Top risks facing your business this festive season

While some businesses shut down over the festive season, many ramp up. From e-hailing and shuttle services to BnBs and vehicle dealers. The increased patronage and usage of these businesses translates into more Rand and more risks. We asked our expert team to share the top claims made during this period, to ensure that you have adequate cover.  

To set the scene, there is an overall increase in claims between November and February. This increase is primarily driven by businesses with increased activity during the seasonal period, like shuttle services and guest houses.  

The team then took a deeper dive into these claims, looking at the types of businesses that see the biggest increase, in the volume of claims. These include shuttle services, vehicle dealers (new and used), guest houses and delivery services. In addition to a volume increase, they looked at the highest increase in the cost of claims, for different business types.  

Some of the examples they cited include: the average fire claim for a game lodge is close to R2.5 million. For stolen vehicles, from a shuttle service, the average claim is close to R400 000.  

The cost of claims, for vehicle towing services, increases by over R110 000, with a volume increase of over 60%. Vehicle dealers see an increase of almost 40% in claims, with an average cost increase of over R240 000.  

If you operate any of the above-mentioned businesses, ensure that you have the right type and amount of cover in place. If you operate another type of business and want to assess your risk, please get in touch with one of our expert advisors today. If you don’t currently have business insurance, we encourage you to get a quote now.  

From all of us at Auto&General, we wish you a healthy, happy and prosperous holiday season. We look forward to another year of doing business with you.  

Auto&General Insurance Company Limited is a licensed non-life insurer and financial services provider. 

Sources: Internal data