There’s a very good reason that getting a car insurance quote takes a little longer from the top insurers. Their consultants will go to great lengths to ask you a range of personal details, in-depth questions about your car, and even a few queries that might not make sense to you at all.
All of this info is used to create an accurate quote and will form the basis of your policy. The next step is to provide you with your policy document and schedule, which you need to read carefully so that you know what you are and aren’t covered for.
In the perfect scenario, you’re fully aware of your cover. But what if the consultant doesn’t inform you of every detail? What if you don’t answer the questions as fully as you should have (even if you thought that you did) or you don’t read every sentence of the policy document?
These things have happened and there are countless tales of woe about how they led to financial hardship or other unfortunate consequences. To help you avoid these, we’ve narrowed down the most common ‘hidden’ surprises for car and home contents insurance.
Nasty car insurance surprises to avoid.
There’s nothing wrong with paying less for car insurance, but there’s a difference between ‘budget-friendly’ and ‘cheap as chips’. That’s why it’s so important to find out exactly why some cover is cheaper. For instance, some insurers charge a lot less because they’ve excluded cover for some risks.
On the other hand, King Price is upfront about the fact that their comprehensive car cover gets cheaper every month because the value of your car depreciates every month. In this case, your level of cover isn’t affected and your policy remains comprehensive, with some great assist services thrown in for good measure.
Other hidden surprises to investigate when it comes to car insurance:
- Hail cover: Some South African insurers have removed cover for hail damage as a standard feature of their comprehensive cover and instead give you the option to add it in for a small additional fee. Check if your policy includes this cover, or if you should add it before a hail storm strikes.
- Anti-theft/hi-jacking devices: Your insurer might make it a condition of your policy that you have a working immobiliser, anti-theft/hi-jacking or tracking device fitted in order for any theft or hi-jacking claim to be considered valid.
- Car hire: While some insurers might include car hire as part of their comprehensive cover, most require you to add it for a small additional fee. This can be an extremely stressful, nasty surprise when your car goes in for repairs or must be replaced and you’re left without transport for the duration of this period.
- Penalties for younger drivers: If 1 of your children is driving your car and gets into an accident (even if it’s not his or her fault) you may have to pay a higher excess due to their age, so check to see if your children are covered to drive your car and what the excess is for their age group should they get into an accident that you need to claim for.
- Not disclosing modifications: If you’ve improved parts of your car and don’t tell your insurer, they might reject a car insurance claim outright, depending on the modification itself.
Nasty home contents insurance surprises to avoid.
1 of the single biggest nasty surprises that clients encounter when it comes to claiming from their home contents insurance policies is related to being under-insured. Simply, being under-insured means that there’s a shortfall between the amount of cover you’ve selected and the actual replacement value of what’s covered.
If you’re under-insured, you’ll only be paid a proportional amount when you claim. For instance, if your leather couch is completely destroyed during a break-in, your policy will pay out a value that’s less than what the couch is worth. You’ll have to purchase an inferior piece of furniture if you can’t afford to pay the shortfall amount that’s needed to buy the same type of couch.
And insurers will know if you’re under-insured. It’s not like you can say, “Well I’m only claiming for 1 couch, not the whole house’s contents, so there’s room in the cover amount to pay me out properly”. Once you’ve submitted a claim, your insurer will calculate the replacement value you should’ve insured yourself for and, if it doesn’t match up, then only a part of the claim will be paid for that 1 couch.
Tips to help you avoid under-insurance:
- Consider asking an insurance assessor or specialist to help you calculate a realistic estimate of the true replacement value of your home and its contents.
- Regularly update your household inventory so that any new items are included and items you no longer have are taken off the policy.
- Review your policy once a year and keep in mind that replacement values change over time, especially due to inflation, which could make your cover inadequate.
- Some high-value items must be specified, such as watches and jewellery.
The truth is that while some insurers do their best to help you get the best cover for your needs, it really is your responsibility to review and understand your insurance policy documents. Fortunately, there are insurers in South Africa who pride themselves of making sure that there’s zero insurance or legal jargon in these documents. Like King Price, who has only uses plain and simple language, with loads of examples to make sure that you have a complete understanding of how your policy works.
With King Price, there’s no need to study a whole other degree to know if hail cover is included, how to insure your buildings for the correct amount, or who’s covered to drive your car. Hopefully this will help you find the cover that you need and pay for exactly what you expect to be included. After all, that’s what offers you true value for money. King Price Insurance offers super cheap comprehensive car insurance that decreases every month. You can get a quote in a matter of minutes online or you can contact them directly either by calling them on 0860 50 50 50 or sending an email to king@kingprice.co.za