Dealing with insurance claims during the national Covid-19 lockdown.

In addition to the onerous lockdown restrictions, many home owners still have to deal with other serious issues, such as burst geysers and burst water pipes.

As with many other facets of life, insurance claims arising during the lockdown need to be dealt with taking into account the government stipulations.

Insurance companies around the country understand the seriousness of Covid 19 and are rewriting their processes to ensure their clients are still receiving the service they have come to expect.

How will insurers process claims?

You should be able to put a claim in over the phone or email but might not have the same claims experience as you would in normal circumstances. “Keep in mind that not all claims can be dealt with remotely or resolved entirely in this manner. Some product providers will do digital assessments and claims will be categorised as urgent or non-urgent. They might require photos showing any damage to process digital assessments.”

Even if you don’t think your claim is urgent, it’s best to notify your insurer straight away. There will be a record of when you let them know, so that the claim can be dealt with once the lockdown lifts.

Dealing with service providers at home during the lockdown

According to Government announcements made in respect of the lockdown period, only certain services have been classified as essential. Services like electricity, water, gas and fuel production, supply and maintenance are deemed to be additional essential services. This enables plumbers, electricians to operate during this period.

Most insurers supplier network members can attend to emergency claim repairs, including:

• Geyser failure
• Major plumbing failures
• Major electrical failures
• Major storm or fire damages to customer premises requiring emergency work, repairs or security services

Special precautions and regulations to adhere to

You should not have anyone in your home during the lockdown unless it is an emergency.

In addition to remaining distanced from whoever enters in such an instance, you should also ask them to sanitise their hands before working on your property.

• Wipe down all surfaces of the repair area as best you can before workmen arrive, and again afterwards.
• Everyone should have masks and gloves on as a precaution, where possible.
• You should also keep record of the incident in case there are any enquiries as to why the emergency visit took place.