Road Safety Blog

Tick all the safety boxes before your holidays

jonckie

The Easter holidays are fast approaching and many consumers will be travelling to various holiday destinations across the country, and even outside our borders.  However, before embarking on your trip, do make sure your valuables are safe and that you are sufficiently covered for any potential loss of or damage to your assets. You don’t want to return from your holiday or have it cut short due to incidents that may have been prevented or sufficiently covered for.

The South African Insurance Association Insurance (SAIA) Technical Advisor, Susan Walls, shares some tips to ensure you enjoy your holidays and return rejuvenated and stress free:

  1. A week before your road trip, it is advisable to take your vehicle in for an 80 point check. This will ensure that any malfunctions are found and attended to ahead of your journey
  2. Pull out your insurance policy document and check whether your vehicle will be fully covered wherever you are going, this is especially for those who will be crossing borders,
  3. Ensure your insurance premiums are up to date and your policy is in good standing
  4. Have your tracking device and other security elements in your vehicle tested to ensure they are all in good working order
  5. Check the security features of the place you are visiting and make sure you ask if your vehicle will be parked in a locked garage / gate
  6. The weather is unpredictable but it is good to get a weather forecast of where you are going and anticipate for changing weather patterns that may pose a threat to yourself and your vehicle
  7. Ensure you have your insurer’s emergency road side assistance contact details for any emergencies that may arise
  8. Road safety that must always be adhered to: buckle up, keep safe following distance, and keep your headlights on when it’s raining, dark and/or poor visibility.
  9. Don’t drive when you feeling tired and avoid distractions such as texting whilst driving.

Walls highlights the importance of travel insurance for those utilising airlines and traveling out of the country. She says having travel insurance will cover medical expenses or financial losses that you may incur while traveling. Cover also includes cancellation or interruption of trips due to unforeseen circumstances that may result in you cancelling your trip. “Your insurance should compensate you for the pre-paid and non-refundable holiday expenditure should you need to cut your trip short for reasons beyond your control”, says Walls.

Walls adds that should your flight be delayed for whatever reason, ensure that you request the delay in writing from the airline to be able to receive compensation.  Most policies will specify the exact minimum window for connection time, when booking flights, your connection time should be no less than 3-4 hours as the policy might not pay out if this is the case.

Don’t forget to protect your house. Anyone leaving their house vacant should make sure that they have preventative measures in place for burglary, flooding, fire, etc. Walls shares these tips to help you safe guard your house:

  1. Arrange with someone you trust to switch the lights on and off. Ensure your house is not left unattended to for more than two nights
  2. Switch off any appliances that won’t be used and activate holiday mode on to your refrigerator
  3. Set your automatic water gardening feature to ensure your garden and plants are watered at a specific time and ensure no water wastage – (Be mindful of water restrictions in your area)
  4. Check all your locks are working properly and all your windows close
  5. Check your alarm system, test if it is working and ensure that you notify your security company that you are away, state the duration of your holiday and ask them to monitor your house constantly.

“Now that you have ticked all the boxes, your bags are all packed, your flights booked or your vehicle is road fit, you are ready and set to go,” concludes Walls.

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