The number of insured properties in Colombia is very low, only one in ten buildings has a policy that protects it in case of disasters or eventualities.
By Juan Tamayo*
Since the Tower 6 incident of the Space building in the city of Medellín there has been a slight increase in the rate of insured properties in Colombia, but the figures are still very low.
According to the statistics of Fasecolda (Federation of Colombian Insurers) only one in ten Colombian buildings is protected. In addition, only 10% of co-properties in the country have an insurance policy despite the fact that it is mandatory.
Similarly, if the policies that support mortgage loans are not taken into account, only 5% of Colombian households are insured. An average homeowner or entrepreneur is more attentive to detection systems such as fire, intrusion or CCTV than to the maintenance of the policy that protects their or the company's assets.
Therefore, below are some tips that should be taken into account to protect your estate, coverages and assets that may be lost in the event of an unscheduled catastrophic event, which can include from a damage to the water pipe, the fall of a plane on your property or an earthquake.
to. Secure the land where the property is located. Generally, earthquake, fire or multi-risk policies, as they are called in Colombia, insure the real estate but not the land where it is built.
If, for example, due to a water problem, the land gives way and the building collapses, the insurance will only pay for the building but will not cover the land, nor the necessary repairs so that it can be built again.
Real estate is usually paid after a claim at reconstruction value. That is, how much it is worth to build the premises or building again. In the insurance market in the country there are solutions that cover commercial value, check well how it is covered.
b. An important item and where people invest less is that of Civil Liability, which will pay the damages generated to third parties in case of an event. The clearest example is presented in case of fire. If the fire outbreak is on your property and the fire and sprinkler detection system cannot control it, you are responsible for your own damages, but if the fire also spreads to your neighbor's property, for civil liability you must also assume the damages caused by the fire in that property.
Another situation is the one that happens with visitors. If your company is visited by a person, the individual suffers an accident inside the property and the investigations result in the company being the fault of the company, it must assume civil responsibility for the damages that occurred to the visitor.
Within the civil liability in conventional policies in Colombia can include even damages caused by a production error of your company, you can also include damages caused in traffic accidents of vehicles used in the company, among other types of events.
Verify that your policy covers the three most important elements of liability which are consequential damage, lost profits, and moral damage.
c. Verify with your insurance advisor that ill-intentioned acts such as riots, riots, acts of rebellion and others if covered by the policy, these acts are not scheduled and in some areas of Colombia it is feasible that they occur, especially in places near government centers such as mayors, governorates or military installations.
d. Theft in a company can lead to a delay in production, who bears these expenses? What about production revenue? Equipment can easily be replenished but revenue cannot.
and. Take a periodic inventory, at least once a year, including all of your assets. From belongings such as furniture, merchandise, decoration, electrical and electronic elements, mobile elements, to laptops, tablets, watches, among others that have a value.
This article is presented to create collective awareness about the importance of securing the assets that are part of the personal or business patrimony, Colombia requires a culture of modern protection, and that meets the needs of each individual.
In some elements the culture is already generated, for example, in the automotive sector, each vehicle must have mandatory insurance, each owner usually seeks to insure his vehicle, and insurance for medium-sized companies can have a cost similar to the insurance of a high-end car, why in Colombia do we not insure our properties? It's time to do it.
Juan A. Tamayo is an Electronic Engineer, risk and insurance advisor at Suramericana de Seguros.
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