How to get cheaper car insurance with MoneyPanda

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In South Africa, we don’t just have 1 or 2 types of cars that people prefer to drive. We have a very diverse set of cars that we like such as bakkies, hatchbacks, SUVs, 4x4’s, Sedan’s and the list goes gone. So, what does this mean for South Africa car insurance consumers? All these different makes, models and types of cars make it more difficult to get the best car insurance cover for individuals.

Especially because South African insurance companies are all so very different! Do you feel like you have the right insurance that suits you? Most South Africans answer this with a stern no. This is why we want to tell you how to get cheaper insurance and how to compare quotes in South Africa.

Do you have car insurance or are you unhappy with your insurance service and premium? How one should go about getting cheaper quotes in South Africa:

One of the most commonly asked questions in South Africa asked by drivers is “How can I get cheaper insurance?”. Some people seekers ask their family or friends for advice and check-in to see how much their friends pay for their premium. The question, “How much do you pay for insurance every month?” is often thrown around at the braai. More questions that we at MoneyPanda get asked frequently is, “What is the best insurance company in South Africa?” and “How can I compare insurance quotes online in South Africa?”.

MoneyPanda wants to help you answer all these car insurance-related questions and help you compare the best quotes for you. We have done extensive research that we are certain will help you make the best decision for you and tell you how MoneyPanda’s comparison will help you compare quotes online. The below answers to your questions should not be seen as financial advice but a guideline to questions you may have.

We know how much everyone appreciates getting affordable insurance and no one wants to pay too much for insurance and land being overcharged in South Africa. Whichever way you spin it, it’s the same thing. You can get this vehicle cover in South Africa and it doesn’t always need to be so difficult. Cheap insurance doesn’t have to be poor quality if you choose a reputable insurance company that offers good value for money.

Looking for affordable car insurance quotes from the best companies?

We are going to talk about sourcing multiple quotes in South Africa and exploring cheap quotes from the top South African insurers. We all want the best insurance that suits our needs and our budgets. With all expenses increasing drastically from 2019 to 2020 in South Africa like petrol prices, the increasing living costs of SA, increasing electricity costs, etc. we need to reduce the prices of things that we can control like the cost of our insurance. Where there is a will there is a way and we can find you the best price from the top insurers in South Africa. Obviously, the term “best insurance company” is subjective but we try to serve you with all the information such as reviews and quotes so that you can choose the best insurance company for you. We are going to go through the types of car insurance you can get in South Africa namely comprehensive insurance, third party and fire, and theft cover.

With MoneyPanda you can compare quotes in under 5 minutes. This helps save you the time of going to every single insurer in South Africa and getting quotes that will take respectively 1 hour per insurance company. By using MoneyPanda to compare car insurance we won’t just save you time and money by getting you cheaper quotes but we will help you make the best decision by choosing the best car insurance that suits your standard of service that you expect.

How does MoneyPanda help you choose the better car insurance company?

We have realized that just like products that we buy in South Africa, we need access to reviews on car insurance companies. These car insurance reviews are not written by MoneyPanda. The reviews that you have access to on MoneyPanda are all written by consumers of that insurance company. This makes it unbiased from our side and helps you see what experiences South Africans have had with certain car insurers that you may be considering. Whether they are good or bad insurance reviews we will show them to you so that you can make the best insurance choice.

Why does my premium increase every year?

Insurance companies are trying to stay innovative and create tailored car insurance packages for each user as the market has become so competitive and consumers have much more access to information these days. South Africans need providers to stay innovative and offer the best car insurance premiums with the best service. We need this because the Rand has depreciated over 60% in the 3-4 years which means that the cost of imported vehicle parts has become more expensive and keep pushing up the cost to repair cars and replace parts. This means that the average cost of insurance claims has increased which increases your premium.

With this the cost of towing and vehicle recovery have increased massively; it is estimated that about 40% of an average R20 000 claim goes to getting a vehicle from an accident area to the car repair provider. So, many people in South Africa are looking for cheaper car insurance as their premium keeps increasing year on year. But, we can now see why premiums generally increase instead of decrease even though the value of your car decreases every year. We have seen many companies shift from replacing parts to repairing the parts if and where possible.

Car insurance providers may regularly increase their excess amounts over time and this means that the insurers expect their insured clients to pay more in a lump sum when in an accident leaving the consumer with a greater financial burden. Therefore, sometimes cheaper car insurance could be more expensive in the long run.

South Africa has poor roads but what can a citizen do about it? Can car insurance save you because the government sure won’t?

The state of the South African roads has increased road deaths almost 20 000 people per year. Potholes, poor road markings, and signs, faulty robots, etc. are increasing accidents on the South African roads, this ultimately has an effect on the price of insurance due to claims. In saying that car insurance will be more expensive because of poor roads you also can’t do without insurance for the same reason. With the state of the South African roads you need to make sure you have the best kind of comprehensive vehicle insurance as the state of the roads are out of your control.

