Oh, No! An Accident, What Am I Covered For?
By Graham McKenzie
You do not have a choice when deciding whether you need or do not need car insurance. It’’s mandatory, and when caught without it, you will usually find yourself in deep trouble. So obviously you must take out a car insurance policy if you want to drive your car on the roads legally. But which policy you ask?
Every car travelling on the road is covered under compulsory insurance. If they are not, the vehicle’’s owner is in deep trouble, but you do have some leverage and choice over what kind of car insurance cover to take.
Unlike third party insurance or comprehensive insurance, compulsory insurance is designed to cover other cars or individuals hurt in an accident. It does not protect the vehicle the car is insured under.
Compulsory insurance takes into consideration a number of factors such as the drivers age and experience before anything else, which makes for very high premiums for young adults just starting out on the road. Unfortunately, there is little you can do to alter this high premium for your drivers.
What if you are involved in an accident, but it’’s the other driver’’s fault? Then there compulsory insurance is liable to pay for the damager done to your car. In fact, insurance company’’s hold a lot of sway to who is responsible for the accident as well as driving age and experience.
A car owner can insure their car against damages in an accident through third party insurance. This type of insurance covers damages to your car when you are involved in an accident that only involved your vehicle. The insurance company will pay out most claims on these types of accidents after deducting the deductible from your policy.
The higher amount of deductibles you agree to pay in the event of an accident, allows you to reduce the cost of your annual insurance by more than if you had a low amount of deductibles. A “No claims” bonus is awarded to the driver every year they avoid an accident in a third party insurance policy.
Comprehensive insurance is the last form of coverage a driver should consider for his or her policy. The type of insurance covers damage to vehicles involved in the accident as well as damages or good stolen in theft related instances. Comprehensive insurance is calculated on the value of the car, age of the driver, and strength of its security system.
About The Author
Graham McKenzie is the content Syndication Manager at http://www.insurance123.co.za South Africans leading car insurance information portal. For more information visit: http://car.insurance123.co.za