The storm‚ hail and resultant flash floods that have swept across Gauteng the past two days‚ leaving a swathe of destruction in their wake‚ has seen Standard Insurance Limited alone registering nearly 600 claims for damage to cars‚ buildings and homes in the past 24 hours. Aon South Africa said on Friday that the East Rand has been declared a Natural Catastrophe Zone by insurers after heavy rainfalls and flash floods caused extensive damage to vehicles and property in the vicinity of Linksfield and the Gilloolys interchange on 9 November.The storms‚ which according to numerous reports are set to continue into the weekend‚ have caused widespread damage to personal property and claims lodged include car accident claims‚ smashed windows‚ damaged roofs and ceilings‚ as well as damage to furniture and fittings within homes due to flooding and leaking ceilings‚ Standard Insurance said. A large number of claims have also been submitted by motorists caught in the open by the hail and storm.“We are committed to assisting our clients in any way we can and advise those who have not registered their storm damage claims‚ to do so timeously. For those who are lucky enough not to have had any damage‚ we urge them to remain cautious in the coming days and weeks‚” Denise Shaw‚ COO for Standard Insurance Limited‚ said in a statement.Shaw noted that many insurance companies issue SMS or electronic warnings to clients about potential storms and hail. “These notifications should be taken seriously and steps should be taken to secure homes and park cars under cover.” Aon commented that over 150 claims had already been lodged in Aon’s call centre alone by lunchtime on November 10‚ and continue to pour in."Some insurers have set up facilities at salvage yards for vehicles that were submerged to be immediately assessed. Huge property losses have also been incurred‚ especially in the vicinity of the Jukskei River‚ which burst its banks. While it’s still too early to quantify the extent of the damage today‚ expectations are that these will be significant and that claims handling will be kicked into high gear to deal with the influx‚" says Mandy Barrett‚ Manager of Personal Lines Marketing & Sales at Aon South Africa.According to Aon South Africa‚ risk advisors and insurance brokerage‚ in the last four years‚ weather-related damage has cost the insurance industry a staggering R2.5 billion in losses. While severe weather is not an uncommon occurrence in South Africa‚ what makes the events in Gauteng particularly noteworthy is the net retained exposure that the province represents. Gauteng’s built-up area constitutes only 0.5% of SA’s land surface area‚ but due to the fact that the area is so densely populated‚ Gauteng constitutes 35% of the exposure to catastrophic events such as hail storms and flash floods.She commented that many people don’t have a clue what their policy terms and provisions actually mean. If going the D-I-Y approach without professional advice‚ it’s unlikely that they will be able to differentiate what is being sacrificed if premium price is their only means of comparing insurance covers.Cheap insurance premiums are cheap for a reason – they usually cover only the absolute basics and any additional cover such as hail‚ flood damage and so on need to be purchased at an additional premium. "If you don’t know this‚ you could assume that you’re covered for a peril when in fact you are not. You’re likely to find this out the hard way – at claims time - when it is too late." Meanwhile‚ the Flight Centre Travel Group advised passengers left stranded by the storms pelting Johannesburg that airlines are not obligated to accommodate them at hotels‚ nor cover the cost of their meals‚ while they wait for their travel to be rearranged.Responding to reports of flights to and from OR Tambo International being delayed or cancelled as a result of the wet weather‚ Flight Centre recommended anyone travelling to contact their airline to confirm travel as well as obtain any applicable cancellation and re-booking procedures.Kim Taylor‚ the company's customer care leader‚ said that because delays or cancellations as a result of poor weather are considered outside of the airline's control‚ they are not liable to cover the costs for accommodation and food of passengers stranded by cancelled or delayed flights. She says it is the airline’s discretion to determine which costs they will cover.Taylor says airlines will generally endeavour to accommodate stranded travellers on the next available flight.Travellers who miss onward journeys as a result of delayed or cancelled flights may be responsible for rearranging their travel at their own cost – depending on whether their trip was booked as a through fare or two completely separate flights.