Weatherproofing your home and insurance
When it comes to climate risk, the stakes could not be higher. Climate risk affects almost every aspect of our professional and personal lives and is affecting decisions such as where to buy your home and how to adapt to future climate trends.
- Aon’s latest climate and catastrophe insight found that global natural disasters in 2024 resulted in economic losses reaching at least $368 billion and were primarily driven by tropical cyclones, severe convective storms and floods. Of the $368 billion in damage, only $145 billion were insured.[1]
- Flooding is ranked as the second-highest cause of natural catastrophes with the eastern and south-eastern areas of South Africa During expected to receive above-normal rainfall during early- and mid-spring while most other areas are expected to be below normal.[2]
“It is more vital than ever to not only physically prepare your home for a possible natural catastrophe, but to ensure that your homeowner’s insurance is ready too,” says Ann Cloete,
Can your insurance weather the storm?
Understanding your risk profile is the first step in customising your insurance coverage. “It is important to engage with your insurance broker to get a better understanding of weather-related coverage limits and deductibles that may be prevalent on your homeowner’s insurance. Some insurance solutions may exclude perils such as floods, earthquakes, hail damage, subsidence and landslip cover, and it is important to be aware of these. If these perils are excluded on your insurance solutions the next step would be to find out if the cover can be added and the cost involved,” Ann explains.
“It remains critical to review your home and its structural aspects from an adaptive point of view, to see where things can be altered and changed to address any underlying weather risk, even more so if severe weather cover cannot be secured,” Ann adds.
“Don’t overlook your contents cover as your belongings matter too. In a catastrophe scenario, you could run the risk of having the contents of your home damaged, such as furniture or major appliances, or everything could be lost in a flood or fire. Making a comprehensive inventory of the contents of your home is a good place to start and will help you to make an informed decision on the contents cover you should aim for,” Ann suggests.
Strengthen your home to be more resilient
While there is little that can be done to prevent a severe weather event such as a flood, there are some important tips that can help protect your safety, your home and your assets:
- Your homeowner’s insurance policy will not cover maintenance-related damage. This means that while your insurance may respond by repairing the damage caused by a leaking roof, it will not cover the repair of the roof’s waterproofing if it deteriorates due to lack of maintenance.
- If you’re faced with flooding of your property, try to move as many of your belongings as you can out of the water – the longer the water is left sitting, the more damage it causes. Try and clear away as much of the water as you possibly can to prevent further and permanent damage.
- Paving solutions along the perimeter of a building can help with damp problems and will greatly aid in directing water away from the building to drain away.
- Keep gutters clear of debris to facilitate proper drainage around the house. Protect inlet/outlet pipes of any drains and storm water drainage against blockage from debris.
- Check waterproofing and flashings on the roof regularly to prevent any leaks.
- Install lightning rods along the outside of the house if your area is prone to lightning strikes and fit plugs with surge protection.
- Make sure that any building projects in and around your home adhere to building regulations to ensure safety and mitigate damage from severe weather events as far as possible. Remember to speak to your broker to confirm terms and conditions relating to building alterations or renovations.
- In your garden or surrounding areas, consider any pumps such as your swimming pool pump, landscaping and irrigation systems and take measures to prevent water intrusion. In fire-prone areas, also consider fire-resistant materials and defensible space in a wildfire scenario.
- Subscribe to weather warning systems and weather forecasts so that you are informed of any impending risks.
- Put an evacuation plan in place if you need to vacate your home. Visualise what the process will look like and make sure that everyone at home is aware of it, as most disasters do not keep business hours and often happen at the drop of a hat.
Following a disaster event, safety always comes first. “Once you and your loved ones are secure it is a good idea to keep receipts for emergency repairs or temporary Accommodation. When lodging a claim, it is important to notify your broker of the event and to start the claims process. Claims advocacy is the one aspect that underpins your journey with an insurance broker, as your broker will be able to assist you in the claims process to make sure that the settlement is expedited and fair so that all you need to worry about, is getting back on your feet,” says Ann.
The best defence in preparing for severe weather or a catastrophic event is to take both proactive physical steps and insurance policy-related steps to ensure your home can weather any storm.
[1] https://www.aon.com/en/insights/reports/climate-and-catastrophe-report
[2] https://www.weathersa.co.za/home/seasonalclimate