‘Of the 12 million-odd cars on our roads, approximately one third are insured.
‘This means there is an almost 70% chance that if you are in an accident, it will be with an uninsured driver,’ says Christelle Colman, spokesperson for Old Mutual Insure.
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According to a recent study, SA roads are among the most dangerous globally, and the likelihood of you, as an insured driver, ending up forking out for other drivers in case of an accident, is extremely high.
‘If you own a car and have insurance, then the problems caused by uninsured drivers, in the form of accidents they can’t pay for, are being passed to you, says Colman.
‘The high percentage of motorists without any form of motor insurance means that the minority who do insure their vehicles are being forced to subsidise others through higher premiums.
‘Colman says this issue should irk every insured driver because paying from your pocket for someone else’s bad behaviour, especially if you comply with the rules of the road, does not work in your favour.
Not only does it affect you financially, but it also adversely affects your claim record.
‘Keeping insurance affordable becomes difficult to do when a large number of drivers do not carry their fair share of costs,’ says Colman.
‘We need to increase the number of insured drivers on our roads because, ultimately, this will translate into a reduction in the cost of motor insurance.
‘Colman says that with a bigger pool of paid insurance contributions, the insurance industry can pass on lower premiums and excesses to consumers.
This is because the contributions of many will compensate the losses of the few.
‘We need car insurance to be mandatory for every car owner before the driver signs on the dotted line to purchase their car. This is standard practice the world over.
Our view is that if you can’t afford insurance, you shouldn’t be driving a car because this means that you cannot adequately protect your or someone else’s asset in the event of an accident,’ she says, adding that in SA, the risk is very high that something can go wrong when you are on the road.
RAF failure
Colman calls for legislation on compulsory third-party vehicle insurance to be re-introduced in SA, the idea of which was mooted by finance minister Tito Mboweni during his 2020 Budget Speech.
Compulsory third party insurance was enforced in SA from 1942 until 1997, which covered bodily injury and damage to motor vehicles when it was replaced with the Road Accident Fund (RAF) which mostly only covers death and bodily injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents.
Colman says it’s important consumers understand the ins and outs of their policy, and suggests you take these extra steps to increase your chances of recouping the costs of the accident:
* Always contact the police so you have a case number, as your insurer will need the details of the case number to have evidence that an accident occurred.
* It is vital to get all the information at the accident scene, including photographs of the accident scene and vehicle.
This can significantly assist insurers in making a successful recovery of damages caused by a third party.
You will need to know if the third party has insurance and, if so, the insurer and policy number, the driver’s ID, name and surname and contact details to assist you in lodging your claim and case.
* Make sure you know what your excess structures are of your policy.
In some cases, it can be more cost-effective to have a higher monthly premium that allows you not to pay an excess if you are in an accident with an uninsured third party. You will have to ask your insurer if they offer this.
Also, bear in mind that many policyholders only find out about hefty excesses due at the time of a loss when they are ill-prepared to afford the payments, so it pays to know what your policy pays and what you are expected to pay.
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