Discover why the most valuable items you carry daily, from smartphones to jewellery, are at risk and how portable insurance can protect you.
Image: Freepik
When South Africans think about protecting their valuables, they usually picture what’s locked safely behind the front door. In reality, many of the most expensive items we own leave the house with us every day and face far greater risk.
Smartphones, laptops, earbuds, smartwatches, jewellery, and sports equipment can easily exceed R50,000 in combined value. These are the items we carry through busy streets, coffee shops, gyms, offices, and airports, often without giving much thought to how exposed they really are.
People are often surprised when they add up the value of what’s in their bag or on their wrist. These are high‑value items, because they’re part of everyday life; the risks they’re exposed to are easy to underestimate.
Daily commutes are when portable valuables are most vulnerable to theft, loss, or accidental damage, risks that standard home contents insurance may not fully cover.
Modern lifestyles, modern risks
Modern life demands constant connectivity and mobility. Laptops are carried between home and work, and valuables are left briefly unattended in cars, lockers, or shared spaces. These ordinary moments are also among the most common sources of loss.
The shift in how people live and work has made portable possessions insurance, often called all‑risk or moveables cover, increasingly important. Unlike standard home contents cover, moveables cover is designed to protect personal belongings while they are being used outside the home.
It’s the cover that follows your belongings wherever you go. Whether it’s a phone stolen from a coffee shop table or a laptop damaged while travelling, moveables cover is specifically designed for life on the move.
Moveables cover typically includes items such as cellphones, laptops, watches, jewellery, cameras, prescription glasses, and sports equipment, the possessions most people carry daily.
Specified vs unspecified: where many people get caught out
One of the most common areas of confusion when it comes to moveables cover is the difference between specified and unspecified items.
Unspecified cover generally applies to lower‑value items that change regularly, such as sunglasses or handbag contents. Standard unspecified cover usually limits claims to around R1,500 per item, while higher limits, sometimes up to R5,000 per item, may be available depending on the policy.
Higher‑value items, however, must be specified individually. This includes cellphones, laptops, and other expensive electronics, which are excluded from unspecified cover and need to be listed at their current replacement value.
This is where many people assume they’re covered when they’re not. If an item should have been specified and wasn’t, the claim may be limited or declined, even though the policyholder believed they had cover.
Understanding this distinction and regularly reviewing what should be specified is critical to ensuring claims are paid as expected.
Adapting cover to the way we live
The way South Africans live, work, and travel has changed, and insurance needs to reflect that reality. The risks people face no longer stop at the front door.
Understanding what you carry every day, what it’s worth, and whether it’s properly insured has become an essential part of modern financial planning. When cover keeps pace with real life, it does what it’s meant to do: provide peace of mind when it matters most.
* Sibeko is the executive head for personal lines at Miway Insurance.
PERSONAL FINANCE