Wednesday 25 September - 01 October 2013
Motoring Supplement
to the Botswana Gazette
Motor Vehicle Insurance; A critical part of car ownership
MODIRI MOGENDE
C
ars have become a vital part of our lives. Many start off as public transport commuters and soon after making a bit of money, the purchase of the four wheeled machines to zip around town and take that much appreciated road trip home kicks in. Cars have made life easier (well, to a certain extent) as we are much more mobile. Car ownership however, comes with responsibilities. In this case, motor vehicle insurance. This can be defined as covering your car with a short term insurer against possible unfortunate happenings.
Car Insurance in Botswana is an extensive market with the likes of Botswana Insurance Company, Metropolitan, Reagent and BIHL as some of the go to guys. While the offering differs per insurer, car insurance usually has general basic requirements. Eve though statistics are hard to come by, vehicle insurance in Botswana lags way behind car ownership. It is not a legal requirement for one to have insurance for one’s car, a requirement that applies in other countries, especially in the West. While the insurance for your car is mostly about the vehicle, the insurer will take a great interest in the person who
wishes to insure their car before deciding on a monthly or yearly premium payment. This is known as profiling the driver or owner, it’s a general overview of risk that would be assumed in giving you insurance. This means that your age, the number of years you have been driving, your accident record and other personal information will be taken into account before the car is assessed. This of course would mean that younger drivers, who are usually considered high risk (generally in everything), are bound to attract a larger premium payment compared to their older counterparts. After they have profiled you,
your insurer will take a critical look at your wheels. Like all type of insurance, premium payments vary as per cover. Usually they are largely based on the price of the vehicle, this may include modifications you put on the car, mag wheels/ rims, sound systems, spoilers, etc, which affects the replacement cost if it is stolen or “written off” in an accident. The cost to repair vehicle, including parts and labour can also affect the cost, so your expensive German-make is bound to attract a lot more buck than your Japanese ‘get around’ car. In addition, surcharges may apply to vehicles that are considered high risk of getting stolen or involved in accidents. Some insurers will make it a point to know where you park your car, is it in a garage, what other protection the car gets and such things as a part of assessing risk, this not as wide spread an offering as it is in other countries. When it comes to what your insurer will pay for, this is the trickiest part that is usually
muggled in the fine print behind that contract you sign without usually extensively assessing. Insurers will pay for general vehicle accidents, they are those that happen while blame is apportioned to you or the other driver and there is a police report stating as such. The insurer will pay for the repairs, but will require you an excess payment that is agreed upon taking up the policy. Your insurer will generally offer third party insurance. In a case where the driver is found to be intoxicated, your insurer will refuse to pay a claim and the cost of repairs will be borne by yourself. Depending on the insurer, one can extend cover to personal injury or death for both the driver and passengers in the vehicle. Buying insurance is generally as wide spread as vehicle choice, the short term insurance business is largely competitive with a lot of players in the market, so the advice is for you to shop around for the best possible deal for your wallet while having your car well covered.
Motoring Supplement
The Botswana Gazette
Grey imports vs.brand new cars KAGO KOMANE
R
eliability, cost and maintenance are just some of the many factors that one should consider before they can purchase a vehicle, whether it is a grey
import or a brand new car. With the recent trend in Botswana to buy grey imports from Asia and the UK, many car dealerships have emerged across the country to cater for the current soaring demand. Nonetheless, the market has
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created a noticeable competition between grey imports and brand new domestic cars in the country. Below are a few pros and cons of both grey imports and brand new cars. Grey imports Importing a car from abroad is becoming a more and more popular option for car buyers. Often, you can get better value for money but there are drawbacks with importing. One of the downside of importing a used car is the fact that you can never really be certain about its history. It may also prove difficult to maintain and repair some imported cars as you may be required to only get the car parts directly from overseas where it was originally manufactured. Apart from being highly economical as compared to brand new cars, imports sometimes are the better option as buyers may be able to get vehicle models that are not yet available locally.If you are considering buying a grey import, it is also highly recommended that you purchase from a car dealership that is reputable to reduce taking unnecessary risks. Brand new cars Every time a new car model is made, the manufacturer makes improvements from the previous model. This means a brand new vehicle most likely has more advanced technology, particularly in the areas of fuel efficiency, speed and safety among others. Another advantage with a brand new car is that the buyer gets to use the car with no unknown history to worry about and would also get a full warranty package for the car. On the downside, most people cannot afford such cars because they usually come with a pricey tag. So if one is looking for something economical, this should not be their first choice. Even though a lot of people opt to buy grey imports over brand new domestic cars because they are cheaper to purchase than the latter, there has always been this belief than domestic cars are more expensive because they are much superior to imports. According to Spotlight Motors Director, Omar Farook, contrary to this popular belief among many Batswana that domestic cars are more reliable than imports, he said domestic cars are inferior to the latter because unlike domestic cars, imports are manufactured for international standards.
Motoring Supplement
The Botswana Gazette “You will find that some of the top of the range cars are better off imported because they come with the full package since they are from their original manufacturers. When the same car is manufactured in South Africa for example instead of where it was originally manufactured , they end up leaving out some of the luxury car elements to help reduce the price in order to cater for the local market,” he said. He however advised against people purchasing imported vehicles through the internet as he explained that customers who usually opt to take that route do not always get what they wanted. He said, “Pictures can be deceiving, you cannot just judge a car by its exterior on the internet and assume it is as good on the inside. It is always better to buy through a car dealership because they are in a better position to do research, trawl information and do a proper inspection on the vehicles to make sure they are of good condition.” He also explained that this is the advantage that brand new local cars have over imports because a customer can tell exactly what they are getting when they buy brand new domestic cars, as they have never been used and can easily get test driven as opposed to those that are bought through the internet. In retrospect, whether you are buying a grey import or a brand new car locally, it is very important to do your own research and make sure you know exactly what you are getting. Factors such as weather should also be taken into consideration when buying a used car because some of the imported cars may be accustomed to different weather conditions from weather in Botswana, and can therefore easily break down because of it. Some paints and galvanising may not be durable on an imported car when it gets to Botswana because they would have been made for a different climate.
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Motoring Supplement
The Botswana Gazette
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