With an ever increasing number of vehicles on South African roads, motor vehicle insurance has become a fiercely competitive market. Of course it's not only the increasing numbers which are driving this market, but also increasingly stricter laws. Unlike in the past, vehicle owners are now required to provide proof of insurance when registering a vehicle and failure to do so, will result in you being unable to obtain license plates. Together these various factors have helped to create a market in which the consumer has considerable leverage in obtaining competitive insurance coverage. Listed below are just some tips to help you benefit from this current trend.

Determine How Much You Can Afford

Understandably, having comprehensive insurance rates high on the agenda but before you leap into such an agreement, you would be well advised to first consider certain aspects. Firstly, does your budget allow for such a significant expense? Secondly, do you absolutely require comprehensive insurance? One really does need to weigh up the odds because defaulting on your insurance payments could create problems in the event of a claim and at the same time, it could reflect poorly on your credit history.

Do You Have a Clean Driving Record?

Your driving record can have a direct impact on insurance premiums hence, if you have a poor driving history, you could find yourself paying more than you need be. Likewise, age too plays a part as insurance companies consider very young drivers to be more of a risk due to lack of experience and also associated recklessness.

How Much Coverage Do You Really Need?

In order to drive a motor vehicle legally in South Africa, the minimum insurance required by law is third party insurance. Any further degree of cover remains optional depending on what your requirements are and of course what you can afford.

Comprehensive insurance is of course the best option in the case of you having bought a new car, and in the event that you have acquired finance to do so, the lender may stipulate this in the agreement terms in order to cover them against possible financial loss.

Likewise, if you have bought a car through a private sale, you could simply opt for third party insurance rather than comprehensive insurance but here again, you should consider various aspects in order to determine what best suits your needs.

A third insurance option is also available known as Third Party, Fire & Theft and this of course covers exactly what the name suggests.

No matter which policy you opt for, you will be responsible for what is known as deductibles. This is the amount which you will be required to pay in the event of an accident, while the insurance company pays the balance. It is highly advisable to determine this figure before taking out an insurance policy, keeping in mind that the lower the deductible, the higher the premiums will be.

Do Your Research

Don't be overly tempted to accept the fist attractive looking policy offered to you. Instead, gather a number of quotes from various reputable companies and before settling on one, run a few checks in order to gather more information regarding their backgrounds and past experience. A little effort at this beginning stage could save you endless problems further down the line.

Ask About Discounts

The vast majority of companies will automatically make you aware of these but it won't do any harm to ask. For example, if you have taken out comprehensive insurance, then the company should be willing to give a discount for things such as a secure lock-up and state of the art security systems. Likewise, if you are to be the only driver and your record is squeaky clean, then here too you should receive some recognition in the form of a bonus or reduced rates.