Beef up your car insurance before you go on holiday

The time is fast approaching. The time when you can take leave, kick off your office shoes, and unwind. At this stage, you’ve probably got your plans set and know exactly where you’re travelling to, whether it’s local fun spots or heading further afield for your vacation. Either way, you’ll be on the road during the December festive season and statistically, this is also the time when there are more accidents on the road.

There are a few reasons why this is the case. The main 2 are down to the fact that people are just more tired from the year and aren’t razor sharp while they’re driving or they’re partying too hard and shouldn’t be behind the wheel. A third common reason is that accident happen regardless of what time of year it is… And December is as good a time as any.

If you have comprehensive car insurance, then you’re saved from paying for damages, liability fees, and those types of costs associated with a car accident. And if you have medical aid or health insurance, then your medical bills should have some assistance (depending on your cover).

But what about afterwards? What if you or a member of your family dies or has been permanently injured as a result? Look, we get it. It’s hardly what you’d want to think about just before you tumble into merriment, but unfortunately these things happen. These incidents don’t make allowances for whether you’re on holiday or if you’re financially prepared to not be able to work.

It’s worth considering taking out personal accident insurance to go with your car insurance. After all, if you’ve covered your car then you should cover yourself, too.

How personal accident insurance works

Right, this is no laughing matter so we won’t make light of it. Basically, if you or members of your family have been involved in an accident and are permanently disabled or die, then this policy ensures that you receive a lump sum.

To be super clear, an accident is an unexpected and unintentional event caused by violent, external and visible means, which results in injury leading to disability or death within 12 months of the event. Oh, and permanently disabled is a disability that stops you from working, will most likely last for the rest of your life, and is supported by medical evidence.

What you’re meant to do with the cash

How you spend this amount of money is completely up to you. For instance, in the event of your or a family member’s death as a result of the accident, you could use this money to pay for the funeral and life’s essentials, like rent or bond repayments, groceries or school fees. Or if you’ve been permanently disabled, then you could use the money to pay for equipment or house alterations to make life easier, to supplement your income if you can’t work or can only work part-time, as well as for life essentials, like groceries and household bills.

How much you’ll get

This could differ between insurance companies, but we looked at this insurer’s personal accident offering to get an idea for you. With this insurer, you’d choose the maximum total amount and then for different types of claims, the company will pay out different percentages of this insured amount. So, if you choose a sum total of R2 million and you lose a thumb, then you’ll receive around 25% of the total amount.

If you’re interested, you can take a little look at the breakdown of their pay-outs for yourself right there on page 95.

What you’ll pay for this

You might be wondering how these premiums work (even if you weren’t, we’ll help you out to make it super easy). What happens is that the insurance company will take your personal profile and the maximum total amount you’ve selected to work out your monthly premium.

It’s that simple and as far as insurance policies go, it doesn’t take long to get sorted.

Yes, this is a bit of a sombre topic to bring up just before the holidays… But it’s a completely necessary insurance policy to consider. The reality is that accidents happen and personal accident insurance is the policy that’ll help you and your family recover in the aftermath of a severe incident.

If you want a quick quote to see what you’d pay for personal accident cover then please click here or call 0860 50 50 50.