Protect your business this Winter

Protect your business this Winter

South Africa is preparing for a spate of cold fronts in the next few weeks and business owners would do well to ensure they are adequately protected against the consequences of adverse winter conditions. 

In winter specifically, burst pipes, flooding and faulty central heating are familiar problems which could damage your property, equipment and stock. This year, there is the added concern around load shedding to take into account too. 

Prevention is better than cure, not only during office hours, but also before closing up at the end of the day or over a weekend. Keep your business safe in the coming winter months by considering the following tips: 

Electrical:

  • Avoid overloading power points or altering the structure of the plugs on existing appliances to make them fit
  • Fuses may be easy to replace but if a fuse blows or the circuit trips repeatedly, the cause may need to be investigated
  • Make sure heating appliances are at least a metre away from combustible materials such as curtains or plastic containers and nominate someone to check it is switched off at the end of the day

Storage:

  • Don’t leave combustible materials, such as papers or newspapers, lying around and keep a fire extinguisher close at hand
  • Get into the habit of backing up important computer data and keep electrical equipment and computers/servers or important documentation on a higher level if there is a likelihood of regional flooding 

Load shedding

When there is load shedding, power surges may occur. Power surges happen when the electricity returns after an extended outage, sending an increased flow of current to a wall socket or an electrical box. This has the potential to damage your business equipment.

In this instance, Santam extended their cover in terms of the Fire, Buildings Combined and Office Contents’ sections to include R50 000 in respect of power surge damage.  You may increase the limit under the Accidental Damage section but it is very important that you check if there are any exclusions in your policy schedule that you need to be aware of.

Business interruption cover entails insurance for gross profits, gross rentals, gross revenue and the additional increase in the cost of working. In recent years, this type of cover has specifically been extended to include loss or damage as a result of power surges. 

Reasons to insure with Santam 

Santam is South Africa’s largest short-term insurer, insuring risks of over R4 trillion. We’ve paid out 99% of all claims made in the past year. We also offer the following cover and benefits: 

  • Comprehensive cover against loss or damage to your business as a result of fire, flooding and power surges; and
  • The option to take out cover for deterioration of contents of your business’ refrigerator contents should load shedding exceed 24 hours.

For more information about insuring your business, speak to your broker or contact us on 0860 444 444.

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