February 2007
It’s hard to believe that it is already the second month of 2007 and it seems just “the other day” that we were all extremely concerned about the effects of Y2K and what would happen to the world. Seven years ago! Then came 2004 and we heard that a distant six years away South Africa would be hosting the FIFA World Cup. It’s now just three years away! Time certainly does fly.
The entire team at BnB SURE takes this opportunity to wish all readers whether brokers, policyholders or associations a wonderful and prosperous 2007 and we can assure you that we will continue to strive to live by our slogan of being the leader in insurance for B&Bs and Guesthouses. Changes to the policy will continue as they have in the past and innovations will also continue.
BnB SURE LAUNCHES www.brokerfinder.co.za
We have recently done fairly exhaustive searches of the internet to establish if we could find any websites in South Africa that list insurance brokers and whilst certain sites do have the names of brokers we were not able to find a website dedicated to providing lists of brokers in various centers around the country.
As a result and as a “thank you” to our broker friends who have supported us so well we have launched www.brokerfinder.co.za, a website that will enable the web surfing public to find a broker in their area. The idea of the website is that those brokers who support us (with even one policy) will get a free listing on the website. As we have done with www.bnbfinder.co.za that is now starting to really benefit our policyholders we are hoping that this website will do the same for our brokers by providing them with new clients looking for a broker.
The website is now “up and running” and when visiting it one can see that the brokers are split into the town and cities of operation. Please check the information on the site and let us know if we need to make any changes.
Brokers who have their own website should advise us so that we can arrange a reciprocal link between sites and those wishing to include a short description of their activities should let us have this. Please restrict this to no more than 50 words.
We hope that this new site proves successful to all our broker friends.
DISCLAIMERS – what are they worth?
One of the oldest principles in our law is known as “caveat subscriptor” which loosely translated from the original Latin, means, “he who signs must beware”.
A person signing a contract and who does not bother to read it properly is accordingly bound by its terms and conditions.
There are however certain requirements which need to be met before any contract (signed or not) may be enforced.
Firstly, the contract must be legal and reasonable.
Secondly, the terms and conditions of the contract must be presented to the guest upon signature, or there must be a clear, bold and unambiguous reference to the terms and conditions being available for the guests inspection (it is usually advisable to place a short paragraph next to where the guests signs, confirming that he/she has read and understands the terms and conditions).
It is furthermore advisable to prominently display a proper disclaimer notice, notwithstanding the fact that a guest has signed in. This helps to deal with the kinds of excuses guests might come up with later on regarding the circumstances under which they were requested to sign the contract.
Opinion provided by Attorney Derek Milne of Duncan Okes Inc
BnB SURE DICTIONARY
Many will be familiar with the BnB SURE dictionary that was launched during 2006 and which can also be found on our website. This has now been updated with the latest changes to the policy and can either be obtained from our website at www.bnbsure.co.za or by calling the nearest BnB SURE office.
www.bnbfinder.co.za
2005 saw the local launch of our accommodation reservation website www.bnbfinder.co.za and it is fast becoming the largest website in the country listing B&B and guesthouse establishments but even better than that, is the fact that our policyholders are getting reservations through this site in ever increasing numbers. One of the problems we have is that we are not able to identify bookings where the booking has been made off the guesthouse website AFTER accessing this through www.bnbfinder.co.za but what we do know is that we are getting over 50 direct bookings a month through our site and on average unique visitors a month who are visiting the site.
We continue to be the only insurer to put people into the beds of our policyholders and after all that is what they are in business for.
ACROSS THE BOARD ENDORSEMENT
You will by now have received the across the board endorsement that became effective on 1 January 2007 and we highlight a couple of the enhancements
Bilking – increased to R10,000 – no premium
Guest Effects – covered for R10,000 – no premium and no disclaimers required
Accidental Damage extension (Contents) changed to All Risks Extension – no premium
Loss of Revenue – loss as a result of building noise from neighbouring premises now included – no premium
Claims preparation costs – included up to R5000 – no premium
Goods in the open now includes portable braais and lawnmowers – no premium
BRANCH OFFICES
Contact details of BnB SURE offices are:
Johannesburg - (011) 886-6066 Fax No. (011) 886-1725
Cape Town office – (021) 948-0432 Fax No. (021) 948-3582
Durban office – (031) 561-4986 Fax No. 086 686-8897
Managers: Johannesburg – Linda van Dijk
Cape Town - Trudy Venter
Durban - Vaneshri Govender
BnB SURE ASSIST TOLL FREE LINE
We remind readers that use of the services offered through the BnB Sure Assist toll free line can only be activated by calling toll free on 0800 55 66 77.
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH:
Any fool can criticise, condemn, and complain - and most fools do.
Dale Carnegie
