Your All-Risk policy is there for the things you carry with you — the stuff that doesn’t just sit at home but follows you out the door. It’s separate from Household Contents cover because it’s all about your portable valuables.
General Items: Everyday Portables
General Items are the things most of us wouldn’t leave the house without. Clothes, accessories, and the type of gear you’d toss into a gym bag.
Examples include:
handbags
umbrellas
backpacks
sports bags
racquets
running shoes
Compensation Limit: Here’s the thing, there’s a ceiling. Both an overall limit per claim and a smaller per-item limit, shown in your Policy Schedule.
For example, if your total limit is R5,000, and the per-item cap is 25%, the most you’d get for a pair of sunglasses is R1,250, even if they cost you R2,000. The bottom line is that if it’s pricey, it probably shouldn’t be left in the General pile.
Specified Items: Unique Possessions
Specified All-Risk Items are the ones you’ve listed by name in your Policy Schedule. Why? Because they’re either high value, high risk, or just too unique to fit under the General Items umbrella. They need to be specified if you want them covered for their actual replacement cost.
Examples of items you need to specify:
High-value personal items: Anything too expensive for the General cap.
Electronics: Cellphones (yes, every one of them), laptops, iPads, cameras, music players.
Drones/UAVs: For private, recreational use.
Sports gear: Bicycles, surfboards, kiteboards, kayaks, canoes, paddle skis, windsurfers, sailboards.
Specialised tools you carry around.
Collections: Stamp and coin collections.
Medical aids: Contact lenses, prescription glasses, sunglasses, hearing aids.
Luxury apparel: Leather jackets, furs.
Mobility aids: Wheelchairs.
Firearms.
Non-factory fitted car radios.
If it’s valuable, portable, and personal, assume it should be specified.
Why the Distinction Matters: Avoiding Underinsurance
Mixing this up can cost you. If you try to claim for a high-value item as a General Item, the payout will stop at the general limit. That means you could end up covering the shortfall yourself.
Your responsibility? Ensure the things you care about are insured for their replacement value and correctly classified. That way, if something goes wrong, you’re not left half-covered.
Final Word
Think of your All-Risk policy as two baskets: one for the everyday stuff, and one for the items you’d hate to replace out of pocket. Put the right things in the right basket, keep us updated when you get something new, and your cover will always work the way it’s supposed to.
*The information provided here is for informational purposes only. For the full terms and conditions, please consult your policy wording.