Etana News – Industry News

Consumers urged to read the fine print - even online

Consumers looking to purchase insurance online have been warned: don’t shop around with blinkers on. Alexander Forbes managing director, Gari Dombo, warns in an article on the FA News website, that people tend to ignore the small print, electing only to compare prices. Dombo asks some searching questions that consumers should remember when looking for an insurance policy to suit their needs. He also advises potential customers to keep their selected insurance company’s reputation in mind when making their final decision.

Freezer Trucks: Speciality vehicles with challenging insurance dimensions

Imagine you’ve got an exotic cargo of crayfish and crab on board a modern and roadworthy freezer truck and someone fails to set the temperature correctly – or at all.

Who pays for this ruined cargo when it is valueless at its destination? And what happens if the refrigeration unit on a refrigerated truck, or in reefer containers, breaks down or malfunctions without warning and no one notices until the cargo has reached the intended destination and been on the road for far too many days?

The answer, in theory, is that the onus rests on transporters to ensure that the refrigeration unit is regularly maintained and is in working condition.  Their drivers must periodically check the temperature settings during their journeys.

But what if they don’t? 

Chilean earthquake could be costliest for insurers since 1994

The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on February 27, 2010, killing 700 people, may be the most expensive earthquake for insurers since the Californian earthquake of 1994.

Charl Swarts elected as Cape’s Insurance Institute president

Etana’s Cape Town branch manager, Charl Swarts, was inaugurated as the president of the Insurance Institute of the Cape of Good Hope on Wednesday night, 24 February, 2010.

Keep cool in tough times!

Craig Smith, Risk Analyst, Enterprise Wide Risk Management at Alexander Forbes Risk Services, says in a recent article in FA News Online that SA businesses should keep a cool head in tough times.  “The fact is that cycles come and go,” he says. “The trick is not to panic and not cut what is essential or valuable when things get rough.”

Business travel in Africa - Angola

Travelling through Africa is a different undertaking to any other country or continent on the globe. RISK SA magazine recently took a look at how the unique blend of Third and First Worlds on our continent provides for some of the most interesting and frustrating experiences you’ll ever come across. Read the full story in RISK SA here…