Rights which we reserve

The section on the "rights we reserve" is in the General Policy Terms starts: "We are entitled to: "

There are 6 rights we reserve when a customer agrees to car insurance with us.

1...take over, and conduct the defence and settlement of any claim in your name or in the name of any other person insured by your policy.

2...instigate proceedings, at our own expense and for our own benefit, but in your name, or in the name of any other person insured by your policy, to recover any payment that we have made under your policy. In the event of a car accident, our customer may be held liable for damage, or may suffer damage for which someone else can be held liable. As it is our money at stake, we have the right to decide whether to take legal action, and what legal action to take.

3...recover from you the amount of any claim that we are required to settle by law, which we would not otherwise have paid. There are circumstances in which we are compelled, in terms of the Road Traffic Act, to settle a liability claim, despite the fact that the customer failed to comply with the conditions of the car insurance policy.

4...pay the legal owner of the car in the event of a loss. There are many cases in which the customer may not be the legal owner of the car. This would be the case if the car is financed and has not been paid off or if the car is a company car. In the event of a total loss, we are entitled to pay the owner, rather than the customer.

5... require proof of ownership and value of the insured property in the event of a loss. In order to settle a claim for stolen cars or accessories, we need to establish how much they were worth in the first place. The customer must be able to prove that he had the item to be entitled to compensation for its loss. We would typically request proof in the form of invoices, or other documents.

6... fulfil our obligation to pay for loss or damage by repair or replacement at our option. If we repair a customer's car after an accident we can request the customer to take the car to one of our authorised repairers for a quote for the repairs. It is our decision whether to write the car off, or repair the car.