Insurance-related Legalities and Considerations as Hailstorms Wreak Havoc
Large parts of Johannesburg and Mpumalanga were hit by a severe hailstorm on Monday, 13 November 2023. Since then, various media platforms have been abuzz with videos and pictures depicting the damage caused by the said hailstorm. Many cars, roads, buildings, infrastructure, establishments, etc. were damaged in the process. Naturally, the first thing that the […]
November 15, 2023
WHY SHOULD YOU REPORT A POTENTIAL INSURANCE CLAIM AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE?
Insurance claims can be repudiated for many varying reasons – from the most obvious to the least expected reasons. One of the best ways of trying to avoid an insurance repudiation is to understand your contractual duties stemming from your policy. Although this does not guarantee a payout, it does, nonetheless, enhance one’s chances of […]
October 19, 2023
SPRING TIDE/STORM SURGE IN THE COAST: LIKELY IMPACT ON INSURANCE POLICIES
The news that dominated the headlines this past weekend, 15 – 17 September 2023, was the storm surge incidents that swept across three coastal provinces – the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. Mainstream media and social media alike were abuzz with the news. Since then, videos depicting the storm surges have been circulating across […]
September 20, 2023
Legalities Around Household Contents Insurance: Prevalent Problems & Possible Solutions
During the course of last year, 2022, there were various media reports that there has been a significant rise in home insurance claims. Complimenting these reports was the announcement by the Short-term Ombudsman’s Office that there had been a rise in disputes relating to home insurance claims. There were many reasons attributed to this rise, […]
September 14, 2023
Late filing of reconsideration applications – Condonation applications in the Financial Services Tribunal
Introduction: It is not uncommon for financial services representatives (“the representatives”) who are debarred to run out of time to file their reconsideration applications. There have been, over the years, various reasons submitted to the Financial Services Tribunal (‘the Tribunal”) trying to condone the late filing of such applications. Some of the reasons are meritorious […]
September 6, 2023
CRITICAL FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION BY FINANCIAL SERVICES’ REPRESENTATIVES & KEY INDIVIDUALS WHEN CHALLENGING A DEBARMENT DECISION
Introduction: It is often said that South Africa’s financial sector is one of the most highly regulated in the world. This is certainly true if one has regard to the several ‘financial sector laws’ (see Schedule 1 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act) that regulate the financial sector. There are several statutory duties imposed on […]
August 17, 2023
RISE IN UNNATURAL DEATHS’ INSURANCE CLAIMS: HOW DO LIFE POLICIES AND THESE CLAIMS WORK?
There have been reports regarding the rise of non-indemnity claims stemming from unnatural deaths. This is certainly worrying for life insurers. This is particularly concerning because life insurers have had to entertain several claims in the past couple of years due to Covid-19 related deaths, and subsequently, the July 2021 unrest and the 2022 Durban […]
August 3, 2023
Truck Arson on the Rise Again: What This Means for the Insurance Industry?
The past few weeks have been engulfed with flames of truck arson attacks in South Africa. Over 20 trucks have been torched in various provinces including Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Kwa-Zulu Natal, etc. While the sudden rise in these incidents is undoubtedly worrisome, one must bear in mind that truck attacks are not a novel phenomenon in […]
July 17, 2023
MiWAY NOT GETTING ITS WAY IN A CAR THEFT CASE: VICTORY FOR THE INSUREDS
INTRODUCTION The North Gauteng High Court recently handed down a judgment which will undoubtedly gain support from many policyholders. Whilst the matter specifically relates to a car insurance claim, the principles laid down in this case will certainly find application in other insurance cases. The case is significant for both the insurers and the insureds […]
July 12, 2023
Is Failure to Adhere to Insurance Policy Conditions Always Problematic
Introduction It is almost impossible to think of an insurance policy that does not have any conditions and/or warranties. Most insurance policies, if not all, have various conditions and warranties which, if they are not adhered to, may lead to a lawful rejection of one’s claim. The conditions and warranties perform extremely important functions in […]
July 10, 2023