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CRA Vehicle Insurance Explored – South Africa
In this weekly segment of bite-sized chunks of useful information, consumer journalist Wendy Knowler summarises news you can use. Today’s warnings all relate to cars.
Is your car’s tracking device working? Best you check
Whose responsibility is it to ensure that your car’s tracking device is working properly?
Your contract will no doubt tell you that the responsibility lies with you.
Suhail wrote to me to say he’d been a client of Cartrack since March 2019 and recently, to his horror, he found out when he downloaded the company’s app, that it had not been tracking his vehicle since April 2019. But they had continued to debit his account for tracking services — and, of course, the device itself which is paid off over the term of the contract, if not paid for in full upfront.
“Am I justified in not paying them and asking for a refund?”
Responding, Cartrack said: “Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the customer (as per the contract terms and conditions) for reasons such as contact details that may change over time without being updated on our system. “Cartrack does conduct courtesy unit tests with a SMS notification to the customer on the outcome. Our client was sent numerous SMS notifications to advise that the unit was tested and required maintenance, and to contact Cartrack to arrange a repair.”
And don’t forget that even if you sell your car, you are still required to keep paying a tracking company for full term of the contract — usually three years.
Missed an insurance premium payment? Here’s what you need to know
https://bc2b6e6d692c9c3918402375f7788757.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html According to the policyholder protection rules which came into effect in January 2019, insurers must give policyholders written notice that they haven’t received the premium within 15 days of them becoming aware of the non-payment. And from the second month of the policy being taken out, they are required to give clients the benefit of a grace period of at least 15 days after the due date in which to make payment, during which time the policy does not lapse.
The Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance (OSTI) has urged policyholders to check what their policies state about missed payments.
“Some mention the 15-day grace period, but are silent on how payment of the premium should be made within the grace period,” OSTI warns. “We recommend that the policyholder contacts the insurer to establish what method of payment they accept.”
And here’s something that could well trip up many a policyholder who assumes the 15-day grace period starts from the date their debit order usually goes off. “Your chosen debit day is NOT the premium due date, which is always the 1st of every month,” OSTI warns.
“Though the premium remains due on the first day of the month, the policyholder may choose a later payment date which is inclusive of the grace period. If the payment is missed, there is no further opportunity to make up for it.”
Article Credit To Times LIVE.