The story behind Addsure’s Sectional Title Insurance Guide

[Updated 7 May 2025]

The Sectional Title Insurance Guide was born out of the insurance advice process. It began as a set of bound notes for trustees and managing agents, handed out by the Addsure team at our original early morning workshops.

How the guide was constructed

Relevant sections of the then Sectional Titles Act, along with insurance-related prescribed rules, were extracted and collated to help managing agents and trustees better understand their insurance responsibilities. These notes also included sample valuations and replacement value schedules, interpretations of the rules, designed to serve as practical guidelines.

Naturally, the next step was to formalise these notes into a booklet. In 2005, Addsure launched the first edition of the Sectional Title Insurance Guide. We enlisted the help of a professional design company to ensure the booklet was professionally produced, complete with its own ISBN number.

The first edition was met with great enthusiasm. We distributed 4,000 full-colour copies to trustees and managing agents across South Africa. From then on, the guide became the centrepiece of our workshop presentations, peaking at some 10,000 copies per edition.

That same year, Paddocks (in conjunction with UCT) introduced Sectional Title Schemes Management courses, and our guide was adopted as a reference for the insurance component, particularly for the physical two-day workshops. This further raised awareness of the booklet among key players in the sectional title industry.

As rules evolved, the guide needed updating. This led to new editions in 2008, 2011, 2015, and most recently, 2017. Further editions will certainly follow.

Finding a partner in CIA

CIA (Commercial and Industrial Acceptances) recognised the guide’s value from day one and has remained its principal sponsor since inception. While the guide originated from the Addsure advice process, we’ve deliberately kept it as neutral as possible to serve as an industry reference rather than a purely Addsure-branded publication, though it certainly aligns with our brand identity.

Its value to trustees and managing agents

The booklet is carefully structured, with certain pages designed for specific use cases. For example, a popular double-page spread tackles the frequent debate around “burst pipes” versus “wear and tear, leaking pipes.” Trustees and portfolio managers often scan and share these pages with owners for easy reference. Addsure supplies printed copies to trustees as part of our insurance advice process and refers to the guide in our letters of advice. We also now offer a free electronic version of the guide on our website, which is downloadable below (blue button).

The valuation process is presented in a clear, step-by-step format, with samples provided to aid understanding. Portions of the booklet are still used directly in our training workshops. Trustees’ responsibilities are plainly outlined, and the layout is user-friendly, colourful, and filled with practical examples and illustrations.