CAPE TOWN - Hair theft has become a huge concern for many South Africans. Starting around 2013, it first became an issue when people's dreadlocks were being cut off and stolen by unsuspecting victims in busy streets or taxi ranks.
Lately, the issue has escalated to weave and wigs being stolen.
The cost of a weave could go between R200 and up to R15 000 depending on the quality, length and whether it is synthetic hair or real hair.
Trending recently was the incident that occurred last week with popular fitness trainer Sbahle Mpisane.
Mpisane fought for her life after her car hit a tree on Margaret Mncadi Avenue (the Victoria Embankment) and an unknown woman who witnessed the accident, snatched Mpisane’s weave hairpiece off her while she was unconscious.
In this case, criminals made off with R17 000 worth of fake hair.
On Twitter, Business Report ran a poll on finding out how our readers felt about a having hair insurance?
A good weave can cost you quite a bit of money. Would you consider paying insurance for an expensive weave?
— Business Report (@busrep) August 21, 2018
The results are as follows:
1. 63 percent said they won't pay insurance for a weave.
2. 26 percent said they would get insurance for an expensive weave and
3. 11 percent said maybe.
Business Report has reached out to many insurance companies to hear their thoughts on hair insurance and if they offer any insurance products for hair.
Natasha Kawulesar, head of client relations at Outsurance said that they have specialised products for several businesses that speaks directly to that business’s needs and Beauty Salons is one of them.
"Theft of stock is a cover that may be selected. For other clients who have personal insurance with us, they may also cover their hair pieces under our Out and About cover. This would provide them with the cover in the event of the hairpiece being stolen", said Kawulesar.
Casey Rousseau from 1st for Women Insurance said that they only offer cover for hair salons but they do believe there is a need for hair insurance.
"From a Business Insurance perspective, 1st for Women does offer hair salons cover for their stock, including weaves. With regards to whether there is a need for hair insurance – Not many people have the cash-in-hand to replace their valuables and that’s why insurance is so important. Insurance provides peace-of-mind for unforeseen events," said Rousseau.
Cathy Nolan from King Price said that they cover wigs and weaves from two perspectives: Personal clients can insure their own wigs and weaves; hair and beauty salons can take business insurance cover to protect their stock against theft and fire.
"For Business insurance theft, the client would be covered for theft of property or stock that belongs to the business, inside the building, at the address noted as the business address of the salon, if there are visible signs of forcible or violent entry into the business premises, or if the theft was accompanied by a threat of violence", said Nolan.
"For personal insurance portable possessions, wigs and weaves are covered under our portable possessions insurance cover. If a client’s wig or weave is valued under R2,000 it would fall under unspecified portable possessions cover (which means that the client doesn’t need to let us know exactly what the sum insured that they chose, includes). If the value is over R2,000 the client would have to specify the items", said Nolan.