To get a car insurance quote is not difficult – it’s just a phone call away. However, you need to first understand what is involved in the car insurance process before you agree to that car insurance quote over the phone. Why not read on and find out?
DISCLAIMER
Before you buy any car insurance, you need to understand what it’s all about. The following text is just information. Should you wish to obtain professional advice on any particular car insurance product, a certified financial advisor is the one to contact.
WHAT KIND OF COVER ARE YOU AFTER WHEN GETTING A QUOTE?
Thoroughly investigate what it is you wish to be covered for. You may want to contact several car insurance companies and find out the type of cover on offer, and for how much.
DRAW UP A LIST OF WHAT YOU WANT COVERED
After examining and understanding the various car insurance options offered by several companies, draw up a table of all the benefits that suit your particular situation. The policy you need is the one that ticks all the boxes you initially drew up. If your car crashes into an another car, are you covered for third party insurance? What kind of an excess would you be able to handle financially at claim time or would you prefer no excess at all? When stuck on the road after an accident, do you need roadside assistance?
WHAT ARE CAR INSURANCE QUOTES BASED ON?
Car insurance quotes are largely based on how risky you are as a driver. If you have a bad track record of many accidents as a well as hazardous driving, your risk profile won’t look to good to any insurer. The insurer may insure your car, based on high premiums, or he or she may not insure it at all.
PROVIDE A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF YOUR DRIVING HISTORY
It is crucial to inform the insurer of your entire driving history, so that your risk profile can be established as accurately as possible. Failing to disclose anything may compromise a claim at a later stage.
UNDERSTANDING ALL THE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS
Any policy holder needs to clearly understand what is meant be an insurance policy exclusion. According to ‘The Balance,’ an exclusion is a statement made in a policy that describes a particular risk that the insurer is not willing to cover. An example of an exclusion is when your car is not covered while travelling on dirt roads.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TYPES OF EXCLUSIONS?
To understand exclusions better, let’s look at different policy exclusions.
CATASTROPHY
This is when the risk to cover someone’s car is just too great for any insurer to consider. A good example is when war breaks out.
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
If the insured was driving a car while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and caused an accident, claims may well be rejected.
WHAT ABOUT HAVING NO VALID DRIVER’S LICENCE?
This is another instance where drivers with invalid drivers’ licences cannot claim, should they have an accident.
BREAKING THE LAW
If you caused an accident while going through a red traffic light, you will not be able to claim. This is because you have broken the law. Going over the speed limit and crashing will also invalidate your claim.
WHAT ARE POLICY LIMITATIONS?
Policy limitations are imposed by insurers to restrict the degree of risk. Driver limitations may include limiting the age of a regular driver. Those driving under the age of say 25 years will have to pay a higher premium than those over 25. The insurer may limit the policy to only one regular driver, which means that anyone else driving your car would invalidate any claims.
Thus, before you agree to any insurance quote on the phone, you need to first understand the following. Establish what type of cover you want for your unique situation. After preparing a thorough record of your driving history, examine the policy schedule as presented in the quote. Clearly understand all the policy detail, especially all the exclusions that do not cover you. Only after that, can you agree to the quote telephonically. It’s worth going to all this effort – imagine having a R100 000 claim rejected?
INTERESTED IN PURCHASING AFFORDABLE CAR INSURANCE WITH PMD?
You can use PMD’s Online Insurance Purchase Platform to buy car insurance at anytime and anywhere that suits you. Don’t worry about having to call anyone unless you need to, using the call-back facility. For extra information, some audio and video materials are available.
Disclaimer:
This article was prepared by Eric Sandmann in his personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Prime Meridian Direct (Pty) Ltd, FSP41040 (car insurance and life cover products). The views and opinions in the article should not be attributed to anyone but the author unless expressly stated. Nothing in this article should be relied upon as advice, this publication is presented for informational purposes only. No person should act or refrain from acting in reliance on any information found in this article, without first obtaining proper financial advice from the appropriate professional. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, or completeness, of any information linked from, referred to, or contained in this article. The author reserves the right, to edit and change the content of this article.