THE INSURER

Safire Insurance Newsletter 2015

NEWS FROM SAFIRE INSURANCE

May 2015
Safire star breaks world record
Safire recently sponsored Eston farmer Kyle Dohne in his attempt to break the world record for the longest distance paddled non-stop in the open ocean in 24 hours, to raise awareness and funds for the Miles for Smiles Foundation. This intrepid adventurer battled buffeting head winds for five days during daylight hours, paddling between Maputo and Durban, a distance of approximately 288 nautical miles or 534km, the first documented paddle between these two port cities. Despite the appalling weather conditions, Kyle was able to set a new world record of 229km in 24 hours, well and truly beating the record set in 1986 (for 196km) by America’s Randy Fine off the coast of Florida. Kyle, we are so proud of you. Your efforts have put you into the record books, and your mammoth feat will help many children born with cleft lips and palates to undergo constructive surgeries. A true champion!
Protection against fuel price hikes
American consumers have been offered a unique form of insurance cover: protection against fuel price increases. A Houston-based company with the catchy name of Lovemygasprice.com uses hedging strategies to allow consumers to put a cap on their monthly fuel costs, with the incentive of getting cash back when prices rise over the capped level.
To read more…
Safire Baynesfield MTB Classic approaches
It’s just weeks away now, the most fun you can have in the sun wearing lycra: the Safire Baynesfield MTB Classic, which takes place on Sunday 14 June this year. Specially scheduled for the month of Father’s Day and known as the Daddy of All Races, the various distances (10km, 20km, 45km and 65km, plus a trail for runners) ensure that even the littlest and unfittest riders can have a ball. So make it a date and prepare the whole family for a great day outdoors. Visit ROAG for details here
Microdotting success
The microdotting of a vehicle (compulsory for new vehicles in South Africa since 2012) can improve recovery rates from the national average of between 30-35% to 57%, according to DataDot Technology SA. Microdots are tiny polyester particles inscribed with unique information, linked to a specific asset (vehicles, bicycles, household assets such as TVs and sound systems etc). The dots are no larger than 1 mm, are applied using a special adhesive, and are practically impossible to remove. Details on the dots are only legible using a handheld microscope, and are identified using a special ultraviolet light.
Read more
Why claims are rejected #13

According to the Ombudsman for Short-term Insurance, who provides an independent and affordable dispute-resolution service to those contesting decisions made by their insurance company, failure to fit a vehicle alarm or gear lock when required to do so by your insurance company is another reason why a claim might be rejected.

Automated cars and insurance
A Comrades milestone
Bad
bread?

Google estimates that its automated vehicles or ‘pods’ could reduce road accidents by up to 90%, with similar reductions in personal injury and automotive insurance claims. But this might be an optimistic prediction, which doesn’t take into account the lack of predictability in driving environments and other factors. But it’s an interesting theory, as is the envisaged impact it will have on the insurance industry.
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The Comrades Marathon celebrates its 90 anniversary this year on 31 May, with an ‘up’ run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. This legendary race, considered one of the world’s most challenging ultra-marathons, was first run in 1921. The Comrades was started by WW1 veteran Vic Clapham to honour those fallen during the war, and has been run every year since then, apart from the five years of the Second World War. Safire wishes all Comrades runners a successful race.

Bread is a staple part of a daily diet for many South Africans. But local bread contains a high level of sodium, far higher than many other countries, which is a health risk in terms of high blood pressure (already a major health risk for 11 million South Africans) and related stroke and heart disease. The problem is that we are unaware of the salt in our sandwich, with bread the main source of salt for South Africans.
Read more



Ghost net horror

With our recent sponsorship of Kyle Dohne’s record-breaking paddle along our coastline, the horror of ghost nets in the world’s oceans is especially relevant. Ghost nets are abandoned or lost fishing nets that drift along with the currents and entangle millions of birds, turtles, fish, dolphins, sharks, whales and other animals, which suffer mutilation or agonizing death from starvation or strangulation. See more...

Economic Tidbits
Economic Tidbits
Economic Tidbits

• $800 million – the estimated cost of damage from the Nepal earthquake in neighbouring India. Losses in Nepal could top $2 billion, with little insurance cover in place.

• R5 million- what master tea taster Jonathan Kelsey’s tongue is insured for. According to Kelsey, about 4-billion kilograms of tea leaves are produced globally each year. SA once produced about 12-million kilograms annually but that’s tumbled to 2-million kilograms.


• $3 billion – what the fledgling US legal marijuana industry is worth. While marijuana is now legal in 23 states, most banks won’t handle the cash for fear of falling foul of federal drug laws. So lots of legal drug money is piling up in safes, warehouses, bunkers and under mattresses.

• R1 billion – what jet fuel suppliers to SAA have to be insured for. The local carrier has pledged to spend R10 billion to boost black businesses.


• $82 billion – what the drone industry is predicted to contribute to the US economy along with
100 000 jobs. Drone insurance is set to increase accordingly. With new regulations for drones being released in SA, expect the (currently grounded) local drone industry to take off.

• R20 million – the mammoth spike in household and car claims that one local insurance company has experienced since load shedding began in 2014.



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