Business or Personal Use?
Never ever disclose the incorrect purpose of use of the vehicle you would like to insure! If you do you might feel that you are paying a lesser insurance premium, but when found out after an accident your risk losing everything!
We would like to provide an example from actual facts:
Facts:
The insured, a councillor for a Metro Council, was on the way back from a meeting in Pretoria to her residence in Rustenburg. She came around a blind corner over a hill and unexpectedly saw a traffic police officer “standing in the middle of the road”. In order to avoid colliding with him, she applied brakes and collided with a truck. According to the traffic officer, the insured had not driven fast, but at an estimated speed of 80km to 90km per hour.
The insurer rejected the claim based on two grounds:
- The vehicle was not in a roadworthy condition because both front tyres did not contain a full tread.
- The vehicle was insured for private use and at the time she was using the vehicle for business.
In view of the fact that the insured’s vehicle had skidded, and also that the insured was on a business trip having attended a meeting as Councilor, the insurer was entitled to reject the claim and the Ombudsman was not prepared to make a ruling. [Source: Ombudsman Newsletter : 02/04]
We would like to advise that we pay more attention to the disclosures made at the time of purchasing the policy contract. Rather spent a few more minutes in thought when making disclosures and ensure that you get these disclosures in writing as well!