Poor economic conditions creating financial troubles creates pressures for cheaper car insurance

  • The numbers show that 7 out of 10 car owners don’t have vehicle insurance in South Africa and we aren’t surprised. South Africans have been struggling to get by and pay the cost of keeping a car running such as the high petrol price in South Africa. It’s become extremely clear that there is a massive need for cheaper insurance in South Africa
  • Majority of the 10 million car owners, vehicles are financed by the bank, the vehicle owner then has to make monthly payments on the car which is normally quite a large amount of their salaries due to high interest rates.
  • Fuel prices have been on the rise in South Africa and this does not seem to be slowing down any time soon. Even when there has been a decrease in international crude oil prices consumers still get the petrol price increases as the fuel levy keeps being increased in South Africa.
  • The cost of servicing your vehicle is also normally pretty high, and most if the time it comes with other maintenance and repairs that need to be done. A big portion of insurance claims also relate to mechanical or electrical failures that get picked up during service cycles.

So after all this, car repayments, petrol prices, maintenance costs, car owners still need to find space in their budgets to make room for the price of car insurance. And then to strain the situation even more companies do something called risk profiling.

This basically means that the more risk the insurer believes you have ie. living in unsafe areas, parking in places that are not locked up garages, etc. causes you to have a higher insurance premium. The sad thing is that it’s normally the more affluent South Africans that have the lower risk profiles which means they will get the best deals on cheaper premiums. This is why insurance is almost always one of the first things that consumers give up when their budgets get too tight and explains why we have such a big portion of the South African drivers that are uninsured.

Are you looking for more affordable car insurance in South Africa?

Have you been looking all over for cheap car insurance? Have you been collecting insurance quotes? South Africa needs to play catch up with the rest of the world. In most well-developed countries, they make use of comparison websites as it is the most efficient way to get quotes. This ultimately pushes down the price of car insurance giving consumers cheaper quotes because you can now get quotes to compare providers premiums side by side which makes it more competitive for insurance companies. This is why MoneyPanda was created.

Better car insurance products at a cheaper price, is it even a reality in South Africa?

In South Africa have not seen the quickest response over the years from insurance companies to change their product offerings but in the last couple the uptake has picked up. South African insurers are now coming up with better solutions to the car insurance crisis that we have seen.

Picture this…cheap car insurance that costs less than half the price of comprehensive car insurance, imagine low-cost insurance that actually fits your needs. Picture cheap insurance that had nothing to do with risk profiling, like a one size fits all approach to creating a premium for your insurance. Imagine a flexible insurance that was made to suit your budget and your needs.

There is no need to imagine anymore because with the MoneyPanda insurance comparison you can choose the premium with the company of your choice by seeing reviews and prices next to each other. This puts the power back into the hands of the consumer

The MoneyPanda insurance comparison platform was invented to give cheap car insurance but at the same time innovative solutions to help you fit car insurance into your budget. We strive to get cheap car insurance for South African motorists so that it’s not out of reach to protect your vehicle and your money.

The Car Insurance Industry in South Africa in 2019

Everyone is asking: what is happening with the industry in SA in 2019? The South African insurance industry does show great potential, but the South African economy gets affected by things like the junk status that was announce in 2017.

The current economic climate and how it’s affecting car insurance in South Africa

Why do we need more affordable car insurance? The living expenses in South Africa are increasing almost daily and in most cases the cost of car insurance will keep in increasing in the future but with MoneyPanda you will be able to switch to cheaper quotes with just do a 5-minute insurance comparison.

Herald Live reported that the junk status of South Africa will increase the cost of your premium. The SAIA (South African Insurance Association) represents nearly 60% of short-term insurance companies, the SAIA has warned consumers that the junk status will have massive impacts on them and their cost of living in South Africa. The Chief Executive, Vivienne Pearson, stated that the downgrade in junk status would particularly affect the insurance industry.

South Africans often wonder, “when should I start looking for cheaper car insurance quotes?”. We suggest that you evaluate your costs every month, do a comparison with MoneyPanda monthly and once your car insurance offering from the insurer of your choice is better than your current insurance premium you can switch car insurance providers.

Where and how should I get cheap car insurance? We suggest that you make sure that your insurer of choice is registered with the FSP which means they are governed by South Africa’s financial board. You can choose from many leading providers that are registered with the FSP. All insurance companies that quote on the MoneyPanda platform are registered by the FSP so you do not need to worry about that.

What is important for car insurance consumers to take into account?