“It is always highly recommended that your flights are confirmed as a through fare‚ as the airline will generally make all necessary amendments to your original departure as well as all onward flights affected. Should travel have been confirmed on separate tickets‚ the passenger will generally be responsible for the costs to amend their onward flights‚” says Taylor.PLANNING FOR YOUR TRIP IN STORMY WEATHERShe advises that passengers not simply opt to not travel to the airport in the event of a severe storm or as a result of reports that flights are being suspended due to poor weather.“It is strongly recommended that you contact the airline or your travel agent to confirm whether travel is to proceed or not. Should you fail to arrive at the airport and check in for your flight‚ you will be deemed as a no-show by the airline should the flight depart. A new ticket will need to be purchased at the passengers cost‚” she says.Travellers need to visit http://www.airports.co.za/ to check on the status of flights. “We also recommend that passengers track their flight on the airline's website. If passengers are already at the airport‚ it is imperative that they pay attention to the airport boards which are updated at all times with flight information‚ and may also alert passengers to sudden cancellations‚ delays or boarding gate changes.“We recommend contacting the airline or your travel agent. The majority of airlines are liaising with customers via SMS or email‚ so we recommend that customers pay attention to alerts via their smart device. We also strongly recommend that passengers allow themselves sufficient time to travel to the airport of departure due to unpredictable conditions on the road.“Passengers who opt to amend or cancel their travel as they do not feel comfortable travelling in the current weather conditions will generally be liable to cover the costs of any date change or cancellation penalties‚” says Taylor.HOW TO CLAIM FOR STORM DAMAGEAon offers the following advice for policyholders filing claims after this week's flash floods:- Notify your broker or insurer of the claim as soon as possible. Assess the damage and make a comprehensive list of all items and damage. With the building industry heading for its annual shutdown in December‚ the race is on to get damages sorted. - With high claims volumes‚ there’s likely to be a shortage of hire cars so don’t delay.- If you house was flooded‚ try and clear out as much water as possible to prevent further or permanent damage. Take photos– this will be very helpful to the insurance assessor for repair purposes. - Insurers work with pre-approved repair companies– check with your broker before you embark on any emergency repairs with non-approved contractors or you may pay a higher excess.- Based on previous scenarios with high claims volumes‚ you could experience delays in repair due to the strain on available capacity of service providers. Some insurers might not extend cover such as car hire where the repair is authorised but the repairer is unable to complete motor vehicle repairs within the required period. If the car is still in a driveable state‚ wait until the new year to take your vehicle for repairs if the repairer cannot confirm that this will be completed before the year end close.WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN A STORMFor motorists who are caught unawares whilst driving‚ Standard Insurance's Shaw offered these cautionary steps:- Try to avoid being on the road‚ but if you are‚ drive slowly and carefully- Reduce speed to match the road conditions and increase following distance to at least three-cars distance- Turn headlights on so that you can be seen by other vehicles.- If you can‚ pull off the road safely and activate your car’s hazard lights as a warning to other motorists.- Do not park under trees ad there is a risk of falling branches and debris- Be proactive and ensure that windscreen wipers are always in good condition so that they can cope with sudden downpours.- Never get out of your vehicle‚ because of possible injury from hailstones.- Do not attempt to drive through water washing across the road‚ or across low water bridges. Your car could stall in the water and it requires only about 15cm of rapidly moving water to wash a car away.Additional steps that the public can take to avoid damage to homes and property when storms strike include:- If possible‚ make sure computers‚ TV’s‚ decoders and other equipment is disconnected from wall sockets to avoid damage caused by electricity surges caused by lightning strikes.- Check that roofs do not have broken or loose tiles that allow the entry of water during heavy downpours.- Ensure that roof gutters are clean and unclogged‚ so that water does not accumulate and seep through roof tiles onto ceilings.- Keeping house windows shut‚ so reducing the chance of them being hit by hail or shattered by high winds...