New 0% drunk-driving law: This is how it will affect your car insurance If you break the law by driving with alcohol in your blood, your insurer will have no obligation to meet your claim. Contributor Monday, 01 February 2021, 07:29 Many South Africans enjoy a beer after work before going home but it seems that they will not be able to do that in any way when the country’s strict new drunk-driving laws are passed later this year.
BUSINESS NEWS - While many South Africans are looking forward to having a beer after work before going home when the alcohol ban is lifted, it seems that they will not be able to do that in any way when the country’s strict new drunk-driving laws are passed later this year.
SA’s short-term insurers have been in the news for trying to duck out of paying their dues. But there are some exceptions. In this interview, Anton Ossip, CEO of Discovery Insure – which covers about 270,000 cars in SA – explains how it has managed to give back generous rewards to Vitality Drive members and still please shareholders. He explains how an innovative, super-smart app helps drivers save money, how the rewards programme is being rolled out to fleets, and why the insurer has the BHAG of ‘creating a nation of great drivers’ and making SA roads safer.
– Jackie Cameron
Anton Ossip on the Discovery Vitality Drive programme:
Johannesburg Metro Police Department officers are enforcing the 9pm-6am lockdown level 3 curfew. Image: JMPD
Insurers generally don’t honour a claim if you were doing anything illegal at the time of the so-called claimable event such as driving over the legal alcohol limit or without a valid licence.
So what about if you have an accident between 9pm and 6am, when you shouldn’t be on the road at all, thanks to the latest Disaster Management Act curfew?
No existing policy would include any mention of a government curfew, at least not one taken out before March this year, so how would such a claim be treated?
In safe hands with Discovery Insure
Picture: Supplied If it’s never happened to you, can you imagine what those first few seconds following an accident may be like? If it has, you know just how critical those seconds truly are.
State-of-the-art technology in the car insurance space is fundamentally about having mechanisms that, not only encourage safer driving, but also provide effective incident support. In our line of work, we see the positive impact it can have on our clients every day. Here are a few stories.
“Without Discovery Insure, my day would have gone completely differently.” – Liechen le Roux
Image: Moneyweb Discovery contends that against certain key metrics at least, its venture into banking is the “fastest growing” in the South African market. At the end of November, it had crossed the 500 000 account mark, with R5.1 billion in retail deposits and R15 billion in cumulative spend. Its customers are using a total of R3.7 billion in credit, with an arrears rate 65% lower than the market. This has been achieved in 14 months. The half-a-million number is laudable, given the proposition, but other entrants have blown past this with a simpler proposition targeting a different segment of the market..
At the end of November, it had crossed the 500 000 account mark, with R5.1 billion in retail deposits and R15 billion in cumulative spend. Its customers are using a total of R3.7 billion in credit, with an arrears rate 65% lower