Layton Beard, a spokesperson from the Automobile Association said that one must take into account the possible premium increases. He also stated that premium increases can result in the cancellation of car insurance policies. Although, consumers need to weigh up the consequences of canceling their policies and realize the risk that they are taking by being on the South African roads without car insurance as 65% of the cars on the roads don’t have car insurance themselves.

So instead of canceling your policy and being without it, compare car insurance so that you can see which insurance company can give you a cheaper quote. If both cars involved in an accident are not insured, the cost of repairing your car could be impossible.

MoneyPanda Compares Car Insurance for You…

MoneyPanda uses a brokerage that takes multiple insurance companies and compares premiums from all of them. You should compare companies such as Santam, Absa Insurance, Prime Meridian, SAU, King Price, MiWay, Budget Insurance, Dial Direct, Hollard and more.

Car Insurance and customer reviews in South Africa

Customer reviews are seen as highly important to analyze before making a decision like buying a car, buying a speaker, or a TV but why don’t we take customer reviews as seriously when choosing an insurance company to make sure it’s the best car insurance company for us.

You should be able to read good and bad reviews on car insurance when looking at an insurer's website to see what others’ have experienced right? But the thing is that car insurance companies aren’t going to show negative reviews about their company. That is why you need an independent company like MoneyPanda to show you good and bad reviews that other customers have left about that insurance company that you are considering.

MoneyPanda doesn’t work for any one insurance company, we simply aggregate the insurance premiums for different insurance companies as well as show you consumers reviews for that insurance company.

Comparing car insurance quotes online

If you are interested in buying a new or used car and want to have a look around at different cheap car insurance quotes and reputable car insurance companies then you have come to the right place. Let’s start with a few important questions:

What type of car insurance do you need and are looking for?

Car insurance is obviously more complex than insurance companies like to lead on as there are several different types of insurance, some being cheaper than others but cheaper doesn’t always mean better. That is why we stress reading reviews on car insurance on MoneyPanda so much before choosing the cheapest premium.

See below some more in-depth research about the different types of car insurance that you get in South Africa.

  1. Comprehensive car insurance in South Africa

Comprehensive car insurance covers any damage caused in a car accident or loss by fire or theft. Comprehensive includes third party insurance which covers the driver and passengers of the other car involved in the accident. Third party covers any injuries and damage to the other person's car. This is why it’s called comprehensive insurance because it covers comprehensively.

  • Third Party, fire and theft car insurance in South Africa

Third party insurance is always cheaper than comprehensive car insurance as it does not cover as much. Third party insurance doesn’t cover your car for damages if in an accident but your car will be insured and covered in the event of theft or fire. The third parties car will be covered for damage caused by an accident.

  • Third Party Car Insurance in South Africa

Third party car insurance is sometimes also referred to as basic cover and is the cheapest type of car insurance cover offered in South Africa. Third party insurance will not cover your car if you are in an accident but will cover the other car if there is one. This is a very helpful insurance cover and should not be taken for granted! Imagine you are in an accident that you caused, your car is written off but there is extreme damage to the other person’s car. You will be liable to pay for the other person's car let’s say its damages of R300 000 to a drivers new Golf GTI, that would have to come out of your pocket. If you have third party insurance, your insurer will pay out the R300 000 to repair the other driver’s car.

It’s important to remember that when comparing quotes online or not you need to compare apples with apples. Therefore, you need to compare comprehensive car insurance from one provider to comprehensive car insurance from another provider. In order to get the best cheap car insurance quote, make sure you don’t waste your time by comparing the different types of car insurance against each other as it will lead you into making the wrong decision.

Now, what do I do next when looking for cheaper car insurance?

Car insurance quotes need your personal information:

Your personal information is 100% vital to any insurance company as they use this information to determine how risky you are to them which in turn determines how expensive or cheap your car insurance premium is. There are factors that will affect your car insurance quote such as the age of your car, the year model of the car, how old your car is, insurance is generally cheaper when your car is an older model.

Insurers also look at your age as they use this metric to determine how risky you are as a person and driver. Generally, the younger you are the more expensive your car insurance premium will be and the older you are the cheaper your insurance premium will be. Insurance companies use the age of 25 as a benchmark. South Africans 25 and under will get a very high car insurance premium and over 25 you will start getting a better insurance premium.

Which car insurance companies are reputable that you can trust?

Say that you want to get car insurance for a car that you only want to get a week from now, you go search for car insurance companies online right?

The best way to choose a reputable and trustworthy car insurance company is by looking at customer reviews. Obviously, you need to have at least heard of the car insurance company before but the best way to learn without making your own mistakes is by reading about someone else’s and not repeating them. The best type of insurance is cheap car insurance but reputable car insurance at the same time, this is no longer as tricky as it use to be with MoneyPanda’s online car insurance comparison platform that shows you car insurance premiums as well as car insurance reviews.

