The Reasonable Precautions Clause: A Continuing Uncertainty

The Case of Renasa Insurance Company Limited v Watson [2016] ZASCA 13

It is a standard clause in insurance policies that an insured "shall take all reasonable steps and precautions to prevent accidents or losses to the property insured".  This is because, in South Africa, the default position is that loss caused by an insured's negligent conduct is a risk that is assumed by an insurer when issuing an insurance policy.  An insurer therefore, in including such a clause in a policy, tries to exclude liability for an insured's negligence.  Even though it is common practice for insurers to include such clauses in their policies, it remains unsettled in our law exactly when an insurer is entitled to repudiate a claim based solely on the negligence of an insured in the context of such a clause.