Understanding the world of car insurance can feel a bit, well, daunting. Especially if you’ve never thought about it or taken out a policy before. So, given that we’ve been in the biz for 10 years now (oh golly, where does the time go!) we thought we’d share a few tips and tricks to keep you as knowledge-equipped as possible.
According to the great Dr. Seuss, in his wonderful book, ‘I Can Read With My Eyes Shut’ (highly recommend, btw) the more you learn, the more places you’ll go.
With that glowing sentiment in mind, here are the things we think you should know before you get car insurance.
Car insurance isn’t compulsory in South Africa
There are lots of places in the world where car insurance is mandatory. Like Denmark where, by law, you must have cover for injury to others, personal injury protection, property damage, etc.
But in South Africa, there’s no law enforcing anyone to have any kind of car insurance. (Although, if you’re looking to get your new wheels financed, then you’re required to get comprehensive car insurance as part of your finance agreement.) That being said, if you’re buying your wheels cash, we’d argue that it’s still a good idea to get insurance… Even if it’s just third party car insurance to cover the costs of the other person involved in the incident with your car.
You need car insurance to protect yourself
Yes, if you’ve been involved in an incident with your car, then third party only insurance helps you avoid paying for damage caused to other people’s property (or their cars) out of your own pocket… But the reality is that your car is also at risk every time you climb into your car. Even if you’re the most incredible driver.
The king’s royal car insurance gives you a safety net against these kinds of costs.
Car insurance costs vary based on many factors
We’re all looking for the lowest premiums, and the good news is that you have a few options to make sure you pay a decent rate. But before we give you any pointers, you should know that your actual premium is based on several factors.
These factors include the make, model, year, and colour of your car. It also includes where you park the car at night and during the day, and how often you’re on the road. Your personal details also matter, including your age, how long you’ve had your licence, and if you’ve been involved in any accidents.
Claims get rejected
The info you give to your insurance provider is so important. Like we said, we ask for lots of details about you and your car to create a risk profile that’s unique to you. This profile is what we use to calculate your monthly premium.
Sometimes people fib a little or hide a few details that they don’t consider a big deal. Or sometimes, they know it’s a big deal and are worried that if they tell us about any accidents that they’ve had, they’ll pay a sky-high premium.
That said, honesty is genuinely the best policy. If you’re less than truthful or mislead your insurer, then you’re committing fraud and if this is discovered during a claim, then it’s likely to be rejected. Worse yet, your policy could be cancelled and you’ll be without cover.
There are things you can do to pay less
Of course, you can go online and compare multiple car insurance quotes to find the cheapest option. That’s a no-brainer. But at King Price we not only offer simple cheap insurance, but we’ve also found a bunch of other ways to help you pay less:
- The cheapest policy type
In our kingdom there are different types of cover, with the cheapest being our royal third party only car insurance. Just keep in mind that you’re only covered for accidental injury to other people or damage to their property, and nothing more than that.
- Get up to 20% off with our ‘multiple car discount’
The more cars you insure with our comprehensive cover, the more you save on your premium.
- Lower excess
Ask for a higher excess to bring your premium down, but make sure you choose an excess amount that you can afford to pay because an excess is a non-negotiable fee that you pay when you put in a claim.
We hope that this info has been super helpful. If it’s inspired you to find out more or get car insurance for the first time, then give us a call on 0860 50 50 50. Or, simply click here to get a commitment-free quote today.