If you end up with a couple of car insurance companies that you need to choose from then you can take those insurers to friends and family and ask them if they have had any experiences with the insurance companies that you are considering. Once you choose an insurance company that you are happy with you just click on the quote that you have received and one of MoneyPanda’s brokers will contact you to make sure all your insurance information is correct.

The car insurance quotes with MoneyPanda are free of charge and ask you for no obligation to get cheap car insurance quotes.

Make sure that your online car insurance comparison website is safe

There are ways to look at a website and off the bat see if they are trustworthy websites or not. With car insurance you always want to be careful as you are giving out your personal information and you want that to be kept safe. Here is how you can tell if a website is secure: Look for https not http websites or look for the lock next to the url.

Car insurance comparison websites

There are 2 ways of using car insurance comparison websites. Firstly, the comparison website could ask you to leave your name and number and they will get back you with cheap car insurance quotes. Secondly, the car insurance comparison website gives you an option to do a quick online car insurance quote. With this online quote you will have to give you details such as car make, model, year, where the car is parked, etc. and car insurance quote this should not take longer than 10 minutes. Tip: be careful not to give out your bank details as no one needs that to give you car insurance quotes online.

The online car insurance company will also ask for your ID number so that they can check that you don’t have a bad credit record as that will affect your car insurance premium. And then they will ask you things such as what the car is used for- mainly business or private use etc.

MoneyPanda gives you both options, you can just use the form where you fill in your name and contact number to be called back to get multiple car insurance quotes or you can use the 5 minutes car insurance comparison platform where you will see cheaper car insurance premiums as well as car insurance reviews next to each other.

Why would I compare cheap car insurance quotes?

One of the most popular questions that people ask is “ What should I look out for when comparing insurance to get a cheaper quote?” How can one compare quotes when you are not sure which type of car insurance cover you want?

You may look at cheaper quotes but later on, find out that there are massive excesses for that premium. So, there is a lot to consider when deciding to take cheaper car insurance or just switching companies

We want to help you tick all the boxes when comparing quotes to help you find the best option that is cheap insurance but good quality insurance.

The Ombudsman report for short-term insurance of 2015 showed that the majority of complaints came from car insurance (48%), homeowners insurance complaints made up 18% and householder insurance, namely household content and building insurance, made up 8% of complaints.

From recent studies, it showed that one of the first payments that get withdrawn by households is car insurance and that is why insurance companies are trying to make it worth your time not to cancel your car insurance policy.

Comparing car insurance quotes? How and what to look for

Let’s say you have looked a several car insurance quotes from different insurance companies giving you cheap quotes saying that they have value for money car insurance.

Make sure the car insurance companies that you have left in your final batch to choose from have been rated amongst the best insurance companies in South Africa. I mean the top car insurance companies have been rated that way for a reason right.

We start with checking each car insurance policy to see what it does and doesn’t cover

It’s important to know what type of car insurance cover you are looking for and if you aren’t sure about this 100% one of the MoneyPanda brokers can help you decide and tell you more about the different types of car insurance cover. The brokers that work with MoneyPanda are highly qualified financial brokers and advisors.

Knowing what you want out of a car insurance policy will also help you identify what you don’t want in your car insurance policy. After choosing which insurance companies you may go with you should look at the information page on MoneyPanda about each of the benefits that that insurer provides. To get a better understanding of the companies and offering our brokers can also help explain the different insurance companies to you.

One of the most important things to consider when looking for new car insurance is the insurance provider's claim process. Can you claim from the insurance company quickly and is it done in a fair manner. This is information you can also look at the MoneyPanda reviews, to see how others have experienced the claims process and you can look at the Ombudsman Report for Short Term Insurance (OSTI). This report will also show how many people have complained about the insurance company and the over-turn rate of that insurance company. The over-turn rate is how many times that insurance company’s decisions about claims have been overturned by the court.

How do I compare monthly premiums?

You shouldn’t base your decision on which car insurance to go with purely on the cheaper insurance premium. You need to make sure that the car insurance cover fits your risk profile. Make sure you compare the right type of premium with each other.

Understanding your car insurance policy benefits

It’s of vital importance to examine the insurance policy benefits as carefully as possible. Check that all the benefits stated in the car insurance policy acceptable to you and are there any insurance benefits that aren’t there and should be. For example, if you need roadside assistance or access to medical assistance included in your insurance policy are they there? Many people find roadside assistance important to be included in their policy just in case their car breaks down in an unsafe area. Be sure to know exactly what you are able to claim for long before it comes to claims time, when you sign up you need to know what you are eligible to claim for on your car insurance policy.

