Newsletter

Dear CIB Client,

Firstly, CIB would like to thank you for your continued support and for placing your trust in us to insure your property. We take this honour very seriously and would therefore like to share some insight and information on issues which we have been dealing with daily over the last few months.

JEWELLERY
An ever increasing criminal trend is to target women wearing diamond rings or other valuable accessories such as expensive watches and then following them home, especially from shopping centres, to attack them and relieve them of their possessions! Please, be very careful when out of the home alone and wearing such items – you are a glaring target! Rather, leave these items to be worn on special occasions only and when accompanied by more than one or two people.

VALUATIONS
Have all your specified items (camera's, jewellery, watches, iPods, laptops, golf clubs etc.) valued by a specialist so that there is no concern when you have to claim for a loss or damage to the item. It has become a standard procedure to ask for proof of purchase or a valuation certificate in the event of a claim. Don't wait until the item is missing – it is too late to do a valuation and photographs simply are not enough proof.

TOWING
Again and again, we have seen an increase of unscrupulous towing operators that prey on unsuspecting accident victims when they arrive on the accident scene. They bombard and cajole the insured to a point where they gain your trust and will 'kindly' take your smashed vehicle to a panel beater of their choice. Once they have your car, you are at their mercy!

Do not let anyone but FIRST ROAD ASSIST ever remove your vehicle. They are in every city and have the most coverage of all our roads... the 'fly-by-night' operators are fewer but they are very quick to get your car hooked up, and it makes it very difficult to retrieve the vehicle from their chosen and equally crooked auto repair shop! Storage fees can be as high as R1200 per day and the towing charges are always hugely inflated. Simply remain as calm as possible and insist that a First Road Tow Truck removes the vehicle. Our CIB Emergency Help Desk will dispatch a tow truck immediately if you call 0860 104 952 – please always ONLY use this number.

UNDER INSURANCE
CIB offers a service at a nominal charge for valuations of all your insured items within your home or your actual house itself. It is often the case that our clients are finding themselves under-insured when it comes to a burglary or a loss due to fire or flood damage. The items that make up your cover are all taken at TODAY'S REPLACEMENT COST. It does not matter that you bought that old couch in the spare lounge 12 years ago; to replace it will be at the price it would cost TODAY! This is often an oversight and it applies to every item under your roof! That is why it takes a specialist in this area to do the correct valuation of your goods and your house, so that there is no grey area at all when it comes to a claim.

To get a quote on a valuation of your house and household contents, simply click here, provide us with your name, surname, policy number and address and we will arrange for an appointment by a valuation specialist at a mutually agreed time.

CAR HIRE
There have been many reports about the motor spare parts shortage in South Africa for almost every make of car, and the situation has not improved at all over the last six months, if anything it has got worse. The real problem for you only becomes tangible when your vehicle is involved in an accident and parts need to be replaced. Many manufacturers that carry imported parts only hold enough for their own workshops and when they run short, the order is placed to bring the parts in from overseas. The delay can sometimes be more than a month! If you have ever been without a car for more than a week you will know what this could be like! The delays for even a bumper bashing can stretch to over a month and for that reason we suggest you take the option for 60 days below.

CIB has a car hire extension for all policies that can be taken for either 30 days or 60 days. Executive car hire is also available for an additional premium should you want to upgrade from the Class B cars that are supplied on the standard Car Hire. Terms and conditions apply.

The CIB Car hire options available are as follows:

To add Car Hire to your existing policy or to increase it from 30 to 60 days, simply click here, provide us with your name, surname, policy number and address and we will make the necessary arrangements.

DRUNKEN DRIVING

It is a criminal offence to drive a vehicle over the legal limit on a public road and should you have an accident while being over the limit, you will also not have any insurance cover for any damages to your own vehicle or any other vehicles or property you may have damaged. This has very serious implications which we are sure you would rather not want to contemplate! The financial loss that will be suffered in the event of an accident should be a concern for every driver that is getting behind the wheel of a car after having had a few too many drinks. Do not drink and drive, the costs to property and lives cannot be taken lightly.

We hope you have found these points of interest and we urge you, please take these very seriously and act now on each one, it's better to be prepared than to be caught in a vulnerable situation!

If you require any other information or clarity on the contents of this mailer, please contact your broker or call CIB and we will be able to assist you with your query.

Warm Regards

CIB Insurance