SURPRISINGLY, insurance companies in South Africa report a lower number of claims than expected following the snow storms that wreaked havoc in parts of the country last weekend.
Despite the treacherous weather conditions, which left many drivers stranded and posed significant risks to homes and vehicles, several major insurance firms reported no substantial increase in emergency claims.
Precious Nduli, head of marketing and technical marketing at Discovery Insure, said his company “has not seen a significant impact in terms of weather-related [claims] since last week. We encourage clients to be careful and adhere to the weather warnings for this upcoming weekend”.
Echoing these sentiments, Thabo Mabaso, head of corporate communications for Santam, noted the unusual nature of the situation.
“We have not seen anything out of the ordinary with claims; there has just been no significant increase. We have had some individual claims, but nothing that can be deemed an increase for the area. Normally, when something of this nature happens, you will see a huge jump in claims,” said Mabaso.
Funeka Ngewu, executive head of claims and claims support at Momentum Insure, said only 43 claims were registered after the storms, with a mere seven directly related to snow.
“There was fortunately a low number of claims registered during the weekend. The claims registered were predominantly for building risks, and only two for contents.
“We had no motor vehicle claims for storms/snow related to the past weekend. The public are generally covered if they have comprehensive cover for their assets. With more storms scheduled for the weekend, we expect a moderate increase unless the weather conditions are more severe,” said Ngewu.