Some insurers has set up facilities at salvage yards for vehicles that were submerged to be immediately assessed. Huge property losses have also been incurred, especially in the vicinity of the Jukskei River which burst its banks. While it’s still too early to quantify the extent of the damage, expectations are that these will be significant and that claims handling will be kicked into high gear to deal with the influx,” says Mandy Barrett, manager of personal lines marketing & sales at Aon South Africa.
While severe weather is not an uncommon occurrence in South Africa, what makes the events in Gauteng particularly noteworthy is the net retained exposure that the province represents. Gauteng’s built-up area constitutes only 0,5% of SA’s land surface area, but due to the fact that the area is so densely populated, Gauteng constitutes 35% of the exposure to catastrophic events such as hail storms and flash floods.
According to Aon South Africa, risk advisors and insurance brokerage, in the last four years, weather-related damage has cost the insurance industry a staggering R2,5bn in losses. As at lunchtime on 10 Nov over 150 claims had already been lodged in Aon’s call centre alone, and continue to pour in.