Car hire benefits with car insurance

Car hire is something that so many South Africans to check for when buying car insurance. Don’t underestimate the power of car hire in your insurance policy. After being in an accident you car obviously needs to go for repairs and this can make it super difficult to get around. Just to get to and from work seems like a struggle every day. Having your car booked in for repairs almost never takes less than 2 weeks and 2 weeks is a long time with no car especially as the public transport in South Africa is not the most reliable. Sometimes insurance companies will give you the option to add the car hire option to your insurance policy and this may come with a small additional fee. To find out if this is a part of your benefits or if you are able to add this benefit at an additional fee.

Does your policy cover alternative drivers?

Depending on your situation it may be important to you to have more named drivers on your policy. This needs to be considered at quotes stage as appointing another driver on your policy normally will increase the premium of your monthly premium. It needs to be noted in your policy that your boyfriend Peter, will be driving the car from time to time and he is covered by your insurance in your car. It does not have to be a family member or person living with you under the same roof to be nominated as the other driver. You may also nominate more than 1 other person to drive your car but as mentioned this needs to be specified as to who the driver is in your policy.

How do I decide on car insurance excess?

It’s normal for insurance companies to have excess added to their client's insurance policies. This is where your car insurance premium gets cheaper or more expensive and where cheaper insurance sometimes isn’t worth it and isn’t cheaper in the long run.

Excess is the money that comes out of your pocket when you claim from your insurance provider. If you have a fixed excess, then say your excess is R5000 then you will have to pay R5000 in when you claim regardless if your damage is worth R3000 or R10 000. If your excess is not fixed, then the insurer will charge you a percentage of the total cost of the claim, this could be a good or bad thing depending on the claim amount.

If you decide on having high excess and low monthly premiums, then you need to make sure you have the excess amount in saving in case you need to claim. It’s important to be prepared at all times as you can’t tell when something like this will happen. Something else that you need to consider when looking at car insurance and claiming is the possibility of your premium increasing when you claim, is this the case with your car insurance? Do you have fixed premiums? Do you have fixed excess?

What are the exclusions in your policy?

The insurer that gave you the affordable quote will place exclusions on the insurance policy, make sure you read through these exclusions as prevention is also better than cure. You definitely don’t want to sit with problems at claims stage because your claim falls under certain exclusions and the insurance company doesn’t pay for your damages. To give you an example of this a tow truck owner can’t claim for damages done to his car because the chains where not properly locked and this is excluded in the insurance policy.

Will your car be covered outside of South Africa?

Let’s say you go on holiday to Mozambique and all of a sudden you hit an animal on the road by accident and the car refuses to start up again, what do you do now? Even though you have car insurance and normally you would be able to call roadside assistance and they would come to your rescue, would they still come if your car was sitting outside of the South African border?

Make sure you ask you insurance company for a certificate that says that your car will be covered if you cross the South African border with your car. You will have to present this certificate to customs at the border.

Should I insure my car for trade value or retail value?

Many South Africans don’t even know that there are 2 ways to insure your car and for different values. South African car insurance companies either insure your car for the market value or for the retail value, but what’s the difference? Retail value is normally seen as the most popular option that consumers go with. Trade-in value will normally be lower than retail value and is known as the amount car dealers pay you out when you trade-in your car when you want to buy a new car. You can usually get a lower monthly car insurance premium when you decide to go with insuring your car at trade-in value.

How does a modified car effect your car insurance?

If your car has any modifications the insurance company of your choosing will request a certificate of the valuation and some insurance companies don’t even cover modified cars or charge you for an extra premium if your car has been modified. You must be honest with the insurance company because if the car has been modified and you lie to the insurance company they could possibly reject your claim. It helps the insurance company assess the risk of insuring your car.

Comparing insurance quotes from multiple websites means supplying the same information to each website

When looking for car insurance quotes you need to ensure that you provide the same information to all comparison websites that you apply to. This is because this information creates a risk profile for you and to accurately compare car insurance premiums you need to use the same risk profile.

Another useful tip is to draw up a list of tick boxes, things that you feel that you need in your car insurance cover. Go through each quote and offering and see how many tick boxes you can fill. This will leave you with a good indication to see which is the best car insurance company for you.

Do you think South Africa is ready to shop car insurance online?

Buying insurance and obtaining quotes online has a proven successful track record in countries such as America and the UK but South Africa seems to be adopting to the idea a bit slower. Although, the trend of looking for and comparing car insurance quotes online has increased every year and for that, we are positive that companies like MoneyPanda can make a difference in the world of getting car insurance.

Looking at E-commerce and trends in South Africa

Buying cheap insurance online does fall under e-commerce and e-services in South Africa and based on the trend of e-commerce and the increase in online buyers it seems that South Africans are enjoying the life of the online consumer. South Africans are also adopting a trust factor in the online process to find cheap car insurance.

