Payout or Pay up
After an accident, your insurance company will send out an assessor to determine the extent of the damage to your vehicle. The assessor will also look at the availability of parts and the age and condition of your vehicle before they make a decision.
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Some insurance companies may apply a fixed percentage threshold, for example, if the damage to your car is more than 60% of the vehicle’s value to establish whether the car is a write-off or not, Other companies may look at the historical salvage data for your specific vehicle model and type to determine a more accurate write-off threshold.
Money Money Money
In the case of a write-off, your insurance company may pay out the insured value, minus your excess, other insurance betterment, and taking into account depreciation.
For example:
You insured your car at retail value R 500 000
You selected an excess amount of R5000.
The vehicle has since depreciated in value (less R105 000).
In this example, the claim will be settled at R 390 000, assuming that any other insurance terms did not come into play.
We highly advise that you read the fine print of your particular insurance contract as the terms and conditions of your chosen insurance company may differ from insurer to insurer.
