Insurers count the cost of freak hailstorm
Johannesburg’s severe hailstorm this week is the latest headache for the insurance industry which is sifting through the influx of claims.
On Monday night parts of the city were ravaged by a freak storm that caused severe damage to vehicles, businesses and homes.
Some short-term insurers have already reported a significant increase in claim volumes from policyholders affected by the incident.
One of the bigger claims is likely to be in relation to the partial roof collapse at JSE-listed Southern Sun's Rosebank Hotel which had to be evacuated on Monday night following the hail destruction.
Naked Insurance co-founder Ernest North told Moneyweb that so far, the number of claims received from policyholders shows signs of this event being the worst to hit the insurance provider in the last three years.
‘Early indications are that this is probably the biggest event that we’ve had in the last two or three years,’ he said.
OUTsurance, in an emailed response to Moneyweb, said it is too early to accurately quantify the impact of the storm on the business, but acknowledged higher claim volumes following the storm.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
