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South Africans have become used to life with load shedding – and while level 2 planned outages seem to be less frequent (touch wood), there are times, especially during winter when the demand on the grid becomes too much and we have unexpected outages.
During load shedding there is an increased risk of damage to sensitive electronic items caused by power surges as well as fires – this is according to a recent client survey by Santam.
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“Opportunistic crime as a result of security systems not operating properly has also increased,” says Marius Neethling, Personal Lines Underwriting Manager at Santam, SA’s leading short-term insurer.
Almost a third of survey respondents said that their appliances had been damaged by a possible power surge due to load shedding. A further 63% said they do not switch off their appliances before load shedding and also does not allow the power to be completely restored before switching on the power supply to appliances, to prevent power surge damage.
And while only 21% make use of generators, some 30% are not sure that their generators are SABS certified and properly connected.
Many South Africans make use of alternative light sources that are potentially a fire risk – 65% of the survey respondents used candles, 24% used gas lamps and 18% made use of paraffin lamps
Neethling provides the following tips to minimise damage and loss during load shedding:
- Arriving or leaving home: Ensure that you are especially alert when arriving or leaving your home after dark, as the street lights and your outside lighting may not be functioning.
- Automated gates and garage doors: Ensure that a back-up battery is installed and in a working order. Ensure that you have ways to enter and exit your home if your electric security gates and garage door are not functioning due to load shedding. Keep the keys to the gate motors in an accessible safe
- Alternative light sources: Invest in re-chargeable solar, camping, battery operated or LED lights, which are much safer than candles or paraffin lamps.
- Generators: Make sure your generator is professionally installed, and never store more than 20 litres of fuel in your house. Test your generator frequently, and remember to have a fire extinguisher on site.
- Surge protection: You can buy a surge protector for your electric mains board, as well as surge protector plug adaptors, at most leading hardware stores. Surge protectors at the main distribution board should be installed by a certified electrician.
- Electric fencing: Your electric fence should have a back-up battery, which needs to be tested regularly and replaced if needed.
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“Santam remains ready to assist policyholders with any claims resulting from power surge. For example, if additional cover is taken out, we will protect client’s household contents against power surges damages if the terms and conditions of the policy are adhered to,” says Neethling.
If you have any questions about added cover for power surge, speak to your broker or contact Santam on 0860 444 444. Remember: if you’re an existing Santam client, you can add new items and make changes to your cover on the Santam client app.
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