Insurance Group Warns South Africans to Avoid House Fires

December 6 - One of the most traumatic things that a person can experience is that of their house going up in flames.

Even having maximum insurance will not see things of sentimental value covered, such as family portraits, photo albums and other items that cannot have monetary value placed on them.

The Managing Director of Alexander Forbes, Gari Dombo, said that "even if you have sufficient insurance cover to replace your damaged house and all its contents to their original state and value, the stress, grief, lost time and complexity of losing your house to fire is best avoided."

There are obvious things that should be done so as to avoid the risk of house fires, including not leaving the stove on unattended, extinguishing fires after having a braai and keeping matches away from children.

However, Dombo said that "if, in spite of all these measures, something extraordinary happens causing your home to burn down, then a good insurance policy is vital to help you manage the trauma of losing a lifetime of possessions."

There are several different levels of house insurance that consumers can buy so as to remain covered against fires.

The first can be purchased through a mortgage bond provider, and covers all damage to the physical structure of the house and internal fittings that are caused by fire, floods and so forth.

Another option is pure household insurance that covers the contents of one's home against things such as fire, natural disasters, robbery and so forth.

Dombo said that while the likelihood of one's house actually burning down was low, the damage that a fire could cause was great and obviously best avoided at all costs.