Warnings to check your vehicle insurance before the World Cup
International visitors may not have a proper license when handling a vechile.
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The World Cup is nearly upon us and many South Africans are waiting
excitedly for the soccer extravaganza to begin.
But with that, insurance experts have issued a strong warning to car owners
over two things they need to look out for.
The first is to make sure that anybody driving their cars has a valid South
African or international driver's license.
Many policy holders are expecting friends or family from overseas and it may
be tempting to lend them a vehicle to use during their trip.
However, according to Gari Dombo, the Managing Director of Alexander Forbes
Insurance, "if a foreign visitor without a valid South African or international
license drives your car and crashes into another vehicle, you will have to pay
for your own damage and may also be liable to pay for the other parties' damage
and injury."
Dombo strongly suggests that a person checks whether their motor policy is
restricted to nominated drivers or whether it covers all drivers, "as, depending
on the wording of your policy, your insurer may not pay out in the event of a
mishap," he said.
Another thing the South Africans are warned about is using their personal
cars in order to make a quick buck during the World Cup. While it may be
tempting to taxi visitors around and get paid in the process, most insurance
policies do not cover fare paying passengers.
Dombo said that insurers will only cover damage or injuries to these
passengers if vehicle owners have PDP drivers licenses.
Vehicle owners should inform their insurance brokers if they intend changing
the status of their policies and while prices may increase, "compared with what
you will pay if you are found liable for damage, injury or death due to the
behaviour or driving status of the foreign guest that you lent your vehicle to -
or those tourists that you injured while driving them to a match for reward,"
the price will be a small one to pay.
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