Is riot and unrest damage covered by home insurance?

Not by the standard policy. It is covered through SASRIA, added to your schedule for a small extra premium. We include it as standard.

Personal Insurance

Home Insurance for South African Homeowners, Insured at the Right Value

Your home is usually the biggest thing you own. We make sure it is covered properly (the building, what is inside it, and the things you carry out the door) and insured at what it actually costs to rebuild, not what the bank valued it at years ago.

FSP No. 5671 | Independent since 1980 | FAIS & POPIA compliant

35%

The average SA home is underinsured by around a third. When you claim, the average clause makes you carry that shortfall yourself.

Leading insurers compared at quote stage so the cover, the excess and the price are matched to your home, not a call-centre default.

One policy, four kinds of cover

Most homeowners think of “home insurance” as one thing. It is really a few covers that work together, and the gaps usually sit between them.

We structure all four correctly so a claim is not the moment you discover what was left out: the building itself, the contents inside it, the goods you carry out and about, and your named high-value items.

South African suburban home exterior, buildings insurance

What home insurance covers

Home insurance is four covers working together. We set each one up correctly so nothing important is left out.

The structure

Buildings

Cover for everything structural in your home and anything affixed to it: outbuildings, fixtures and fittings, water, sewerage, gas, electricity and phone connections, walls, gates, fences, swimming pools and pumps, saunas, gardens and driveways. It insures the dwelling against fire, lightning, earthquake, explosion, storm damage, burst geysers and theft or burglary damage.

Fire, storm, lightning, explosion and earthquake
Burst geysers and water damage
Walls, gates, pools, driveways and outbuildings
Can extend to glass, loss of rent and temporary accommodation

Inside the home

Household contents

Everything inside the home that is not fixed to it: furniture, appliances, clothing, and the rest of what you would take if you moved. Insured against the same perils as the building, plus options like power-surge cover and accidental damage.

Furniture, appliances and clothing
Same perils as the building
Optional power-surge cover
Optional accidental damage

Goods out and about

General all-risk

Cover for apparel and personal effects you or your family regularly take or wear outside the home: handbags, makeup, perfume, jewellery, sports bags, firearms and devices such as cameras, up to specified limits. Higher-value items over those limits move to specified all-risk.

Handbags, jewellery and personal effects
Cameras, firearms and sports bags
Covered up to specified limits
Higher-value items move to specified all-risk

Named items

Specified all-risk

Named, higher-value items insured individually, on an all-risk basis, anywhere in the world: expensive watches, phones and handheld devices, laptops, golf clubs, bicycles and high-value sporting goods. This is where the items most likely to be lost or stolen out of the home actually get covered.

Watches, phones, laptops and devices
Bicycles, golf clubs and sporting goods
Insured individually on an all-risk basis
Covered anywhere in the world

The number that decides your claim: replacement value

Your sum insured should be what it costs to rebuild your home today, at current South African building rates, with labour and materials. That is not the market price and not the bank’s bond valuation. Surveys put the average home in South Africa as underinsured by around 35%, and the problem only shows up at claim stage.

How the average clause works

You carry the shortfall

If your building is insured for 70% of its replacement value, the insurer treats every partial claim as 70% covered, and you carry the rest. It applies whether the loss is partial or total, and it is the single most common way homeowners get caught short at claim time.

On a R200,000 fire claim, that is R60,000 out of your own pocket on a loss you thought was fully insured.

The fix

Insure at proper replacement value

We set the sum insured to a proper replacement value, based on current building costs, not a guess. Then we prompt you to review it each year as building costs rise, so the figure stays current.

Getting this right upfront costs nothing extra; getting it wrong only surfaces when it is too late to fix.

Case in point: A home worth R2 million to rebuild but insured for R1.4 million is 70% covered. A R300,000 storm claim pays out R210,000. The owner funds the remaining R90,000 themselves, on a policy they believed was fully in place.

Riot and unrest cover

Riot and unrest cover is separate (and cheap)

Damage from riot, strike, public disorder, civil commotion and terrorism is not covered by a standard home policy. It is covered separately through SASRIA, the state special-risks insurer, added to your schedule for a few rand a month.

After recent unrest, this is not optional cover to skip. We add it as standard and tell you exactly what it costs.

SASRIA special risks

Added as standard, for a small premium

SASRIA covers riot, strike, public disorder, civil commotion and terrorism damage that the standard buildings and contents policy excludes. It is inexpensive and added directly to your schedule. We include it by default and show you the exact cost, so the decision to keep it is an informed one.

Why homeowners use Graham Silva

Home insurance is not a commodity. The wording, the excess structure and the claim experience vary a lot between insurers. We sit on your side of that.

Independent across leading insurers

We compare your home across several SA insurers and recommend on fit, not commission. You get the cover that suits your home, not a call-centre default.

Insured at the right value

We set replacement values properly and review them, so the average clause never catches you. The sum insured tracks what it actually costs to rebuild.

One broker who answers

A real person who knows your policy, not a call-centre queue. When you need something, you deal with someone who already knows your cover.

We run the claim with you

We deal with the insurer, the assessor and the repair so you are not doing it alone after a loss. The point of a broker is the day something goes wrong.

FAQs

How much should I insure my house for?

Its replacement value, what it costs to rebuild today, not its market price or your bond amount. We help you set this correctly so the sum insured reflects current building rates.

What is the average clause and why does it matter?

If you are underinsured, the insurer reduces partial claims by the same percentage. Insure for 70% of value and a partial claim pays 70%. Correct sums insured avoid it entirely.

Do I need separate buildings and contents cover?

Most homeowners need both; tenants usually only need contents. We structure whichever applies to you so you are not paying for cover you do not need or missing cover you do.

Is riot and unrest damage covered?

Not by the standard policy. It is covered through SASRIA, which we add for a small extra premium and include as standard on your schedule.

Can I insure jewellery, laptops and bikes I take out of the house?

Yes, under general or specified all-risk depending on value. High-value items should be specified so they are covered for their full worth anywhere in the world.

Do you only cover Johannesburg?

No. We are Joburg-based but place home cover for clients across South Africa.

Let's get your home covered properly.

Send us your details and we will compare cover across leading insurers and set it up at the right value, from the building down to the items you carry out the door.

WhatsApp Us

011 640 7558dianne@grahamsilva.co.za