This is important in the event of a waiver

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Lerato Khumalo

Residential building insurance

This is important in the event of a waiver


Updated on February 19, 2025 – 2:58 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.

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The insurance company reimburses the damage in full because there is a waiver of under insurance. (Source: Roberto Jimenez/Getty-Images pictures)

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If the sum insured with residential building insurance is lower than the value of the residential building, there is an undersurance.

In the event of a residential building insurance, the insurer checks whether there is an undersurance in the event of damage. Especially when the policy of your insurance is a bit older, there may be undersurance due to renovation or modernization measures on the building.

In the event of damage, the insurance company is entitled to pay for the damage only proportionately. You can avoid this if you avoid a waiver of under insurance when you take out the insurance company.

There is an undersurance if the value of a residential building is higher than the agreed sum insured. Even if the damage incurred is lower than the sum insured, the insurer must only reimburse the damage in this case. Because: In order to determine your reimbursement amount, your insurer puts the sum insured in relation to the actual value of the residential building.

The insurance company does not know the true value of the insured building. It therefore appreciates the value and compares her property with similar objects in the region.

It becomes more descriptive with an example: a residential building has a current value of 500,000 euros. However, the owner has only agreed a sum of 250,000 euros in the insurance company. He did not know the true value or has carried out various modernization measures in recent years.

Parts of the roof are badly damaged by a fire. The damage incurred is around 200,000 euros. However, the insurer only reimburses 100,000 euros, since the sum insured is only half of the true building value. He only does half of the actual damage, the owner has to pay the remaining damage out of his own pocket despite insurance cover.

In order for you to pay the damage from the insurance company in full, you should agree on an under -cathed with a sub -insurance reference clause when taking out residential building insurance.

This is associated with higher premiums. Depending on the insurer, the premiums can be an average of 8 to 13 percentage points higher – however, they are actually secured in the event of damage.

A waiver of under insurance avoids an insured sum that is too low. The sum is determined here on the basis of the living space insurance. In order to calculate the actual value of the residential building, additionally

  • General nature of the property
  • Material of the roof covering
  • Construction
  • equipment

used. In this way, the sum insured comes as close as possible to the actual value of the residential building.

If you have agreed an under -cathed insurance clause in residential building insurance, the insurer does not check whether the building is under insured in the event of damage. Instead, he reimburses the damage in full up to the agreed sum insured. This saves the policyholder high costs in the event of damage.

If the value of your insured residential building increases due to modernization measures, you should increase the sum insured despite the subsequent waiver.

If you do not conclude a subsequent insurance wise clause, you are not immediately insured. When the new contribution calculation is sent, the insurer also points out to name value -enhancing measures in the meantime so that there is no undersurance.