During the past week the Arrive Alive website received several emails requesting assistance in finding car insurance over the short term for foreigners traveling to South Africa.
Example 1:
“We have been travelling overland from The Netherlands to South Africa. We plan to be in SA for up to 3 months on our tourist visa. Is it necessary to have 3rd party insurance and can you recommend companies that provide 3rd party for short term to foreign registered vehicles? Thank you for any assistance.. Julia”
Example 2:
“I am currently living in Moshi, Tanzania and am planning a motorcycle trip in November to SA with two others. We will be purchasing bikes here in Tanzania, then riding to Cape Town and back to Tanzania via Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia. I am looking to get an idea of how best to insure our bikes for these countries. The trip will include several forays onto dirt and rough roads. We will most likely be riding Honda XR 250R bikes.”
Thanks for you input.
Response:
We referrred this to a few insurance companies and the insurers appear to be on high alert when considering the insurance risks presented by foreigners. I would like to share some of the reponses:
“We’re out of the loop in this instance since we only cover vehicles registered in SA. So if the lady hired a car locally we could cover her. Ideally though we would avoid doing so because of the increased risk/exposure of a insuring a foreigner who will only be in SA for a short while. She is more likely to claim than our own resident drivers because she is not used to local roads and driving conditions.”
and
“Julia, Johan is correct in stating that vehicle insurance is not a legal requirement in South Africa but liability for losses incurred by a third party is vested in our law.
Sadly, temporary vehicle insurance is also not readily available in SA largely due to high acquisition costs and onerous legal and compliance requirements at sale stage. I am not aware of any insurer who would cover your vehicle for a three month period.
Hope this helps to some extent?”
Some of the Car Rental Agencies confirmed that they will provide cover to the foreiners purchasing car rental.
Also view:
Road Safety for Foreign Travelers in South Africa