Specified & Non-Specified Items: How Portable Possessions Insurance Works

When you're insuring your belongings, you're unlikely to find a single product that meets all your coverage needs. To address this, insurers provide you with multiple complementary products to ensure you're comprehensively covered. However, it’s not always easy to prevent any coverage gaps. You often need advice on what best suits your particular needs. For instance, there are stand-alone watch insurance, laptop insurance, glasses insurance, and products, in addition to an all-encompassing Portable Possessions Insurance product that may better meet your needs by covering all the above items and then some more! However, you'll still need to determine what your insurance covers in terms of specified and unspecified items. Here's how Portable Possessions Insurance works and how Auto & General can offer you the exact coverage you require.

What is Portable Possessions Insurance & what is its purpose?

This type of insurance covers you against the accidental damage, loss or theft of belongings you take with you when you're outside of your home. This can include items you keep with you in your car when driving or in a bag when you're in public. People sometimes confuse Home Contents and Portable Possessions Insurance; however, there’s a significant difference - Home Contents Insurance only covers items in the home, not those you can take out with, for example, your laptop, when you go to work. There may be a crossover between these insurance types, but they're meant to complement each other. Portable Possessions Insurance in South Africa allows you to repair or replace any important, easily moveable items.

Types of Portable Possessions Insurance

Depending on the coverage you need, you could get something specific, like laptop insurance or a generic level of coverage that adds up to a certain figure. This is categorised as specified and non-specified insurance items. Let’s unpack this in more detail. 

1. Specified items

Specified insurance covers specific individual items that tend to have a higher value due to their rarity or cost. Specified valuables may also be referred to as “scheduled” or “itemised” items. Insuring these items requires you to provide the insurer with a detailed and objective third-party appraisal of their value so they can adequately cover you. If the item is replaceable, insurers may replace it with an exact match. If it isn't, they may offer you a suitable replacement or a lump sum payout to the value of the assigned specific item instead. 

2. Non-specified items

You may keep essential items on your person but don't have a large collective financial value. In such cases, you can opt for blanket or unscheduled item insurance. This gives you coverage up to a specified amount without covering each item individually. You can collectively cover items such as handbags and their contents, sunglasses, or jewellery, for instance. The items are subject to a sub-limit that is specified in the policy.

Theft, loss & damage: what Portable Possessions Insurance covers

It's an unfortunate fact that we do have to take measures to protect ourselves from crime. While your individual coverage will depend on your choice of policy and its limitations and exclusions, most forms of insurance will cover theft, burglary, robbery, pickpocketing, as well as smash and grab. You'll also be protected against accidental damage, fire and water damage, accidental loss, as well as vandalism or malicious damage. 

Here are a few examples of how this coverage can play out:

Example 1 — Coverage for damage

Londeka is an amateur photographer who uses a Nikon D3500 to shoot random scenes that inspire her. She keeps her camera in a secure bag in her locked car boot when not in use. One day, Londeka gets caught in a sudden severe downpour while taking photos. Her camera is damaged, but she has Portable Possessions Insurance that covers her camera for its current retail value. This enables her to purchase the same model of Nikon D3500 as a replacement.

Example 2 — Coverage for theft

Gerda takes her handbag to work each day. She keeps her wallet, sunglasses, and cellphone, amongst other things, in the bag. While these items don't cost much individually, they all can add up to a significant sum. Because of this, Gerda insures her handbag and its contents for a set sum she estimates as the value of her bag and contents. One day, Gerda is subjected to a smash-and-grab on the way to work, and her bag is stolen. The lump-sum payout (including the value of the actual bag) allows Gerda to replace what she has lost without having to dip into her savings.

Example 3 — Coverage for loss

Sudhir always drops his baby son off at daycare every weekday morning. His car is outfitted with a baby seat to keep his child safe on the road. One day, Sudhir visits the mall to go grocery shopping after dropping his son off. He returns to his car later, only to discover it has been broken into and his possessions stolen, including the car seat. Thanks to his Portable Possessions Insurance policy, he is able to replace his child's new car seat. 

Get a Portable Possessions Insurance quote 

Now that you’re aware of the value of insuring the possessions you carry around with you, you can take steps to protect them from damage, theft, or loss. Insuring your possessions doesn't have to be complicated, nor does it have to involve paying for coverage you don't want or need. Get a Portable Possessions Insurance quote from Auto & General today.