Why Claims For Car Insurance Are Rejected

It always feels like car and home insurance companies are inventing a reason not to pay out a claim. People are complaining about rejected claims for vehicles as well as home insurance in the country and yet, no one really understands why some claims are rejected. Here are the reasons why 90% of motor or home insurance claims are rejected in South Africa.

Reason Why Claims For Car Insurance Are Rejected

The driver of the vehicle involved in the accident didn’t have a driver’s licence.
The driver involved in the accident wasn’t the regular driver: Many car insurance companies state that the main driver will be covered, should the main driver change, even just for 5 seconds, the insurance provider has to be notified of this.
The vehicle is not roadworthy: If the vehicle involved in the accident has smooth tyres or the wiring in the car is faulty, the insurance claim will not be paid out.
Drunk Driving.
Telematics data: Telematics data comes from a device usually installed into your vehicle, which gives feedback on the driving on that vehicle. So, should the driver be driving recklessly, the insurance claim will be rejected.
A satellite tracking device is not fitted to the vehicle when stolen.
No security device is fitted to the vehicle: Any car alarm or device that protect a vehicle from being stolen.
Total-loss-policy: This only applies when the vehicle is a complete write-off.
Material non-disclosure at underwriting stage.
Vehicle and business use.
Mechanical breakdown: Most insurers’ claims are on the basis that the insured vehicle was not serviced according to the manufacturer’s specified intervals.
The vehicle leaves the scene of an accident unlawfully.

Homeowner’s Insurance

Unoccupied premises: Should the house be unoccupied for a certain amount of time, many insurance providers will reject the claim.
What is a fixture, what is immovable and what is a movable item? In other words, anything that is a permanent fixture and part of the house will be covered in the claim, and anything else will be rejected.
Natural disasters: Yes, your home is covered in the case of a storm or hail and fire damage, while any claim made due to workmanship-related faults isn’t not covered in general.
Retaining Walls: Walls are required to be built according to engineering specifications, or no claim will be paid out.

Other Miscellaneous Rejection Reasons

With regards to cell phone insurance, the insurer will reject the claim on the basis that the SIM card noted on the policy schedule was not being used with the insured device at the time of the damage/loss.
On all types of insurance, insurers will reject claims if the policyholder or anyone covered under the policy, fail to comply with the insurer’s reasonable request for information during the insurer’s validation of the claim, such as cellular phone beacons and billings reports.

Just remember that no insurance provider will pay out any claim should the policyholder or anyone covered under the policy give incomplete or inaccurate information at the time of claiming, the insurer will reject the claim.

Read more on car insurance:

Cheap car insurance quotes guaranteed

Finding affordable car insurance in South Africa

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