THE INSURER | JULY 2018
Is your gas installation compliant?
The Machinery and Occupational Safety Act of 1993 requires owners of buildings to hold a certificate of compliance for electrical installations. Homeowners might be unaware that this requirement has been extended to include a compliance certificate of conformity or CoC for all gas equipment installed since 1 August 1997 including gas heaters, gas braais, gas stoves and ovens, hot water systems, etc. ACoC must be provided to the purchaser when a property is transferred, and should a claim result from a gas explosion or fire, Safire will request the CoC to be provided as proof that the installation adhered to all requirements. Read more…
5 minutes to get help
The Safire Assist app offers our clients enhanced control over their short-term insurance via their mobile phones, plus instant access to emergency services. Press the SOS panic button for immediate assistance via the Safire Assist call centre – if we cannot contact you within 5 minutes an ambulance will be dispatched to your cell phone’s location. Trouble at home? Call for emergency services such as Medical Assist or contact Home Assist for advice on who to call for geyser/electrical/locksmith/plumbing problems. Arrange for notification of a motor accident claim and capture photographs, scan third party licence disks and driver’s licences etc to speed up the processing of your claim. The Safire Assist app has many easy-to-use features, so download it free from the relevant Apple or Android app store. Read more…
Be tyre-wise
Check your tyre pressure regularly to extend the life of your tyres, enhance the road-handling of your vehicle, and make your fuel go further. If your tyres are even 0.3 BAR below the recommended tyre pressure, it will increase the rolling resistance of the vehicle by up to 10%. Monitoring the correct pressure of your tyres can provide between one to three per cent improved fuel economy. Also consider the advantages and disadvantages of low profile tyres. They look sporty, and offer improved levels of handling and grip - especially in the dry - along with enhanced braking capacity (thanks to the wider area in contact with the road that provides greater traction than a conventional tyre). However, these tyres are especially susceptible to tyre and rim damage as they have a smaller air cushion to absorb damaging impacts from pothole-ridden roads. Road noise increases because of the larger contact area and the ride of your car can become much stiffer. Low profile tyres also offer less resistance to aquaplaning, when water on the road forms a layer between the tyre and the road surface, leading to the car losing traction and skidding. Fuel economy is also negatively affected.
Visit the new Safire website
It’s been many months of hard work but our new website is now up and running, with a host of new features, enhanced information, and a bright new look. Discover more about the history of Safire. Meet the Safire Team. See what we’ve been up to while “making a difference” in our community. Scroll through the host of sporting events that we sponsor and usually take part in. Visit www.safireinsurance.com to discover a whole new world of Safire.
No tills
Amazon has opened a till-free shop on the ground floor of the company’s 37-storey headquarters in Seattle. Shoppers download an app that is linked to an Amazon account and credit card. A combination of cameras and pressure plates on the shelves detect when a product is lifted up and it is then added to the shopper’s account. If an item is put back, the amount is deducted. When done, shoppers walk out of the electronic gates and a few minutes later, a receipt for the credit card purchase comes up on their cell phone.
Forced leave
South Koreans take the least annual leave of workers globally, enjoying only 8 out of a possible 15 annual leave days. The Japanese use 10 of their 20 days, while Brazil, Finland, France, Spain and the UAE use all 30 of their annual leave days. In 2015, Japan announced laws forcing workers to go on holiday, as almost two-thirds of Japanese workers were unwilling to take leave because “it would inconvenience their colleagues”. More than half said that anyone taking time off in a stagnant economy risked being perceived as lacking commitment.
Waste wisdom
Sweden is so good at recycling that for several years, it has imported rubbish from other countries to keep its recycling plants going. Less than 1% of Swedish household waste was sent to landfills last year or any year since 2011. By comparison, South Africans generated approximately 111 million tonnes of waste, with 75% being disposed in landfills. However, our waste management culture is changing: SA’s current waste economy is estimated to be worth R15-billion and provides 29,833 people with employment.
Fraudsters’ ingenuity
It is shocking to discover the level of detail that fraudsters will plan when setting up a scam. Having been contacted via telephone and after meeting the potential buyers so the ‘son’ could test drive the vehicle, the insured returned home with the vehicle and put together the paperwork necessary for the sale. A few days later, while the ‘father’ supposedly arranged payment by EFT, the insured and the ‘son’ went to a restaurant where they chatted about the son’s studies. The ‘son’ was familiar with his supposed studies. During their conversation, the insured received a payment notification on his cell phone confirming payment into his account of the sum agreed. While still with the son, the insured contacted the telephone number which appeared on the payment notification, which rang through to the relevant bank from which the payment had apparently originated. The insured had no reason to doubt the authenticity of the payment and handed over the vehicle and its keys to the ‘son’. The funds had not cleared by the following day, however, and when the payment had still not cleared within 48 hours, the insured contacted his bank and the bank from which the ‘father’s’ payment had supposedly originated. He was informed that no such transaction had taken place and that the payment confirmation he’d received was fictitious. The lesson to be learned is this: don’t part with your car or other items that you are selling until the money paid for them has definitely been cleared into your bank account. Be suspicious of potential buyers who are not prepared to wait a few days for you to do this.
Cut luxuries not insurance
Household budgets are currently under extreme pressure, thanks to the ever-increasing cost of fuel, groceries, electricity and more. But allowing your insurance to lapse doesn’t make sense and may expose you to a potential financial disaster – as experienced by many homeowners whose properties were destroyed or damaged in the Knysna fires. The reality is that few of us would be able to replace a vehicle or household contents or rebuild our home without dipping into our savings – if we have any – or getting into debt. Rather find alternative ways to reduce monthly expenses and ask your broker to work with you to reassess the amount of cover that you need. The value of vehicles generally declines each year, so this should be considered. Remove items that you no longer own from your household contents list. Take a look at your monthly expenses and cut back in other areas – reduce the amount you eat out, for example. The financial impact of a motor accident or household disaster could be crippling: don’t allow an accident to become a life-changing event. Let us keep you covered.
Helping firefighters to see
In the USA, a thermal-imaging camera mounted onto firefighters’ helmets has revolutionised their ability to work with both hands and see through dense smoke while doing their job. Have a look...
ECONOMIC TIDBITS
R175-million – the amount that the Vodacom Durban July 2018 supposedly injected into the KZN economy.
3% - increase in new vehicle sales in June 2018, up from the same period in 2017, thanks to improved car sales.
3,4% - the modest growth in sub-Saharan Africa, up from 2,3% in 2017, according to the IMF.
3-6 months – time that compostable grocery bags take to break down, as opposed to 500-1000 years for plastic bags. Pick n Pay is the first South African retailer to test compostable bags to gauge customer reaction.
85,7% - percentage of South Africa’s power generated by coal in 2016, followed by nuclear power (5,2%) and natural gas (3,2%).
13,8 million – number of South Africans living below the food poverty line, according to Statistics South Africa’s latest Poverty Trends in South Africa report.
The Insurer newsletter and the content of any article published herein, should not be construed as forming part of any insurance contract or policy nor as constituting any form of advice. It is aimed at providing an informal and informative read to the readers thereof. Whilst every effort is taken to attempt to ensure the accuracy and correctness of the information contained herein, Safire Insurance Company Limited does not give any assurance regarding such accuracy or correctness and accordingly does not accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage, whether direct, indirect or consequential, arising from any reliance placed in the information contained herein.
Reg No: 2000/027673/06
An Authorised Financial Services Provider [FSP No: 2092]
