Comprehensive Insurance Demystified

What is it?

Comprehensive insurance is insurance that covers all of your major assets, like your car, home and home contents in a single policy, as opposed to having separate policies for each of these things. 

This makes the administration around ensuring that your valuables are protected much simpler, as you only have to complete one application, deal with one broker and keep track of one set of policy documents. And, more importantly,  you only pay one premium – often a sum that amounts to less than the total you would likely pay for separate policies. 

Who is it for?

Of course, not everyone will benefit from a comprehensive insurance policy. A first time car owner, still living with his or her parents, for example, doesn’t necessarily want home and household contents insurance, and a person who rents his home might want home contents insurance but insuring the building itself would be the landlord’s responsibility. 

So, how does it work (what is covered)?

Under a comprehensive insurance policy, you can cover your vehicle/s, the physical structure of your home and everything inside it from your furniture to your clothing, electronics, jewellery and appliances. The list is quite, well, comprehensive. 

Under and overinsurance

One of the most common concerns with regard to insurance is underinsurance, which occurs when the amount that your belongings are insured for (i.e. the sum that your insurer will pay out in the event of a claim) is lower than the cost of repairing or replacing the lost or damaged item.

Another less common but potentially equally costly concern is overinsurance. If your cover exceeds the amount it would cost to repair or replace an item, you are overinsured. At a glance, this may not seem like a big issue but it could end up costing you a significant amount of money unnecessarily. 

Make it happen

At Nedbank Insurance, we recognise that everyone’s needs are different and that they change over time. Whether you’re about to insure your first car or are looking to consolidate your insurance cover and reap the benefits of complete cover under one policy, talk to us and we’ll help you make it happen.