Consumers encouraged to take action in face of increased weather-related damage

In South Africa floods in KZN, a wet summer in Gauteng, flooding in the Free State, gale force winds and drought in the Eastern Cape, and freak storms in the Western Cape have contributed to a spike in weather-related damage. Similarly, wind storms in France and Spain, flooding in China and northern Europe and exceptional snow falls in the northern hemisphere last winter has also seen a global spike in weather-related insurance claims.

The global warming theory, now accepted by many governments, predicts that this kind of extreme weather will become more frequent and intense. Yet regardless of the veracity or otherwise of global warming, humanity remains susceptible to weather events - the timing and magnitude of which remain unpredictable.

Moreover “exceptional weather soon manifests itself in infrastructural damage which can compound losses, further increasing insurance claims” says Gari Dombo, Managing Director, Alexander Forbes Insurance. For example, in Gauteng, after this last summer’s exceptional rains there is a greater chance of damaging your car in a pothole or on a damaged road than ever before.

Although weather-related damage is often unforeseen by the individual, Dombo believes that “consumers should not necessarily see themselves as the hapless victims of bad weather.” Instead, consumers can mitigate the direct or associated consequences of weather by:

•Properly maintaining the structural integrity of buildings. For example, making sure doors, window frames, sills and roofs are weatherproof.
•Making sure drains are in working order and not blocked. This includes “municipal drains, gutters and embankments near your property that if blocked or damaged could cause damage to your own property” adds Dombo.
•When possible, not driving in bad weather.
•Making sure that windscreen wipers, lights and brakes are working and that tyres have sufficiently deep tread.
•Parking your car in a garage or carport during bad weather.
•Trimming dead or overhanging tree branches to prevent them falling on to your property and causing damage.
•Installing SABS-compliant lightning conductors if you have a thatched roof.
•Installing surge-blockers in the circuitry of all electronic equipment.
•Unplugging computers and other sensitive electronic equipment when not in use or during bad weather.
•Building or buying above the flood line and thoroughly investigating how wind, water, drainage, power supply and access might affect your property in bad weather or during a natural disaster.

So, if you are buying a stand or already own property find out whether it is above the flood line when it is situated near a dam, river, or on a floodplain or drainage system. Similarly, always build or buy above the flood line on firm ground that cannot be affected by flooding or wave action during extreme conditions.

“There is a lot that people can do to prevent weather or natural disaster-related loss by anticipating what could go wrong, putting the right precautions and measures in place, and finding out, and rehearsing, the actions most appropriate to various disaster scenarios” concludes Dombo.