Motor insurance policy is a document issued by an insurance company as part of the prevention of public liability. To protect the general public from any accident that might take place on the road. The law mandates that every owner of a motor vehicle must have one motor insurance policy.
Here are three reasons why with an insurance policy you need to read the fine print
Motor insurance exclusions
As protected as you may feel when you drive your car knowing you’re insured there can be instances where your car insurance policy won’t cover you. This is known as motor insurance exclusions, which is a provision that’s written into your car insurance policy that excludes coverage for a particular driver or situation.
While what’s covered is written in big and bold, the exclusions, terms and conditions are often in fine print and also loaded with jargon. Here are some of the major exclusions from your car insurance policy.
Exclusions like
- If the insured or any other person, with the knowledge and consent of the insured, is driving the car under the influence of alcohol or drugs or any other intoxicating substance.
- If the vehicle was being driven by person without a valid driving licence.
In such instances loss of or damage to your car is not covered.
Changing insurance rates
When first applying for insurance or updating and renewing your policy. Reading the fine print will help give you the information you need to make sure you’re receiving competitive rates. As insurance rates are always changing, therefore checking that could potentially save you lots of money.
The matter of excess
An important bit of advice is to read your policy very carefully to know what excesses you can be liable for. If you still can’t understand what you’re liable for in terms of your excess and insurance policy. Then you’ll need to sit down with your broker and discuss every possible arrangement made with your insurer.
Additional Excesses payable included in your policy can be
- Theft excess this would mean that the consumer is responsible for paying an additional excess when their car is stolen or hijacked.
- Or even pay towards a time of accident excess. Where, some insurers charge a higher excess if an accident takes place at a certain time like at night between midnight and 5am.
Therefore it’s important to sit down with an insurance broker and dissect the nitty gritty of your motor insurance policy.