Page 62 - Hollard Private Portfolio - Version 3.3
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Personal liability
Key terms to understand
You
Liability Paying guest Tenant
Includes yourself, your spouse and any members of your immediate family who normally reside with you and are financially dependent on you
Refers to when you can be held legally liable to pay damages arising out of any event, not otherwise excluded under this section
A guest who stays in the building for a short period, without a contract in exchange for a fee
A person who signed a rental agreement to live in the building for a set period. This includes sub-tenants
The increasing cost of negligence
In today’s world, people are more and more aware of their "rights". They will often not hesitate to sue you for loss or damage which they believe is due to your negligence.
Typical examples include your dog biting a passer-by, or a braai in your backyard starting a fire that burns your neighbour’s house down.
Paying out after a claim
Pay-outs are always limited
When you claim for personal liability, your pay-out will always be limited to a specific amount in any 12-month period. These amounts are chosen by you when you take out the policy, and are stated in the Schedule.
In some cases, the pay-out may be less than the maximum stated in the Schedule if we decide that it represents a fair settlement. We may pay the full limit or any lesser amount for which the claim may be settled to finalise a claim.
All pay-outs are made in South Africa, in local currency.
How we deal with your liability claim
○ We will take over your rights to defend yourself.
○ We will consider whether you are responsible for causing the damage, loss, bodily injury, illness or death.
○ If we do not consider you responsible, we will refute liability on your behalf and send a letter to this effect to you, as well as to the person claiming liability against you. We will continue with your defence until the matter is finalised.
○ If you are responsible, we will negotiate with the other person on your behalf. We will attempt to reach a settlement for the damage, loss, injury, illness or death. If we cannot reach a settlement, or if we receive a summons from the court, we will go to court on your behalf.
How we may settle your liability claim
○ We will pay once we have either negotiated a settlement, or once we have accepted legal liability on your behalf.
○ We may pay the liability benefit either to you, or to the person that is claiming liability against you.
○ Once we have paid the liability benefit, we have met our responsibilities to you under this policy. We will not be responsible for any other costs relating to that claim.
Example
Your dog runs out into the street and bites a passer-by. He has to go to hospital, and incurs medical expenses of R95 000. If the sum insured in the Schedule for this kind of event is stated as R1 000 000, we will pay out the full R95 000.
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Hollard Private Portfolio – Version 3.3 – 9 Feb 2023