Car insurance – Many people see car insurance as a grudge purchase but the fact is, car insurance is a must-have, especially in a country like South Africa, which has one of the highest crime and road accident rates in the world.
When it comes to theft of motor vehicles and theft from motor vehicles, the numbers have dropped in the past year but the problem is by no means solved. In 2016, 53 809 motor vehicles and motorcycles were stolen and 139 386 cases of theft from a motor vehicle were reported.
Road accidents are even more concerning with 14 071 people dying on South African roads in 2016 – the highest number in almost 10 years.
Insurance.co.za conducted research across 4 396 South Africans to determine how many of us have been affected by crimes related to cars and road accidents. The research also revealed interesting trends regarding which car owners have insurance and what kind of insurance they opt for.
Crime
Of the 2 570 car owners, 21% indicated that they had been victims of car theft at least once in their lives. That’s one in every five of us. A worrying 5% of car owners indicated they had been victims of a carjacking before, that gives you a 1 out of 20 chance to be carjacked at some stage on South African roads. This number goes up to a one in 13 chance of being carjacked if you live in Gauteng.
 |
 |
Smash-and-grab incidents are slightly lower than car theft, with 15% of respondents saying they have been victims of this crime but this number goes up to 22% when looking only at Gauteng.
68% of the total respondents indicated they know someone whose car had been stolen at least once. A staggering 24% of respondents know more than three people whose cars have been stolen. 56% of respondents in South Africa know at least one person who’s been carjacked while 65% of people in Gauteng can say the same thing.
Accidents
Road accidents are another risk for South African drivers and 49% of car owners in this research survey have been involved in at least one car accident before. Only 8% of the total number of respondents do not know anyone who has not been in a car accident.
Car insurance
From these stats, it is clear that a car owner simply can’t afford to be without car insurance in South Africa. The chances are just too great that your car will be targeted in a crime or damaged in a car accident.
This correlates with the research results, as 86% of car owners indicated they have some sort of car insurance – whether comprehensive, third party or third party, fire and theft insurance. The vast majority of car owners opted for comprehensive cover, 76%, and this number increases as car values increase. 92% of car owners whose cars are worth more than R250,000 opted for comprehensive cover. This number drops to 80% for car owners with a car value of R30,000 to R150,000 and only 41% for cars valued at less than R30,000.
It is noteworthy that 39% of cars valued under R30,000 have no insurance at all, not even third party cover.
Which car insurance do I need?
While it is clear that car insurance is non-negotiable there is no need to pay more for your car insurance than is necessary. Car owners should do proper research when taking out cover for their car and decide what they need before taking out a policy. Third party cover can be sufficient for cars worth less than R30,000 but for higher value cars comprehensive cover makes much more sense.
Doing proper research on a quote comparison website such as Insurance.co.za and choosing the cover that makes sense for your car and your pocket will help you save money and eliminate your grudge feelings toward car insurance.
(Research powered by RapidInsights.co.za)
