Car insurance exists so that if something bad happens to your vehicle, the insurance company pays for any loss. Unfortunately, sometimes car insurance companies reject claims. But, fortunately, you can avoid the reasons why car insurance claims get rejected.
If rejection happens in South Africa, the car owner can lodge a complaint with the short term insurance Ombudsman. Unfortunately, the Ombudsman reports that insurance companies increasingly reject claims.
We all know that insurance policies are all long-winded and full of small print. Usually, only lawyers can understand the documents. And so we must take adequate precautions to understand the policy before agreeing to it.
Although it may sound callous on the part of the insurance companies, they are keeping to the letter of the law when they reject claims. And so the Ombudsman is usually at a loss to help the car owner in such circumstances.
Why Car Insurance Claims Get Rejected
Some of the most common reasons why an insurance company rejects claims are:
- The wrong driver at the wheel. Some insurance policies allow any driver to drive the vehicle, and the vehicle cover remains. But many others stipulate that only named drivers may drive the vehicle for the cover to apply.
- State of the vehicle. Companies reject some claims because of the condition of the vehicle when involved in an accident. Most insurance policies say that for the insurance to be valid, you must keep the vehicle in a safe state of repair. Insurance companies reject claims if the tires are smooth, or even if the windscreen wipers do not work properly.
- Drunk driving. Insurance firms automatically reject claims if the driver had been drinking alcohol before an accident.
- Tracking devices. Some insurance policies require that you fit monitoring devices to the insured vehicle. This condition applies in particular for a policy based on the number of miles the vehicle travels. If the contract demands this but you fail to install such a device, the company will reject the claim.
- Theft. Often the insurance company will insist that you install a security device for theft cover, perhaps an alarm. If you do not do this, then the insurance house will reject the claims.
- Write off. The company will reject the claim for a write-off if you supplied any false information about the vehicle at the time you took out the insurance.
Why Car Insurance Claims Get Rejected
We all need to have peace of mind, knowing that we have proper insurance for our vehicles. This is how we protect ourselves against any mishap. So it is crucial that we ensure we fully understand any and all terms of the insurance agreement before we pay for it. If one company does not want to take the time to explain all the details of the policy, then go to another company.
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