Motorists should inform insurers if they struggle to renew their driving licences - SAIA

[Jan]

What happens with your car insurance if your driver's licence expires

The South African Insurance Association (SAIA) says that an expired driver's licence card or disc is not a valid reason for insurers to outright deny a car insurance claim.

SAIA said it received new enquiries from concerned motorists about how insurers would treat motor vehicle claims where the insured person’s driver’s licence card has expired after 31 August 2021.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

insurers would love to reject claims, this just makes it that much easier.
I mean its a business after all, and more money in, means more profits.

remember, Lawyers and Salespeople, that's all Insurance is.

 

[ToxicBunny]

insurers would love to reject claims, this just makes it that much easier.
I mean its a business after all, and more money in, means more profits.

remember, Lawyers and Salespeople, that's all Insurance is.

Except the article says that they can't just reject the claims because your card has expired.. The ombudsman ruled as such over a decade ago.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Except the article says that they can't just reject the claims because your card has expired.. The ombudsman ruled as such over a decade ago.

yes sure, they will reject your claim, if you make noise about it, then yes miraculously they will approve it.
remember, Salespeople and lawyers, after all if enough people claim they had an accident with an expired licence,
it will tip the balance of more money OUT than IN,

its a business after all, and if enough people continue to pay Premiums, and not complaining when something DOES happen,
its good for them.

 

[spiff]

The Association explained that insurers were guided by the Ombudsman for Short-term Insurance (OSTI), which ruled as far as back as May 2007 that insurers should not refuse to entertain a claim if the driver’s licence card or licence disc has expired.

 

[ToxicBunny]

yes sure, they will reject your claim, if you make noise about it, then yes miraculously they will approve it.
remember, Salespeople and lawyers, after all if enough people claim they had an accident with an expired licence,
it will tip the balance of more money OUT than IN,

its a business after all, and if enough people continue to pay Premiums, and not complaining when something DOES happen,
its good for them.

No they won't reject it... As always you let your conspiracy theory crap run away with you when the reality is completely different.

 

[Mista_Mobsta]

Well FARK ME insurers can take the p!ss...why the hell can't all these insurers band together and put some damn pressure on the Govt to fix their systems instead of passing the buck onto the consumer? Businesses are in a MUCH better bargaining/threatening position than the average Joe on street but I see they remain spineless as long as they can pass the buck whilst making 2bucks along the way!

 

[Pineapple Smurf]

That's why I also asked a month ago if insurers can dispute a claim if your tyres are over 5 years old,
It's good to know all this kak
We are run of the mill South Africans and most of us are clueless as to what the law really says
Lekker free legal aid on MyBB
Thanx @Jan

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

No they won't reject it... As always you let your conspiracy theory crap run away with you when the reality is completely different.

until we hear the first MYBB article where an insurer rejected a claim based on expired licenses,
only after noise via the ombudsman and lawyers and press coverage, was the claim accepted.

its a business after all, and it says in the contract when you joined,
you must have a valid license, and your vehicle must be roadworthy,

 

[acidrain]

Just sent a query to our broker. Basically their response "Traffic Centres are open so you shouldn't have a problem renewing" and then recommending paying those businesses that queue for you (which from what I have briefly looked online, do it for vehicle renewals, not drivers... they will only queue for a drivers collection)

 

[deweyzeph]

until we hear the first MYBB article where an insurer rejected a claim based on expired licenses,
only after noise via the ombudsman and lawyers and press coverage, was the claim accepted.

its a business after all, and it says in the contract when you joined,
you must have a valid license, and your vehicle must be roadworthy,

An expired card doesn't change the fact that you have a drivers license, just like an expired passport doesn't mean you are no longer a citizen. There is simply no such thing as an expired license, just an expired card. If you read the fine print of your policy it usually says you have to have a valid license, not a valid card.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

An expired card doesn't change the fact that you have a drivers license, just like an expired passport doesn't mean you are no longer a citizen. There is simply no such thing as an expired license, just an expired card.

try rent a car with an expired license, just try it and tell me what happens.
same like trying to get a passport stamped that's expired, results aren't pretty.