South African E-commerce has been in the upswing: massive growth still to come

Fin24 reported on 22 Feb 2017 that e-commerce in South Africa is exploding. A great portion of the increase in the e-commerce market has attributed the fact that cellphones took over the country which also increased cross-border shopping. Cellphones have made it so much easier to find cheap car insurance online as you don’t need access to a computer just access to the internet.        

South Africa’s spending forecast

South Africa’s online spending alone was estimated to hit over R53 billion in 2018 and it did. A lot of the money in 2018 was spent buying goods online in other countries such as the US, China, the UK and then being couriered back to South Africa.

Online Shopping set to soar in South Africa

Fin24 reported that’s online shopping was increasing slowly but over the last couple of years, it seems that online shopping has grown past everyone’s initial expectations. It was also reported that approximately 58% of adults online in 2016 have spent an unexpected R37.1 billion in South Africa.

Economists have predicted that the growth trend will continue

It has been predicted that the growth of online shopping will continue in South Africa, a survey was done in 2017 showing that 84% of people enjoy the ease of online shopping. Another survey done showed that 38% of people are online shopping to save money and about 36% of people said the increase in online shopping is due to increases in disposable income.

Trending cell phone shopping online in the e-commerce world

It has been noted that South Africans are becoming more comfortable in using their cellphones to shop online and consumers have spent R9.5 billion between 2015 to 2016 alone. The expected increase has been atleast 123% year on year.

There are advantages of buying car insurance online in South Africa

Many countries purchase insurance online such as Kenya. What can persuade a traditional insurance buyer to look for and buy cheap car insurance online instead?

Saving Money on Car insurance

Buying insurance online will almost always work out cheaper than just going to one company knocking on their door and asking to get cheap car insurance. Getting quotes online will save you time as well as you don’t need to make appointments with a broker or agent and physically go to their offices.

Comparing car insurance online is easy

Getting cheap car insurance quotes online is quick and it doesn’t mean you need to be a technology boff. You can use MoneyPanda insurance reviews to see what others have experienced as well, instead of taking the time to talk to all your friends for their opinion.

Online car insurance comparisons are user-friendly

As we mentioned it’s not difficult to use most insurance comparison websites but MoneyPanda has certainly taken the cake for the easiest. MoneyPanda will lead you through the questions that you need to answer to get a cheap quote. It only takes about 5 minutes and if you get stuck there is a WhatsApp line where you can get help comparing insurance easily.

You are able to buy cheaper car insurance at the time that suits your schedule

We all have packed schedules and we already have such little time free we don’t want to spend more time than we have to comparing cheaper quotes. You can get insurance from the comfort of your home on your laptop or phone and you do it at 2 am if that suits you.

Immediate access to car insurance quotes and results

Getting quotes online gives you access to immediate results as you will see quote estimates immediately and any changes you need to make to your documents and policy’s can be done online.

Need more questions answered?

You can get telephonic support from all of the best insurance companies in South Africa. Many insurance companies are also adopting an online support system such as Whatsapp communication and chat boxes on their websites.

What is the future of buying cheap car insurance online in South Africa?

Online shopping is exploding in South Africa and the way that it’s going gives us a great indication of consumers purchasing insurance in South Africa. We have a 65% uninsured rate of drivers and cars on the road in South Africa. We have a good indication from the government and the president’s press releases that third party insurance will be made compulsory in South Africa. This will cause the growth of the car insurance industry to explode in South Africa and will cause a shift in buying insurance online as it will help South Africans save money and help consumers compare quotes from multiple insurance providers. It doesn’t matter than not everyone has a computer to buy car insurance online as you can compare quotes from your cell phone. However, the limiting factor in South Africa will be consumers' access to internet as data is not yet capped at an affordable price. Even though reports state that MTN and Vodacom have been warned to drop their data prices in 2020 or face consequences of prosecution.

When consumers decide to compare cheap quotes online MoneyPanda will be here to help them every step of the way. MoneyPanda will put their best efforts in to get the cheapest quotes possible for the best insurance companies in South Africa.

How much does car insurance cost per month in South Africa?

Cars are expensive to buy in South Africa but there isn’t just the initial cost of buying a new or used car, there are maintenance costs, fuel costs, premiums to pay etc. And that’s why finding cheap insurance in South Africa is so important.

The average cost of owner a car per month?

Carmag released an article in 2017 which states that the total motoring cost for South Africans was increased by 24.2% since July 2013. The average cost of motoring in South Africa in 2017 was R7119.80 which was 6.1% higher than the previous year. In 2019 the average cost of motoring was just over R8000 and seems to be increasing rapidly year on year.

How important is it to budget with your vehicle?

As the cost of motoring has been increasing so drastically it's of great importance to make sure that you budget as efficiently as possible. It just shows how important it is to budget as the price of an entry-level car in South Africa has almost doubled in the last 10 years. In 2017 entry levels cars cost about R183 000 compared to R100 000 10 years earlier.

