{"id":207795,"date":"2017-10-28T10:00:08","date_gmt":"2017-10-28T08:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=207795"},"modified":"2017-10-27T16:15:13","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T14:15:13","slug":"what-the-latest-sa-crime-stats-mean-for-you-and-your-insurance-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/207795\/what-the-latest-sa-crime-stats-mean-for-you-and-your-insurance-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"What the latest SA crime stats mean for you and your insurance policies"},"content":{"rendered":"

While there was an overall drop in the crime statistics released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) this week<\/span>, there are troubling increases in a number of types of violent crimes.<\/p>\n

The 2016\/2017 crime statistics released by the SAPS showed an overall decrease in crime by 1.8%, with 2.1 million serious crimes reported. Unfortunately, despite this overall drop, there were increases in a number of key crime categories most feared by South Africans.<\/p>\n

Murder saw an increase of 1.8%, car hijackings increased by 14.5%, and aggravated robbery increased by 6.4%.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that crime is an unfortunate reality of South African life, these sobering statistics should be seen as an opportunity for citizens to fine-tune and better understand their insurance policies in order to not only better protect themselves, but also mitigate any financial pitfalls as a result of a crime,\u201d said Vera Nagtegaal, the executive head of Hippo.<\/p>\n

One of the most important distinctions to understand when protecting your property against burglary, for example, is how your insurer actually defines burglary. Most individuals might use \u201cburglary\u201d and \u201ctheft\u201d interchangeably, but in fact, burglary is a theft in which a house-breaking element has taken place.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany policies protect holders against burglary, but not against theft,\u201d said Nagtegaal. \u201cThis means that an item lost in a mugging might not be covered. To cover valuable items that are portable, you may have to pay an additional fee to specify them in your policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Policyholders should also be aware of the steps they need to take in the wake of a burglary or car hijacking when submitting a claim.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ideal process to follow when an incident happens is to immediately contact the police or emergency services in the case of any danger or serious injuries,\u201d said Nagtegaal. \u201cInform your insurer as soon as possible by either submitting the formal claim telephonically or opt to do so at a later stage, but still within the insurer\u2019s stipulated timeframes. It is important to report the incident to the police as soon as possible \u2013 ideally within 24 hours<\/span>.”<\/p>\n

Hippo said that it\u2019s a good idea for policyholders to check whether their insurance covers additional costs like trauma counselling, car rental, Uber vouchers, or hotel rental (if your home is uninhabitable or unsafe).<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you first buy a policy, it\u2019s easy to forget that there are additional inconveniences or problems that arise after you are a victim of crime. Many policies these days include benefits that help you to deal with these pain points, so also consider an insurer that offers a full range of services, and not just the cost of asset replacement,\u201d said Nagtegaal.<\/p>\n

Of course, it would be best to avoid becoming a victim of crime in the first place, and for this reason, Nagtegaal has the following tips to offer:<\/p>\n