It's not all that bad in SA!

This from Fin24.com:

SA cities score in global poll

Oct 28 2008 07:14

Theunis Strydom

Johannesburg - South Africa has performed well in a survey of the best cities for business in the developing world.  The project, funded by MasterCard, indentified cities with the highest potential for commercial activity.

South Africa has more cities (Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban) among the top 40 cities than any country outside of Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC nations).

Johannesburg, in the 11th position, has fared better than any cities in Russia, India or Brazil. China has four cities amongst the top ten.

"South Africa is clearly on the move and worth watching," says the report, which goes so far as mooting the country as a possible future Bric component.  South African cities performed well in a number of categories, including the tax system, the ease with which an enterprise can be established or shut down, and the effective enforcement of contracts.

Johannesburg also scored well for its standard of financial services.  Cape Town, in turn, came first for quality of city life, while Durban and Cape Town shared first place in terms of safety.  In the safety category Johannesburg took eighth position among the 65 cities rated.

Emerging economies will, according to MasterCard, soon contribute 12 times as much to world growth as the developed world does.

- Sake24

So, it's not all doom and gloom is it?

Why you need REAL 4x4 insurance, from a REAL broker

The misery of clients making a wrong decision when choosing 4X4 insurance became evident again this month when our most recommended 4x4 underwriter, TUFFSTUFF, was requested by the 4X4 community forum to step up and assist one of their group who had been left high and dry by a direct insurer.

On 16 October 2008, TUFFSTUFF was approached by the chairperson of the 4x4 community forum requesting urgent assistance for one of their members who had his R700 000 V10 Touareg stranded in the very north of Moremi in Botswana. The vehicle became stranded following ingestion of water into the cars’ engine during a water crossing. When calling his insurers in South Africa for assistance to recover and repatriate his vehicle, the policyholder did not budget on the rude reality (and enormity) of his plight. It was only when his insurers advised him that he did not have “that kind of cover” and as such, they could not assist him in getting home that he realised that he should have obtained proper advise from a broker.

Without hesitation TUFFSTUFF confirmed their commitment and loyalty to the 4x4 owning public by immediately activating their international recovery and rescue resources to assist this person in bringing his valuable asset back home. Within a matter of hours, all arrangements were finalised and the recovery was underway…. And he isn’t even a TUFFSTUFF client!

Whether or not the R270 000 damage to the drowned V10 engine will be paid for by the insurers, is still to be seen. This unpleasant incident underlines the fact that people should not budget on insurance cover when they have not made use of professional Insurance Brokers who understand their clients needs and know where to get the best product available.

This is not the first time TUFFSTUFF has been called in to assist. On new years day in 2006 TUFFSTUFF went to the rescue of a seriously injured accident victim in Mozambique – another victim who was not even a TUFFSTUFF client.  

For REAL 4x4 insurance from a REAL 4x4 insurer, drop us a line.

Lightning Strikes and What You Can Do To Protect Your Electronic Equipment

This article courtesy of SABCnews.com:

Lightning strike plunges Jo’burg into darkness

October 20, 2008, 19:45

Johannesburg City Power says it is busy restoring power to several areas in the city after lightning struck one of its transmission towers. The bolt hit the tower, several cables then snapped fell to the ground. The explosion startled a truck driver, who then drove into a pylon. 

City Power says the affected tower is very close to one of its major substations, causing other stations to lose supply. The blackout, combined with the rain, caused traffic chaos in Johannesburg. 

Some of the suburbs affected include the city centre, Orange Grove, Mondeor, Booysens and Glenhazel.

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It's summer on the Highveld! And with that comes the notorious lightning and thunderstorms.  Beautiful to watch, and frighteningly powerful at the same time.  

Do yourself a favour and buy a decent quality power surge protector for your electronic equipment.  Computers, Fax machines, LCD screens, home alarm systems, electric fence energisers, intercom systems and electric gate motors are very susceptible to surges caused by lightning.  

"But I have insurance for that", I hear you say.  Sure you do. But have you taken a look at what your excess is for a lightning claim?  Often R1'000 or more! Ouch. 

What will a decent multiplug with power surge protection cost you? About R300. Not only is it a lot cheaper than your excess, installing one of these units will also ensure you don't have a premium increase due to the lightning claim.  

Remember that lightning likes to travel along Telkom wires and so, many lightning damage claims we see are on equipment that are connect to a Telkom line.  So make sure your ADSL router, computer, fax machine, portable telephone and so on is protected properly.

When it comes to business insurance policies, most will cover lightning damage only if the item was protected by an SABS approved surge protector.  Alternatively an additional higher excess of R2'000 is applied.

Personally, I use Clearline's range of products.  Not only do they guarantee their product but they also offer a R15'000 connected equipment warranty.

Protect your equipment today. It is worth it.