Page 26 - Personal Underwriting Mandates & Guidelines - Binder - Version 3

Buildings and Household contents
When underwriting a subsidence, landslip or ground heave risk consider the following:
○ no visible cracks should be present
○ the dwelling should be built outside of flood areas
○ foundations should be reinforced if the dwelling is not built on level ground
○ there should be no evidence or history of subsidence, landslip or ground heave in the area of the risk.
Power surge and lightning
With the high probability of power surge due to cable theft or lightning, power surge protection should be installed to manage risk.
Hollard recommends that distribution board (DB) or "whole-house" surge protectors are installed. For smart homes, one should also try and guard against surges on computer cables and fibre lines. If it becomes an underwriting requirement to have surge protection installed due to numerous claims, the policy must be endorsed accordingly.
A relevant endorsement will be provided should future acceptance of the cover be subject to additional risk-mitigating requirements.
○ Distribution board or "whole-house" surge suppressers for incoming electrical service
By installing surge protection on the DB board, it is possible to protect a home from the most powerful surges. "Whole-house" surge surpressers provide protection for the entire electrical system. They protect things such as motors, lights, outlets and light switches.
○ Installation requirements
The installation of surge surpressers must comply with SANS specifications and the devices itself with SABS
standards.
The surge arrester should comply with the following conditions:
– the surge arrester should comply with SANS/IEC code 61643-1 or later versions of this code (e.g. IEC code 61643-11)
– it should be designed to withstand peak surge currents of 40kA phase to neutral and of 12kA (10/350) neutral to earth.
– the surge arrester must be installed into the building’s main distribution board by a licensed electrician, in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer.
– if your client requires an electrical contractor to do this work, you can refer to the Electrical Contractors Board website at www.ecbsa.co.za or the Electrical Contractors Association website at www.ecasa.co.za.
– the installation must comply with SANS 10142-1, Connection Type 2.
– the surge suppressor must be maintained according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
The way in which most of these arresters work is that they have modules which need to be replaced if they are damaged. They are designed to offer protection against multiple power surges and are not always damaged from a single power surge. Unless the damaged module is replaced, the arrester will not be effective against surge or lighting.
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