfires to an electrical fault in your home. Lightning is one of the top reasons for claim submission in South Africa, as it could have a huge impact on the electrical integrity in the home.

It isn’t compulsory to own such a policy in South Africa, except for when homeowners find themselves in need of a home loan. In such a case, most banks consider it an obligatory requirement.

• The policy covers the building structure of your home against accidental loss or damage;
• This includes loss or damage from fire, theft, flooding, lightning or a drunkard ploughing their car through your wall;
• This kind of cover may also extend to other structures on the property such as swimming pools, outhouses, car garages, etc. This depends on the insurance company you’re with;
• It also applies to permanent fixtures in your house, such as fitted kitchens, bathtubs, toilets, etc;
• In addition, some insurers will be willing to offer Personal Liability Cover and Building Insurance as a package deal. This is to protect you from any third party claims when somebody else suffers accidental injury, death or illness on your property. This includes any loss or damage to the property of any third parties, such as when you chop a bunch of cacti down in your yard, and a few months later they grow back skew, and collapse onto somebody’s car in your driveway. Which, you know, may or may not have happened to the author of this article.

Essential Insurance For The Home: Household Contents Insurance

Building Insurance protects the physical structure of your house, but it doesn’t cover what you’ve got inside. For that, you need Household Contents Insurance.

It’s easy to underestimate the value of your household and its contents. When considering what we stand to lose in the event of burglary, robbery, fire or flooding, and how much it would cost to replace all of it, we begin to appreciate the importance of having these items adequately insured.

Many people simply have no idea what they can and cannot insure with household insurance, but the truth is that you could insure almost anything, and there are a variety of customizable packages available from several insurers.

According to the recent 2018/2019 Crime Stats, 22 431 cases of residential robbery were reported last year, as well as a staggering 220 865 cases of burglary. Yet, one in three South African households remain underinsured, or not insured at all.

These scenarios are exactly what Household Contents Insurance has been designed for: the unexpected loss or damage of the items in your home.

Household Contents Insurance:

• Is designed to cover your household items against loss or damage caused by accidents such as a burst geyser or water main, theft, burglary, malicious damage, electrical fires or natural disasters such as storms or flooding;
• These items could include your furniture, appliances, clothing, etc. Fixed items, as listed under Building Insurance, are excluded from this type of cover.

Essential Insurance For The Home: Personal Valuables Insurance

Also called All-Risk Insurance, this type of cover is independent from the aforementioned types of insurance.

Think about all the items that you leave your home with; your mobile phone, tablet, handbag, laptop, bicycle, jewellery, that expensive leather jacket, camera, watches, glasses, sunglasses. Consider what you might be carrying on your person all day, how much it’s worth, and work out just how expensive it would be to replace all of it, should something happen.

Personal Valuables Insurance, then, covers anything you would normally carry around outside of your home.

There are two types of All-Risk cover – Specified and Non-Specified Items.

Non-Specified covers a standard list of items and pays up to a certain amount in the event of damage or loss.

Specified is for individual cover on the most expensive items, such as smartphones or laptops. Specified will compensate up to the amount stated in your policy schedule.

While You’re Here: Mistakes People Make When Comparing Insurance Quotes

How To Choose Your Building Insurance

All three of the above-mentioned types of insurance can get a little bit complicated, and it’s important to chat to your broker before deciding which to get.

Building Insurance, in particular, can be challenging.

Here are a few useful tips which will help you make the right choice in insurer, and help you get the best out of your policy.

1. Choose Wisely

Most insurance companies offer great Building Insurance options. You need to assess your needs and choose the policy which suits it best. It’s always wise to opt for comprehensive cover, which covers the widest range of events.

2. Be Honest

Always remain honest about the value of your property when completing insurance applications. Otherwise, when the time comes to claim, you might find yourself underinsured and will need to fork out a lot of additional money for repairs.

3. Keep Up With The Maintenance

It’s important to maintain your property properly. Fix the leaking roof, replace faulty plumbing, etc. If you’ve recently done this, your monthly premium will probably be lower. If, however, you’ve left your house to fall into disrepair and it’s permanently on the verge of falling down, the insurance company might not cover you when it’s time to claim.

4. Know Your Policy

Make sure you know exactly what your policy includes and excludes. If you live in the Highveld, for example, and the area is prone to lightning storms or flooding or burglary, you need to know that you’re covered for that before signing on the dotted line.

5. Plan For Construction

If you have intentions of renovating or building anything new on your property, a little bit of foresight goes a long way. Avoid flammable building materials such as wood, and opt for weather-hardy materials such as concrete or brick instead.

6. Keep The Insurer In The Loop

This goes for all types of insurance. If you make any changes or renovations to your property, inform your insurer immediately to ensure that you’re covered.

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The post Household vs Building Insurance (And How To Pick The Right One) appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.