 

[Nithan15]

A few years ago someone I knew was in accident, we took the details to the cops and while filing in the report we noticed that the persons licence had expired, the cop said it doesnt mean he is not a licenced driver it just means he didnt do the administrative part of renewing his licence. Long story short, he blamed her, she blamed him, his company didnt want to pay for the damages and the day before the case would have went to court we got a call from the lawyers stating the company wants to now settle out of court. My guess was that the lawyer finally found the person that had a recording of the accident from a dashcam.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

A few years ago someone I knew was in accident, we took the details to the cops and while filing in the report we noticed that the persons licence had expired, the cop said it doesnt mean he is not a licenced driver it just means he didnt do the administrative part of renewing his licence. Long story short, he blamed her, she blamed him, his company didnt want to pay for the damages and the day before the case would have went to court we got a call from the lawyers stating the company wants to now settle out of court. My guess was that the lawyer finally found the person that had a recording of the accident from a dashcam.

lawyers and salespeople,
sales to keep the money rolling in, lawyers to keep it in and fight off any claim (legitimate or otherwise)

 

[chrisc]

After someone rear-ended me, I had the car assessed by Discovery Insurance, as this was the third-parties cover. They rejected the claim on the grounds that the tyres were showing the tread-wear indicator (the repair place sent them photos of some tyres). I was astonished, since the car had by then only done 11000km and the tyres were as new

I got my own insurers involved and 10 weeks later they got copies of the tyre photos. One look showed that these were not on my car at all, since the wheel and tyres were completely different

Nevertheless, Discovery refused to pay. I visited the assessor and showed him the photos and my car outside. His response was that I must have changed the wheels since they "looked non standard". I got a letter from Honda confirming that the tyres and wheels were factory fitted and went back to this assessor. He got very angry and asked me if I was trying to blackmail him and threw me out, actually pushed me out the office door

A letter to Discovery giving all the details and a strong suggestion that I would approach the ombudsman made them award an "ex-gratia" offer equivalent to the R34000 repair bill. No admittance of liability of course and an undertaking to not pursue the matter further. 2 1/2 pages of legalese

This whole episode took nearly 2 years to resolve. The repair place is still awarded a "Preferred Discovery Repairer"

 

[F1 Fan]

Just sent a query to our broker. Basically their response "Traffic Centres are open so you shouldn't have a problem renewing" and then recommending paying those businesses that queue for you (which from what I have briefly looked online, do it for vehicle renewals, not drivers... they will only queue for a drivers collection)

Applied for my licence 7 weeks ago...still waiting...CPT

 

[deweyzeph]

After someone rear-ended me, I had the car assessed by Discovery Insurance, as this was the third-parties cover. They rejected the claim on the grounds that the tyres were showing the tread-wear indicator (the repair place sent them photos of some tyres). I was astonished, since the car had by then only done 11000km and the tyres were as new

I got my own insurers involved and 10 weeks later they got copies of the tyre photos. One look showed that these were not on my car at all, since the wheel and tyres were completely different

Nevertheless, Discovery refused to pay. I visited the assessor and showed him the photos and my car outside. His response was that I must have changed the wheels since they "looked non standard". I got a letter from Honda confirming that the tyres and wheels were factory fitted and went back to this assessor. He got very angry and asked me if I was trying to blackmail him and threw me out, actually pushed me out the office door

A letter to Discovery giving all the details and a strong suggestion that I would approach the ombudsman made them award an "ex-gratia" offer equivalent to the R34000 repair bill. No admittance of liability of course and an undertaking to not pursue the matter further. 2 1/2 pages of legalese

This whole episode took nearly 2 years to resolve. The repair place is still awarded a "Preferred Discovery Repairer"

Even if your tyres were worn down to the metal threads, I still don't see what material difference it would have made to the fact that someone rear-ended you. Insurance companies are only supposed to repudiate claims based on facts that are material to the incident. It's hard to see what relevance the state of your tyres have in this instance.

 

[acidrain]

Applied for my licence 7 weeks ago...still waiting...CPT

Where did you go? Last I tried Hillstar was closed due to covid. Thought I'd check green point since I had stuff to do that side and that line was crazy. I'm told milnerton is quick but it's quite a drive for a hunch.

Either way at this point, I'll need to apply for a temp as well.

 

[deweyzeph]

Where did you go? Last I tried Hillstar was closed due to covid. Thought I'd check green point since I had stuff to do that side and that line was crazy. I'm told milnerton is quick but it's quite a drive for a hunch.

Either way at this point, I'll need to apply for a temp as well.

Fish Hoek Traffic Department has relatively short queues at the moment I've heard.

 

[ToxicBunny]

try rent a car with an expired license, just try it and tell me what happens.
same like trying to get a passport stamped that's expired, results aren't pretty.

Ummm yeah, thats an entirely different set of circumstances there so entirely unapplicable to this.