The costs that have risen the most:

Car instalments, premiums, and maintenance costs have been the biggest price increase for motorists. All these price increases can be largely attributed to car price inflation. Installments for car purchases increased 43.8% over 2013-2017 due to high interest rates and high car prices.

Car insurance prices increasing considerably

Car insurance premiums were increased as a knock-on effect from increased car prices from 2012 – 2017 which increased 38.6%.

The average cost of cars in 2017

In June 2017 the cost of new cars averaged about R300 181 and used vehicles average around R202 796.

Average cost of fuel in South Africa

The cost of fuel is very much controlled by the Rand’s exchange rate and the international price of oil, or so it always has been up until recently. Between 2019 and 2020 South Africans have seen excessive increases in the price of fuel whether the exchange rate dips or not. The government in South Africa has started increasing fuel levies and taxes to pull more money from citizens to pay the countries expenses.

From 2016-2017, monthly fuel costs of motorists declined, despite the increase in costs of fuel, maintenance, and instalments. In July 2017, the fuel made up 31% of the monthly motoring budget. The cost of fuel is largely controlled by the Rand’s exchange rate and the international oil price.

With the above challenging information serving as background, it makes sense that the motorists should buy the most affordable car insurance, while at the same time, not compromising on the quality of the cover. The price of petrol have hit a high of R16. 16 and is on the increase in 2020. The government is increasing the RAF(road accident fund) levy and fuel levy, the increase on 1 April 2020 will be 16 cents increase.

“Despite this increase, the liabilities of the RAF are forecast to exceed R600 billion by 2022/2023. We need to take urgent steps to reduce this risk to the fiscus and bring about a more equitable way of sharing these costs.” Says  Tito Mboweni

How can I find affordable insurance that is good quality in South Africa?

There are a couple of things that drivers can do to get cheap but still good quality car insurance in South Africa

You need to do your homework on the insurance company

When you have your list of car insurance companies that you think are worth looking at or maybe you have already used MoneyPanda to get insurance quotes you should visit their websites. You can also read the write-ups on MoneyPanda about those insurance companies to see what their vision and benefits are. Once you know the price that the insurance company is going to give you, you need to compare their benefits that they will give you. You may choose between third party insurance insurance, fire and theft of comprehensive insurance.

Companies that offer lower premiums, find out why

It is a well-known fact that newer cars with top-notch safety and security features will get cheaper premiums as they are seen as lower risk. Most companies will also charge you a more expensive premium if you live in a high crime area and vice versa. The younger you are the more expensive your premium will be and the older you get the cheaper your insurance premium will be. Insurance companies also generally lower your premium if you move your other insurance policies to them as well and combine say household and car insurance. Make sure that you are looking at the right amount of excess and as mentioned previously the higher your excess the cheaper your monthly insurance premium will be. Something that many people don’t know is that you can actually negotiate with your insurance company especially if you have a great driving record. With MoneyPanda however you will not need to negotiate with the insurance companies as our partnering brokers will do so on your behalf to get you the cheapest premium.

Using car insurance to protect your financial wellbeing

You often read in the newspaper or hear from a friend about someone involved in a vehicle accident. Say the uninsured driver wrote off his car and the motorist who caused the accident must contribute or pay for the other parties' damages too. That’s why you never want to be the one that’s saying I wish I had insurance even if it is third party insurance. That’s why you should know the answer to the question…is car insurance really necessary?

Car accidents don’t happen to me

People often have that mentality that an accident won’t happen to them because they are careful. Let me tell you no one wishes to be in a car accident, that’s why it’s called an accident. Yes, there are drivers that can be negligent, but a lot of the time drivers are innocent and there was nothing they could have done at that moment to stop a car accident.

How many drivers don’t have car insurance in South Africa?

When driving down the road in your car do you ever think, “how many of these drivers don’t have even third party insurance?”. If they drive into you and they are not insured in any way how will your car be fixed? 7 out of every 10 drivers in South Africa do not have insurance, that is out of over 8.4 million drivers. At the moment third party insurance is not compulsory in South Africa but the government had mentioned in their 2020 budget speech that they are looking at changing that.

The financial impact if you are not insured with car insurance

Without insurance, you are exposed to extreme financial risks and there are majority of South Africans can’t afford that risk. This is the reason you need to consider taking out some form of insurance if you are a motorist. Do not take the chance and just say, I can’t afford car insurance. Do the 5-minute online car insurance comparison with MoneyPanda and the insurance that you have been looking for may be cheaper than you think.

