6 ways to help ensure your claims are paid

Okay, so you got that policy book when you got insurance from us. Chances are you didn’t read it from cover to cover. But not reading it at all means you may not know exactly what you are and aren’t covered for. So, while we encourage you to take some time to read it fully – we’ve highlighted some of the most important things you should know to help ensure your claims are paid.

1. Know what is and isn’t covered: Read the general terms and conditions that apply to insurance overall. Then go to the cover sections that you have chosen e.g. comprehensive car insurance and go through what is and is not covered. This will give you a good understanding of what kind of behavior or circumstances will affect a claim payment.

2. Be open and honest with us: Tell us about your insurance history e.g claims you’ve had in the past or whether or not you’ve been involved in a car accident before. Telling us everything we need to know from the beginning will help make the claim process easier for you.

3. Maintain your car:  Ensuring that your tyres are not worn out, the engine is in good condition and doing general checks is critical. Doing so will save you time and money at claim stage, especially as accident damage can be far worse if the car is already in a bad condition at the time of an accident. Also remember that insurance will only cover the damage caused in the specific incident for which you claim – not prior damage that is unrelated.

4. Driver’s license: Always drive with a valid driver’s license. This includes regular drivers of the vehicle. They might be good drivers, but mistakes happen, and you don’t want the headache and financial burden of paying for them.

5. Drinking and driving: South African law does not tolerate drinking and driving. And neither do insurers. If you were over the legal limit at the time of the accident, no insurer will pay your claim.

6. Speeding:  When you drive too fast, you threaten the lives of every road-user. Not only does speeding significantly impair your ability to steer safely around corners and objects in the road, it drastically reduces the time you have available to react to a dangerous situation, increasing your chances of crashing.  It’s against the law and against an insurance policy condition that requires you to exercise reasonable care to prevent loss.

7. Premium payments: Pay your premiums every month. Don’t skip a payment. Follow up if there are any payments falling behind. Interruptions in cover and non-payment of premiums will affect the payment of a claim.