There are many tragic stories being told about the night a natural disaster destroyed many homes and buildings and buried people under mud following days of intense rain in and around Durban.
Hearing about a large mansion near the top of a hill sliding down the hillside and further taking out two homes below would sound quite unreal for many who have never lived through a disaster like that. We always talk about the rolling green hills of Kwazulu Natal, but many of those hills became death traps on that night of 11/12 April!
Our neighbours were away the day the insurance assessor came and asked hubby to show him around. He told us that the homeowner of that large mansion had no insurance cover, so has not only lost his/her most prized possession but is now being sued by the insurance companies of the homeowners below!
A hectic and impossible load to carry!
Our neighbour's pool paving is starting to show damage, and the massive crater between them and our friend's home next door has still not been filled by the local authority. No one dares touch it, as it's a public lane!
Our friends who are living in a rental until their home is restored, have to pay for 24-hour guarding, as their home has been ransacked a couple of times!
The assessor advised us that there are some things the insurance companies will not cover; so I decided it's high time I sat down and actually read our policy; from a well-respected insurer by the way!
I was shocked to read an exclusion -
no cover for landslip
So, if our home was taken out by a mudslide, we would have lost everything and had to rebuild at our own cost!
They've always been very good with the usual things that go wrong around the house, but advised that if we want that cover, we need to provide them with a geotechnical report, which will cost an arm and a leg!
We however are in the process of changing insurance companies as we had endless problems with a business interruption claim during Covid lockdown, so have to wait for this to be settled before we jump ship!
Yes, it was nearly two years ago!
Large hotels took them to court when they refused to pay as they said the business interruption was not due to an infectious disease, it was lockdown!! The hotels won their case, so assessors were appointed for all bnb's, guesthouses, hotels and resorts.
We had to fill in endless spreadsheets for the assessor, and they have only now come to a conclusion, but have yet to file a report to the insurer! As soon as that has been resolved, we'll be on our way out!
The phrase below always reminds me of my late uncle who turned it around when someone gave him uphill, he'd say to himself:
Go suck a lemon and be happy!
That's what I wanted to tell the assessor who kept on emailing me spreadsheet after spreadsheet!
It's not always easy making that lemonade, not so!
Enough of my ranting; and onto some of the good stuff in the life of a Silver Blogger.
Even though we run a BnB that keeps us on our toes, we can still afford little luxuries like having a leisurely cup of coffee in bed, and smiling smugly as we no longer have to face the traffic!
We have time to watch the sun rise; the colours in the sky were spectacular earlier this week!
Thursday was a public holiday here in South Africa, so it felt like Friday; I was not feeling well and had a massive headache from too little sleep...there I go complaining again...so we ordered take-away.
Friday came along, feeling like Saturday, so we had a quickly thrown-together supper - spring onions, red bell pepper, mushrooms, frozen mixed veg turned into a frittata by pouring whipped eggs to cover it all, loads of cheese on top and cooked with a lid on. Served with sweetcorn on the cob, and hot mock sourdough bread; all really delicious!
Earlier in the day one of the young caregivers who took care of Mom Lily during her last few weeks came to visit, She is busy setting up her own little nursing/caregiving agency and needed a guiding hand.
I will never forget seeing her arrive on her first day of caring for Mom; tiny in stature, and I wondered how the heck she was going to assist Mom, who was totally immobile. She however has been trained to use the correct techniques to move Mom, and my skepticism turned to admiration. I wish Lelo all the very best in her business!
Enjoy what is left of your weekend friends!
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That's really something that you are paying for insurance that would do you no good if your house had been damaged in the recent disaster. It's really something that you pay for it and then you have to fight for it to come through when you need it.
I understand when bad things like covid and lockdowns and landslides happen, that it cost the insurance companies a lot, but in-between those times, they are raking in the money hand over fist and they don't seem to complain about it then. What do they think they are there for ??? A lot of it seems like a total scam to me.
And yet.... you still feel like you have to have it.
It's a requirement if one has a mortgage but unfortunately a neccessary evil in case of fire & vehicle accidents, plus we need it to renew our bnb registration each year, but I often wonder what the books would look like at the end of the day, if one were to put that high premium into a savings account & draw from it in the event of accidents.
I totally agree with you that they're raking in millions during good times, but twist wording like infectious diseases, I mean, no one had ever heard of lockdowns!
Thanks for popping in @jacey.boldart 🤗
I understand about being required to have it for business. My younger sister and her husband owned a daycare for years and had to have an enormous amount of insurance in order to operate. We are required to have vehicle insurance here too and who would go without medical insurance on purpose?
It is funny (but not ha ha) that they tried to split hairs about the infectious disease and lockdown issue, since without the infectious disease, there would have been no lock down. It's almost laughable, in a ironically sad kind of way.
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Sweet Jesus, Lizelle! @lizelle I cannot believe that! How did those people NOT have insurance? I am very sad for them, to lose something such as a house, then to be punished further by being sued. I understand why they are being sued, but honestly, I still feel bad for them. I am so sorry about the houses/people that were in the path. Even if they had insurance, it still would have happened.
They were probably insurance poor. A real shame.
People have gotten sue-happy here in the US. I believe that there is a purpose for it, but so many people are not honest about their claims, which is what drives up the cost for insurance here, Then insurance goes up and people cannot afford to be covered. Health insurance is ridiculous, even when you get Social Security age. When my parents started collecting, I was appalled that they had a big chunk taken out of their checks to cover their health insurance!
I got off-topic here, and I am sorry about that. Insurance is a must-have, but, they have gotten so out of hand !
You always write something interesting and relevant! Thank you!