Guide to SASRIA claims: how to claim compensation for damage to business premises and looted goods

Recent widespread looting and social unrest has crippled South African businesses. The South African Special Risks Insurance Association (SASRIA) has come forward to assist businesses with insurance claims related to damages to premises and looting. Here is what you need to know about claiming from SASRIA.
SASRIA is a State-owned entity created through the Public Finance Management Act No 1 of 1999 which insures against special risks. This includes politically motivated malicious act, riots (political or non-political), strikes (labour unrests), terrorism and public disorder. All types of risk related property insurance policies protect business assets against the risk of physical loss, damage and financial loss. However, these policies do not cover damage caused by special risks and SASRIA is the only insurer in South Africa which provides for this cover.
HOW TO CLAIM:

The first step is to open a case file with the police. This should ideally be done within 48 hours of the incident, however insurers may make exceptions if the area was unsafe to travel in or you were unable to file a police report. Ultimately, you will need a case file, report or affidavit for your claim.
SASRIA does not do business directly with the public, but is included in most commercial and consumer insurance policies at the insured’s discretion, and cover is claimed through the business’s respective insurance companies. These companies act as intermediaries or agents that hand over claims to SASRIA. It is imperative for businesses to notify their insurance brokers of their claims without delay, to get the ball rolling.
Once notified, the agent company will then investigate the circumstances that led to the claim. In terms of claiming for looted goods, SASRIA’s website confirms that they do provide cover for theft and that claims for recent looting will be honoured because it falls under the category of “civil commotion”. Your claim should not be a multiple claim, as you cannot claim for theft and damages caused by civil unrest as two separate claims. Thus, all damages due to the unrest will be filed under a single SASRIA claim.
Ordinarily, the onus of proof lies on your agent to prove that a special risk incident did occur, however, SASRIA has confirmed that victims of looting will not be required to prove the merits of their cases. This does not mean that claims to SASRIA will be taken as a given, and proof will still need to be supplied that the business owned the looted goods as trading stock, in order to prevent fraudulent claims. Examples of valuable evidence in this regard are receipts and inventory records. In terms of claims for business assets, key evidence would be photographic and video footage. Video footage from CCTV cameras is seldom stored for more than a few days, so it is important to get it now. It is the business’s responsibility to collect this evidence and hand it over to its agent company/insurer.
Finally, the agent company/insurer will provide all relevant information needed to SASRIA to establish the merits for liability. They will submit the claim to SASRIA within 30 days of notification of loss. Usually a time period is specified for cover, which varies from 3 to 24 months.
Businesses with claims of up to R50 000.00 will probably receive compensation quickly, as SASRIA has given certain insurance companies the go-ahead to settle these smaller claims directly. Larger claims will, however, have to go through the usual SASRIA approval process, although the association is committed to expediting these claims.
Limitations also apply, based on the value the business is insured for. If a business owner has SASRIA insurance cover of up to R50 million and incurred damages or losses worth R100 million, SASRIA will only pay out the insured amount and the owner will have to pay out of pocket for the uninsured damages. This is obviously on a case-by-case basis and business owners should work directly with their broker to see what recourse is available to them and to ensure that all of the correct documentation is submitted to resolve their claims timeously.

You can get SASRIA cover immediately, but new clients will need to declare that no damage exists at the time of issuing or increasing cover. Since pre-existing damage is not covered, there is unfortunately no recourse now for those businesses which did not have SASRIA cover during the unrest, as their regular insurers might reject claims for damage or loss incurred relating to a strike, civil unrest or protest.
In summary, to claim from SASRIA, businesses need to contact their insurers and start gathering the evidence for their claims. Owners, furthermore, need to work closely with their brokers to make sure that they submit all the correct documentation from the start to ensure a guarantee and speedy process.
For further reading, herewith our source list regarding SASRIA claims with the respective links: