083-778-2288 2022blitzz@gmail.com

Insurance Damage Report Experts/ Specialists.

Insurance damage reports, on Lightning, Power surge, Hail, Water, Impact, Wind damage to any of your security equipment?

Gate, Garage door motors, Alarm, Electric fence, Intercom systems?

We can assist in the compiling of all types of damage reports needed by you, for your insurance.

 

Contact:

Pottie 083 778 2288 technical

Amanda 083 719 2250 Bookings

Whatsapp

What are insured perils?

  • a Insured peril is a event which occurs which causes damage to property and equipment.
  • The event is normally unforseen.
  • The damage is immediately visible or present.
  • The damage will only be “gone/ removed” after repairs have been effected.
  • Insured perils covered by a buildings, insurance policy is:
  • Water damage due to rain storm and floods.
  • Fire damage
  • Lightning
  • Power surge damage to secuirty equipment which is connected to the building.
  • Hail
  • Wind “strong winds like in the event of tornado’s.
  • Malicious damage to property “when a burglar intensionally damages security gates, doors, windows in order to gain access to the property.
  • Impact damage to the property. Cars accidentally driving into walls and entrance gates.
  • The above are the most commonly claims we deal with.

Lightning damage:

  • Lightning damage comes in all shapes and sizes.
  • It consists of electricity which is very lazy,  lightning will always follow the path of least resistance.
  • Direct lightning strikes are common in South Africa.
  • A mere small dot of a burn mark could also render security equipment inoperable.
  • On some instances no visible damage is present on equipment which have been damaged by lightning.
  • Static damage is a common occurance to security equipment.
  • Lightning cannot be completely stopped.
  • Proper earthing might even assist lightning damage to occur.
  • Lightning prevention Equipment is available to assist in preventing lightning damage.
  • Lightning is also known to cause electrical power surges.
  • Damage on security equipment can be present anywhere on the systems and it is never always through the front door.

 Lightning damage reports on security equipment.

  • Exquisite Security are qualified insurance assessors.
  • Exquisite Security  holds a certificate  in short term insurance.
  • We have assisted with over 3500 insurance damage reports and claims.
  • We have years of experience in security products what, where, how the lightning/ power surge damage should be like, and where it will be hiding on controller cards of security equipment.
  • We can assist you as a client in compiling damage reports for your insurance regarding lightning, power surge damage to your security equipment, including, gate/ garage door motors, alarm  equipment, intercoms, security lights etc.
  • Other insured peril event damage reports can also be compiled/ typed.
  • All damage reports consists of typed reports containing pictures of the damage where found.
  • It is up to your insurance to prove that your claim is not valid.
  • When a claim cannot be proved by the insurance, then the benefit would be given to the client regarding his insurance claim.

 Electrical power surges/ damage

  • Electrical power surges are caused for various reasons.
  • Municipal faults/ load shedding of electricity is a known cause for security equipment damage.
  • Poor servicing of electrical connections “where houses connect to the incoming electricity lines is one such big factor to consider.
  • Power surges always proceed to damage equipment from the “front door”, incoming power stream.
  • Transformers and power supplies are normally damaged first with power surges, its common to find that battery charging voltages exceed the recommended charging voltage.
  • Lightning is also known to cause power surges in electrical systems “Lightning may strike electrical supply lines which causes electrical power surges.
  • In such a case, the proximate cause in the matter would be damage due to lightning
  • Some insurance companies will pay for these damage reports obtained by you as the client.

Contact Us today to assist in your lightning/ power surge damage reports and damage prevention needs.

Amanda  083 719 2250

Pottie     083 778 2288

How a insurance damage report is compiled by Exquisite Security:

  • Compiling insurance damage reports comes from years of experience.
  • A investigative back round surely assisted Exquisite Security in compiling such damage reports.
  • Years of installations, working with security equipment and seeing the damages caused by insured peril allows one for creating, professional damage reports.
  • Insurance claims are firstly viewed with regards to maintenance aspects as well as factory specified regulations.
  • These aspects needs to be met in order, to determine if equipment was in a proper working condition before the claimed damage event.
  • One can never have a valid insurance claim, if the equipment was not working at the time of the incident.
  • This indicates the importance of proper maintenance on security equipment.
  • No one, wants their claim to be repudiated due to a maintenance aspect.
  • It is common that where basic maintenance is not carried out, that security equipment could fail damage can also occur which was due to non maintenance related aspects.
  • If all of the prerequisites have been met, then one can continue to search for the reason of malfunction.
  • This is done by following basics steps and rules in the installation process and programming process.
  • If equipment still does not want to function, then further steps are taken to establish why equipment is not working.
  •  Equipment is commonly opened and inspected for visible damage.
  • Visible damage is commonly found on controller cards, power supplies etc.
  • This visible damage are then photographed and it will form part of the insurance damage report.
  • Visible damage is not always present on equipment. Due to our extensive experience with security equipment, Exquisite Security can at times conclude, that the failing of equipment was due to a insured event.

 

What should a insurance damage report consist of?

  • The clients personal details needs to be listed in the damage report, name and surname with complete address.
  • The clients contacts numbers like cell phone numbers and email address.
  • It is advised that the insurance policy number is listed to prevent confusion between claims.
  • The date and possible time should be listed on which the damage occurred.
  • The insured peril “reason for the damage/ loss” must be listed.
  • Client’s statement can also assist the insurance. It could be that there is a delay between damage and reporting the damage and the statement will clarify it.
  • Date on which the inspection was done by the service provider.
  • Pictures of the damaged equipment if and when possible.
  • Detailed indications on image where damage is present.
  • Conclusions must be based on facts, opinions are not allowed. Thus a claim is proven or not.

Gate motor damage reports.

  • Most damages caused by lightning is on sliding and swing gate motor systems.
  • The reason for this is that, the electrical supply cables run towards the gate motor under ground.
  • These electrical cables are all wet and are more exposed to lightning strikes.
  • Surge arrestor capacitors can be used inline to prevent electrical spikes caused by lightning strikes.
  • It must be noted, and it has been found, that these inline surge arrestor capacitors do absorb high electricity conditions, but they tend to change the damage pattern on the gate motor electronic equipment.

What does a damage report cost?

  • The cost to compile a insurance damage report in Gauteng varies.
  • It can be anything from R 1250.00 up to R 2000.00 for a complete detailed report.
  • A site visit is needed in order to compile a insurance damage report.
  • Some insurance companies will pay for the damage reports obtained by their clients.

What does lightning damage look like?

  • Lightning damage will vary on strike to strike.
  • Lightning damage to a electronic controller might not even have visible damage present, static damage is more consistent here.
  • At times very small burn marks are present.
  • Then again, on direct lightning strikes damage is clearly visible. The controller cards/ equipment normally has clear burn marks present, the flash is carried over to back plates/ covers. There is always a rainbow color to the burn mark/ flash.
Lightning damage, burn mark to Centurion D5 Evo controller card.

The above picture is a Centurion D5 Evo controller card. One can clearly see the burn marks present on the reverse side of the controller card.

This is clear damage and it was caused by lightning.

Lightning damage burn marks have colorfull reflections when viewed in the sun.

When do i need to report my damage to my insurance?

  • As quick as possible, a date is needed when the damage occured, what type of event occured.
  • Insurance policies do have expiery dates present when reporting damage.
  • The current expiery date to report a damage claim would be 30 days.
  • In the old days, one could report damage within a year. This is no longer the norm.
  • If you are abroad and damage is only noticed after your return, you could still report it to your insurance for investigation. 

What will my insurance look at when i register a insurance claim?

The insurance will appoint a specialist in the field, to assess the claim.

The specialists have years of experience and they will give the insurance facts and also guide the insurance to come to the right conclusion regarding your insurance claim.

All insurance claims are looked at on a individual claim basis, all facts are presented and a conclusion is made by the insurance on the facts presented to them.

Lets look at these claims:

Gate motors:

  • The gate motor and its electronic components will be inspected to search for reasons why the gate motor stopped working.
  • The current condition of installation will also be noted on the report to the insurance.
  • If the insurance determines that the claim is valid, then they could decide to repair/ replace or pay out client cash in lieu.

Garage door motors:

  • The garage door motor installation and electronic components will be inspected for insured peril damage.
  • A report will be then submitted to the insurance with all of the relevant facts on the claim.
  • The insurance will then consider the claim and decide if they are liable for the loss.

Electric fence systems:

  • The electric fence energizer system will be inspected by the specialist.
  • The specialist will search for visible damage to the electronic components of the electric fence energizer.
  • Visible damage is not always present on electronic components, years of experience and interaction with manufacturers will guide the specialist what to include on his report to the insurance.
  • The insurance will then make a finding on the claim and decide if they will repair/ replace or pay claimant out cash in lieu on the insurance claim.

Alarm systems:

  • Alarm system specialists will be appointed by the insurance to assess the alarm system.
  • The alarm expert will search for insured peril damage to the alarm system.
  • The alarm specialists will then compile and submit a report to the insurance which will contain all the facts found.
  • The insurance will the make the final conclusion on the claim.
  • The insurance will either pay client cash in lieu, repair or replace the alarm system.

Intercom/ Video Intercom systems:

  • a Intercom / Video intercom system specialist will be appointed by the insurance to assess the intercom/ Video system.
  • The intercom/ video intercom experts will search for insured peril damage present on the intercom system.
  • The intercom/ Video intercom specialist will compile a report, which contains all of the facts present.
  • The damage report will be submitted to the insurance, whereby the insurance will make a finding on the claim.
  • The insurance will either pay client cash in lieu, repair or replace the intercom/ video intercom system.

Some facts regarding lightning:

3x Types of lightning strikes occur in the world.

Inter cloud lightning strikes:

  • Inter cloud lightning strikes occur within the same cloud “from the one section/ side of the cloud to the next section of the cloud”.
  • A cloud could be seen as a very large battery with a big potential difference in it.
  • The constant wind blowing within a cloud, the moving of the cloud and building of teh cloud causes particles to be blown into each other.
  • This causes the particales to become electrically charged.
  • The bottom of the cloud is normally charged negatively and the top of the cloud is charged positively.
  • At a point in time, a “lightning strike” electrical discharge will occur which all occurs within the same cloud.
  • These clouds are quite high above the ground and poses no danger to humans/ animals on the surface of earth.
  • Clouds are negatively charged on the lower bottom half of the cloud and positively charged on the upper side of the cloud.

Cloud to cloud lightning strikes:

  •  Clouds do build on their own due to condensation.
  • Some clouds will grow bigger and some clouds will become smaller until they disappear.
  • Clouds also move due to constant wind changes in the atmosphere.
  • This means that some clouds are higher or lower then other clouds.
  • Clouds are moving batteries due to all of the charged electrical particles in them.
  • With the movement of clouds, the clouds do meet up in the cloud building process.
  • When two clouds “collide” a discharge of electricity can occur.
  • This discharging is seen as a lightning strike from the one cloud, to the other cloud.
  • There are no risk to humans/ animals/ property when lightning strikes occur from cloud to cloud.

Cloud to ground lightning strikes:

  • These are the lightning strikes we all need to take note of.
  • We now know that clouds are big moving batteries.
  • Dry windy weather causes dust particles to bump into each other as well as objects in their path.
  • The constant bumping causes the particles to become electrically charged.
  • At a certain point in time, a cloud would have moved over a area which is electrically charged.
  • The winds and updrafts of air assists in moving the electrically charged particles up towards the clouds.
  • A path is created with the electrically charged particles between the ground and the cloud.
  • The path acts like small veins/ tree branches.
  • As soon as the path is created, then a lightning strike will occur.
  • The lightninmg will strike down to earth.
  • This type of lightning causes, the most damage to electrical equipment.
  • It is common for lightning to cause severe property damage as well as death to humans, cattle, sheep etc.

Can lightning strikes be prevented?

No lightning strikes cannot be prevented at all.

It is part of nature and we have to accept it.

 

Service Areas:

  • Gauteng
  • Pretoria
  • Johannesburg
  • East Rand
  • West Rand
  • Johannesburg South
  • Vaal Tri angle.
  • many more areas.

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20 Jan 2023 ckp