Saving money on car insurance tips

Finding ways to save money is one of the most top most searched things in the world whether it’s limiting how much you spend on takeaways or finding cheaper car insurance. Saving on takeaways every month is fairly simple but deciding on the best is not. Make sure you shop around and get as many quotes as possible. We will help you make the right decision to get cheaper insurance that’s still service you the way you need it.

Firstly, let’s look at: What car insurance is

Car insurance is a legal agreement with a contract between you and the insurance company of your choice. The insurance company will cover you in case of an accident or theft or fire depending on the cover that you have chosen. Have a look at a more detailed description of the different types of insurance:

Types of car insurance

  1. Comprehensive cover

Many people don’t know when they buy a car with financing from a bank or institution it is compulsory to get comprehensive vehicle insurance. Many people that have paid their cars up in full still opt for comprehensive insurance as it’s the best cover that you can get. What do you get with comprehensive car insurance?

  • Covers the damages to your car if you are in an accident, that excluded the excess payment that you have to make.
  • Covers full or partial payment for damages of another persons car involved in an accident with you, this is called Third party insurance if you look at it alone.

2. Third party car insurance

Third-party insurance is the cheapest cover but will only provide cover for the other car not for damage to your own vehicle.

3. Third party, fire and theft car insurance

With this cover, you get third party cover and you will be covered for fire damage and the event that your car is stolen.

Factors that can affect how cheap your monthly car insurance premiums will be

  • Which area do you live in?  Does this cause your car to be at higher risk?
  • Where do you work? Can this increase your risk factor for your insurer?
  • Drivers with high-risk vehicles could increase your premium. Is your car’s make and model popular for theft or hijacking? This could increase your premium.
  • Claiming multiple times in a short space of time will increase your car insurance premium.
  • Your age can have an impact on your premium, along with other personal factors.
  • Who is driving your car?
  • How far do you drive your car every month?
  • Your credit score can increase or decrease your premiums.
  • Where is your car parked? If your car is parked in a garage, it is seen as a lower risk and your premium could be cheaper.

Make sure you mention these things to your car insurance company just in case they have the wrong information when it comes to the above-mentioned factors.

Excess

Make sure your car insurance company has the same excess for you in mind as you do. Whatever your needs are when it comes to affordable or cheap insurance in South Africa remember never to go with the first company that comes around and always make sure you read through your policy wording before you sign that document.

To find out how much cheaper your insurance can be, go and compare insurance quotes on the MoneyPanda page, you will not be sorry.

Why don't many South Africans have car insurance?

How many drivers in South Africa have car insurance? About 65% of South African cars on the road are not insured, that’s pretty eye-opening I would say. Do you ever think why so few cars are uninsured in South Africa?

Car insurance being a financial priority in South Africa

Car insurance may not be seen as a priority for drivers in SA for a couple of different reasons, let’s look at some of the reasons:

Constantly increasing living expenses in South Africa, things have not gotten better as far as the cost of living in this country. There have been many increases from 2019 to 2020 such as an increase in the price of food, the price of petrol and the increase in taxes. We have not been able to catch a break when it comes to electricity supply and cost in South Africa. Eskom increased the price of electricity over the years but in 2019 it hit an all-time high with a 15.63% increase.

South Africans with limited disposable income have suffered the most and see insurance as a luxury because it just is not in their budget. The thing that motorists need to wrap their heads around is that car insurance can be affordable if you compare quotes and find the best insurance company with the best insurance company. It actually takes less effort than people think with websites like MoneyPanda that compare multiple quotes for you and instantly.

Car Insurance is often described as a grudge purchase and drivers most likely want to spend their money on something fun that they can enjoy immediately. I guess that’s the cost of being an adult.

“I don’t need car insurance”

Another reason that South Africans don’t have insurance is the psychological phenomenon that we call optimism. Now optimism is a good thing but not when it overrides your good decision making. People may ignore the real-world factors because they feel invincible and that car accidents don’t happen to them, this may cause drivers to think that they don’t need insurance but there are so many things out of your control on the road that you don’t want to be financially out of control when it comes to insurance.

Education on car insurance in South Africa

A potential reason that some motorists don’t have car insurance in South Africa can be due to an education gap. It seems that many South Africans don’t have sufficient knowledge about insurance, car accidents and statistics on the road. South Africa has one of the most dangerous roads in the world and we rank 42nd most dangerous out of all countries. South Africa’s road safety holds a record of being one of the poorest according to the WHO (World Health Organization).

Drivers in South Africa may also not have knowledge of how much car insurance costs and that you can get cheap quotes with the best insurance companies in SA. They may also be unaware of how costly it is to repair a car when it’s involved in an accident and is possibly not aware that if they cause the accident, they can be liable for damages to other drivers' cars.

Before buying car insurance make sure that you do your homework, look at car insurance reviews on MoneyPanda and use MoneyPanda’s 5-minute comparison platform.

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