May 21, 2025

Don’t let your next policy renewal surprise you

Dear Reader,


Life is unpredictable, but there are a few things that we can be sure of:


  • Taxes
  • Government corruption and scandals
  • Annual insurance policy renewals


Sadly, I can’t do anything about the first two, but today we’re talking about one that I can assist with: Your annual policy renewal and premium update. I’m going to explain what renewals are and how they work, and I’ll give you some top renewal tips hot enough to warm up even the coldest wintery June day.


Why do insurers carry out annual renewals?


As you know, every year, your insurer renews your insurance policy. Why is this necessary? Well, they need to regularly review the risk (you/your home/your stuff) that they’re underwriting and to ensure that the monthly premium you pay them, accurately reflects your insurable risk to them. Your insurer knows that very few people’s lives remain completely static from one year to the next, so your annual renewal is the process of accounting for the difference in how your life and your assets looked last year this time, versus now.


Life happens and it’s your responsibility to keep your insurance updated.


This sounds like a lot of responsibility, and that’s because it is.


During the year, lots of things can happen. Perhaps you start a family and need to buy furniture and appliances to support the arrival of your new additions. Or maybe you pimp out your car with some expensive new accessories. A birthday rolls around and you’re given a fancy new smartwatch, or you get a nice tax refund and splurge it on renovating your kitchen. All of these things represent potential risks that your insurer needs to be informed of and needs to account for, to ensure that your policy and your monthly premium, provides sufficient cover for all of your stuff. The renewal period allows us to adjust for these additions.


So, when your annual renewal time rolls around, it is vital that you carefully read through your policy to ensure that all of your possessions and assets are listed and adequately covered. It is your responsibility to inform me if you want to add, remove or change any items on your policy schedule. If you don’t do so, and you suffer a loss to an item that isn’t included in your schedule, you will bear the financial burden of that. So, it is really in your best interests to take this seriously.


How is your premium increase calculated?


The exact process for this differs slightly from one insurer to another. Some of the factors that may be considered include:


  • Your payment history
  • Your driving habits (if you’re a Discovery Insure client with a Vitality Drive unit)
  • The value of your asset/s, your house contents, your vehicles and their accessories, and the value of your specified items as well as anything else on your policy.
  • The risk of your vehicles. For example, the availability of parts, the risk of theft of your particular vehicles, and any other relevant factors.
  • Your claims history. Big claims might increase your risk profile = higher premiums.


My tips for managing your annual renewal premium:


  1. Go through your policy carefully and check that everything listed there, is still accurate.
  2. If you’ve sold or otherwise disposed of, furniture or assets and didn’t replace them, let me know so that they can be removed from your policy.
  3. If you’ve moved home, you should’ve immediately informed your insurer but if you didn’t, now is the time to do it. Your new home may have a lower risk profile than your previous one and if so, you may enjoy a lower premium. Be aware that the opposite may also prove to be true.
  4. If you’re a Discovery Insure client, make sure that you fit a Vitality Drive sensor to your car. Fitment is free and quick at Tiger Wheel & Tyre and other selected locations countrywide. Here’s why you should:
  • Discovery’s risk assessments are data-driven, and the data from your Vitality Drive sensor plays a large role in how they calculate your risk for your vehicle insurance.
  • If you’re a safe and reasonable driver, Discovery will take that data into account which may decrease your vehicle insurance premium.
  • The longer you’re connected to Vitality Drive, the better your chances of ranking up in the Vitality points system. Even if you’re at Blue level, your increase is likely to be less than a client without a sensor.
  • If you don’t have a sensor, Discovery doesn’t know your driving habits and will automatically regard you as being higher risk and your premium is likely to reflect that, with higher increases than if you had had a sensor.


Next time your policy comes up for renewal, I hope you keep all of this info handy and hopefully, you won’t be in for any nasty surprises! And as always, contact me if you have any questions!

Always renewing your policy knowledge,

Stephan Kruis

Your roof and your insurance: Valuable lessons you need to know.

July 3, 2025
Dear Reader, What does your roof look like? When last did you climb up and inspect your roof for cracks, loose tiles etc? When last did you clear your gutters? What condition is it in and has it been properly maintained? Most of us never look at our roof and we wouldn’t be able to answer those questions. But knowing those answers will give you an advantage if the day ever comes that you need to submit a claim for your roof. In my experience, roof claims are very difficult, and claims are frequently rejected . Of course, as your broker, I want to help you ensure that your claim is successful should you ever need to claim for your roof. So, in this month’s newsletter, I am going to tell you the three things you need to know about roof-related insurance claims .

Know your Policy Season Finale - Stuff You Take Out of the House

June 17, 2025
Dear Reader, I know that it’s a hard pill to swallow, but the sad news is that my epic three-part series is coming to an end this month. But don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of exciting content lined up after this one! Today it’s the season finale and it’s a subject that is probably one of the least understood amongst policyholders. No, I’m not talking about annual cost increases (sorry). But if you guessed ‘All Risk Items’, well then you’d be surprisingly correct. Today that’s what we’re covering. Otherwise known as ‘Portable Possessions’ or, as I like to call them, ‘ Stuff you take out of the house ’. Stuff you take out of the house is exactly what it sounds like - it’s any possessions that you leave the house with and which therefore isn’t covered by your household contents policy section. These possessions are insured under a section of your policy called ‘All Risk’ or ‘Portable Possessions’ . Statistically, we are all likely to have to claim against this part of our policy at some point. And yet, it’s one of the policy sections that clients least understand . Let’s change that.

Know Your Policy Part 2: Household contents

June 10, 2025
Dear Reader, This month, we continue my riveting series that I began last month. In that newsletter, we looked at all the things you need to know about your vehicle insurance. This month, it’s Episode 2: Know your household contents policy In other words, we’re discussing your stuff, and the insurance that you’ve taken out (or perhaps haven’t taken out yet!) to protect it. Household contents cover insures your belongings against various listed dangers (or ‘perils’ as your policy may refer to them). Specific listed perils will vary from policy to policy but generally you can expect your household contents policy to cover your belongings against fire, floods and theft. Additional perils may or may not be covered depending on your policy and on the cover you chose. But as with most things in life, the ‘devil is in the details’ and you really need to know your policy in order to benefit from its cover. Before I continue, remember that my team and I haven’t been inside your house and we haven’t seen your possessions, so it’s your responsibility to make sure you check your policy and make sure that it covers your stuff adequately. In particular, please study your policy wording in detail as this is what the insurer is going to use when adjudicating a claim. The policy wording will inform you of what is covered, but more importantly, it will inform you of what is NOT covered - or what is excluded - from your policy. And now, to help you ensure that any future claim of yours is successful, here are three things you need to know about your household contents cover: