Today I am looking after some contractors who are repairing a cupboard at my daughter's house which had been damaged when her geyser burst some weeks ago. As with anyone in South Africa who has a mortgage with a bank or other financial institution, she has Homeowners Cover, an insurance policy that covers any structural damage, fire damage or damage from any water problems such as a burst water pipe. This insurance is to protect the financial institution, as the home is considered part of their assets while the mortgage is still in operation. Of course, it also protects the homeowner from the kind of damage that can often be very costly to repair or remedy. Damage to the cupboard that houses the geyser In this instance, as is often the case, the insurers are very quick to repair the immediate problem: the geyser was replaced within a matter of days. But often the "consequential damage", the secondary and less urgent result of the initial problem, seems to be taken far l...
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