Pothole Damage and Insurance

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Se@n

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Hi all,

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere but i was unable to find a recent discussion on the topic.

I was down the southcoast, KZN for december holiday and managed to stuff up two front tyres, rims as well as minor suspension damage from hitting a heavily corrugated and potholed section of road in Ramsgate.

Tyres cost R7100 (runflats on a 3 series are no joke) to replace and the damage to the rims and suspension amounts to a further R12000

Now my insurance, (hollard) wont pay for pothole damage to the affected areas, they would only pay if the damage had been more severe and resulted in body damage as well. Seems odd they would prefer more damage to pay.

Im aware that i could possibly claim from the roads agency/municipality but as i dont have visuals of the potholes im not sure this will be successful. I do however have visuals of the damaged tyres as well as proof of purchase for the new tyres (fitted the day after in Ramsgate)

Anybody with advice or experience on the insurance as well as minicipailty claims process?

Thanks in advance.
 
Have you got a copy of the motor policy wording you can scan in & upload or perhaps PM it to me to look at?
 
Not taking pictures of the potholes is a mistake. You could try get someone there to take photos for you. Otherwise try look for them on Google Street view as knowing this place they may have been there for years.
 
Thanks for the response, see screenshot.
 

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That policy wording is as tight as a duck's backside :( ... the municipal route is the only way I reckon. Not possible to go back and photograph the potholes? Just seems to sad that insurance won't pick up this sort of damage, especially as it is fortuitous (and not really your fault).
 
Quite a few insurance companies have the same exclusions. Unless there is body damage no way. There are a few that do cover this though. And add on products for tires etc.
The best would have been to take a photo with gps coordinates as proof for the claim against the municipality.
Good luck I hope you get sorted.
 
I have claimed twice for tyre damage from potholes through outsurance and they paid without a hassle. R5,200 per tyre. Both times I popped the front right and damaged the rear right.
I did have pictures though.

First time I replaced the tyres myself and submitted the invoice. Second time I went the normal route via an assessor.

We considered moving to Hollard at one point. Glad we didn't.
 
Thanks for all the responses Guys, much appreciated.

A little short sighted on my behalf not to have taken photos, but honestly thought i was in for two tyres only which i would never have claimed for. The buckled rims and damaged front castors is going to be a bitter pill to swallow if i cant recover anything from insurance/municipality. Will try get someone in the area to go back and photograph for me.
Still midly irratating that one pays for 'comprehensive' cover that isnt that comprehensive after all. Surely they should make one sign for the exclusions if its a grey area within the industry, as mentioned outsurance pay and hollard dont..?

Will update as things progress in the coming weeks.
 
Very definitely up for consideration if they dont at least meet me halfway. I expect my broker to do a bit of legwork this week to find a work around. Not holding my breath though.
 
Just a thought, surely the fact i live in JHB and was clearly holidaying on the south coast should be evidence enough that the damage occured there? Tyres are available for view and were not in any condition to drive even as runflats.
 
Mike Smit said:
I have claimed twice for tyre damage from potholes through outsurance and they paid without a hassle. R5,200 per tyre. Both times I popped the front right and damaged the rear right.
I did have pictures though.

First time I replaced the tyres myself and submitted the invoice. Second time I went the normal route via an assessor.

We considered moving to Hollard at one point. Glad we didn't.
Click to expand...

Wow, what car do you drive if you dont mind me asking? Thought R3550 ea was hectic but pales in comparison.

Never thought much of outsurance, but impressed to here of your positive experience.
 
I just cancelled with Outsurance. They pushed up my premiums. Phoned Standard Bank Insurance Brokers, and they got me insurance through Stanlib at almost half at what I was paying with outsurance, and half the excess with exactly the same cover without the cash back bonus.

Outsurance phoned me back and got one of their 'financial advisors' to talk me out of going to Stanlib. He mention that I will be losing my Outbonus and blah blah blah. I said to him, I'd be saving 3 times the amount I would be getting back with Outbonus, never mind their exorbitant excess.

I just hope I haven't made a mistake leaving Outsurance should I have to claim sometime in the future.
 
Se@n said:
Wow, what car do you drive if you dont mind me asking? Thought R3550 ea was hectic but pales in comparison.

Never thought much of outsurance, but impressed to here of your positive experience.
Click to expand...

Audi A6 3.2 FSi Quattro. The wheels are big @ss 19" with 255/35/19 low profile tyres. Audi uses Michelin which are very pricy but outsurance replaced with no issue.
I then used Toyo which are direct competitors to Michelin in Europe. R2,400 a tyre. Much better.
My rears needed replacing end Dec and was still waiting for Toyo to come in, so Mintys recommended I give Roadstone a try. They are budget Michelin's and come from the same factory. I needed tyres before heading off on holiday so had them fitted. R1,500 per tyre for 265/35/19.
Honestly cannot feel a difference between the Michelin, Toyo or Roadstone but my bank account is a LOT happier :D At this price I won't bother to claim with the next pothole damage (although I am a lot more careful nowadays).
 
Mike Smit said:
Audi A6 3.2 FSi Quattro. The wheels are big @ss 19" with 255/35/19 low profile tyres. Audi uses Michelin which are very pricy but outsurance replaced with no issue.
I then used Toyo which are direct competitors to Michelin in Europe. R2,400 a tyre. Much better.
My rears needed replacing end Dec and was still waiting for Toyo to come in, so Mintys recommended I give Roadstone a try. They are budget Michelin's and come from the same factory. I needed tyres before heading off on holiday so had them fitted. R1,500 per tyre for 265/35/19.
Honestly cannot feel a difference between the Michelin, Toyo or Roadstone but my bank account is a LOT happier :D At this price I won't bother to claim with the next pothole damage (although I am a lot more careful nowadays).
Click to expand...

Nice car!
No doubt the bank account feels a lot happier at that rate. I think there is plenty of choice these days if you have the time to shop around. Unfortunately in my case i had a day to sort before driving home and finding 225/45/R18 wasnt proving easy in ramsgate so had to go with the only guys that had available. Im sure i could have got away with R2000 per tyre had i been jhb.

Thanks for the input.
 
Se@n said:
Very definitely up for consideration if they dont at least meet me halfway. I expect my broker to do a bit of legwork this week to find a work around. Not holding my breath though.
Click to expand...

From what I've heard about other peoples experiences with them they don't seem very accommodating. Good luck though.
 
When i had new tyres fitted tiger wheel offered me tyre insurance @ R80 per tyre once off. The car's a Polo so you'd pay more.
 
Se@n said:
Tyres cost R7100 (runflats on a 3 series are no joke) to replace and the damage to the rims and suspension amounts to a further R12000
Click to expand...

You must have whacked them pretty hard to have damaged them.

The runflats on my BMW worked hard in the Tzaneen area this past month with all the potholes, even taking me through a hole that would have popped any non-run-flat tyre, and my rims aren't even showing any evidence of taking punishment.
 
Cancel Hollard...I was with them for 12/15 years as per company requirement I worked for , no problems until I claimed 3x in 2 years , small amounts, one of theft(fencing)approx. R3500 , the ''big'' claim for my carport of R20.000(Weather damage).They cancelled me as a bad risk...lol. Now at outsurance for about 12 years.....some problems here and there with them.
 
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