<strong>By: Old Mutual Insure</strong>

<h2><b>Are you over or under insured?</b></h2>

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Whether you’ve recently made property upgrades or added a few new items to your home, spring cleaning and doing away with the clutter, is very important. The same can be said about periodically visiting your insurance policies to check that you are adequately covered.

Your short-term insurance policy is automatically renewed almost every year. It is essential to thoroughly go through your policy and confirm that you are insured for the right amount, in case a disaster strikes, and you have to claim.

Insurance Expert at Old Mutual Insure Christelle Colman advises that you can benefit a lot from an insurer by being responsible. “There are many ways that consumers can actually end up saving money because they reduce the risk of their claims being rejected and could also benefit from lower premiums by being a good insurance customer,” says Colman.

<h3><strong>Colman provides a few essential tips on revisiting your insurance policies:</strong></h3>

<h3><b>Home insurance</b></h3>

<strong><i>Regularly maintaining your home</i></strong>

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<li>Claims determined as a result of poor home maintenance, or negligence, are most likely to be rejected, therefore failing to properly maintain your home could result in an increased risk of insurance claim repudiations.</li>

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<strong><i>Ensuring that home contents are insured for the correct replacement value</i></strong>

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<li>For most consumers, the contents of their home are likely to change from year to year as they purchase new items.</li><li>As a result, the correct value to replace these possessions must be provided to the insurance company to avoid under-insurance in the event of a claim.</li>

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<strong><i>Testing the home alarm system on a regular basis</i></strong>

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<li>All homeowners' insurance policies will stipulate that it is the policyholder’s responsibility to keep the alarm system in full working condition, because if theft takes place as a result of a faulty alarm, then the claim is likely to be repudiated. This also includes an alarm with a flat battery.</li>

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<strong><i>Conducting frequent valuations of home contents</i></strong>

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<li>Home contents value increase as the years go by and could now cost twice or thrice as much to replace.</li><li>It is so important to conduct regular valuations and provide updated values to the insurance provider to ensure adequate cover.</li>

</ul>

<h3><b>Motor insurance</b></h3>

<strong><i>Reviewing your insurance policy annually</i></strong>

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<li>When a motor insurance policy stipulates that cover is only provided for a specifically named driver, an insurance claim will only be successful if this driver was behind the wheel at the time of the incident.</li><li>If other people will be driving the vehicle from time to time it is important to check what the implications of this are for the policy.</li>

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It is important to ensure that you update your insurer about any major changes for many reasons to avoid any disappointments when an incident that requires you to claim from your insurer occurs. “Being sure of what your insurance policy covers exactly, can assure you peace of mind for you to enjoy the last few months of the year,’’ concludes Colman.

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