Will House Insurance Cover Loadshedding Damage?

Protecting your home with house insurance is the best decision ever. It protects you against perils such as fire and damage from vandalism. With increased loadshedding anticipated for years, damage to household property and its contents has become a growing concern. Budget Insurance discusses loadshedding damage about your property insurance. Discover how you can go about protecting your home and portable possessions.

How loadshedding is impacting South African homes

Loadshedding became a regular part of every South African in 2022[1]. It has changed the way many live their lives. For instance, you must plan your cooking time around the loadshedding schedule. As the frequency of loadshedding increases, South Africans are forced to come up with innovations: many people have invested in solar panels, and some have bought generators to keep the power in their homes. However, these investments have cost implications, which many South Africans cannot afford. This means that most people will experience the frequent power surges that come with the loadshedding schedule, which will likely take a toll on your household property. What does this all mean? 

What kind of damage can loadshedding cause?

While loadshedding causes inconveniences and impacts how South Africans live their day-to-day lives, it can also damage certain items in your home. The major damages result from power surges when the electricity is restored. A power surge[2] occurs when the supplied voltage to a given point exceeds the amount for which it’s designed. Electrical equipment[3] connected to the main power could be damaged. Some include the following: 

• Cooling appliances: Common cooling appliances found in homes are air conditioners, fridges and freezers. Electricity powers compressors used to circulate pressurised gas for cooling. This gas can provide resistance when power is restored and cause damage to the compressor’s motor.

• Electrical equipment and appliances that carry reactive loads: Devices such as lawnmowers, gate motors, and dishwashers carry reactive loads. Their electrical motors are exposed to power surges and can get damaged when the power is turned on, especially if they’re older. In modern models, protective electronic components are cheaper to replace.

• Electronic devices. Electric devices such as modems, radios, computers, and phone chargers convert alternate to direct current. Devices are not prone to damage due to direct current. Typically, devices like these can block power surges. If damage occurs, it will usually be to the power source.

Home insurance & loadshedding: what’s covered?

Loadshedding insurance isn’t available as a stand-alone policy. However, other house insurance policies could cover damage caused by loadshedding. Take a moment and check what your home insurance covers. Budget Insurance financially protects you in some cases of damage caused by power surges.

Examining your home insurance policies to familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions is important. You can claim two policies against damage due to power surges due to loadshedding: building and home contents insurance.

Building insurance covers accidental damage to the house structure and permanent installations, like an electric gate. Loadshedding could damage electrical fittings, like the lighting. 

Your home’s electrical appliances, such as freezers, fridges, TV and air conditioners, are covered by home contents insurance in the case of loadshedding damage. To protect your home’s contents, check your policy to ensure you are covered from damages caused by power surges. Portable possessions insurance will protect specific items, like a personal laptop. 

Pay attention to the message from the South African Insurance Association[4] regarding loadshedding: “As an industry, there isn’t much we can do to prevent load shedding. However, we strongly advise our consumers to take all precautions humanly possible to prevent possible power surges from inflicting damage to their household appliances.”

This brings us to how you can minimise damage to your home or appliances due to loadshedding.

Avoid loadshedding damage with these 7 tips

Prevention is better than a cure, so, wherever possible, minimise your risk of damage. Here are some effective methods you can implement for this purpose.

1. Switch off fridges, freezers, dishwashers and air conditioners during loadshedding hours: When power is restored, you can turn your appliances back on. 

2. Invest in a UPS to protect devices: A UPS is an uninterruptible power supply, meaning that it delivers power to equipment, such as computers and modems, when loadshedding starts. This gives you ample time to shut them down and protect your work properly. Additionally, a USP can offer some surge protection to electronic devices.

3. Use string padlocks, burglar bars and deadbolts to protect your home and possessions: Criminals targeting your home will have difficulty stealing from your home during loadshedding.

4. Back-up your data frequently: If you use a desktop computer, it’s worth doing a backup regularly. This will ensure you keep your data in case your desktop computer is damaged. Alternatively, you can install two hard drives and use one for data storage.

5. Invest in a generator: A generator of the correct size is arguably one of the best decisions you can make to fight loadshedding. You can connect it so that it turns on as loadshedding kicks in. This is a great option for keeping cooling appliances at optimal temperatures. If you choose this alternative, always have enough fuel on standby.

6. Consider getting an inverter:  An inverter stores energy in batteries when the power is on. When the power goes off, it converts direct current from batteries into alternating current for use in your home. Some inverters get direct current from batteries powered by solar energy.

7. Invest in power strips: A power strip has a built-in surge protector. When there is a power surge, the fuse that provides surge protection fails and cuts off electricity to your devices. You plug your appliances into the power strip instead of regular plugs.

Remember that someone must always be at home if you unplug your appliances. Also, plan to disconnect your appliances at odd hours, such as midnight. Discover more about Affordable ways to survive loadshedding at home. 

Get a house insurance quote from Budget Insurance

Now that you know Budget Insurance’s property insurance covers you in case of loadshedding damage, it’s time to decide.

Do you want to protect your home, contents, and portable possessions against loadshedding damage? Of course, you do! So, apply for a free and no-obligation online quote for comprehensive house insurance. Our team of trained insurance consultants will guide you in protecting your home.