Once you’ve decided to insure your car you’ll need to find out what types of car insurance packages your insurance company offers and which of those suits your needs best.

Let’s take a look at how you can go about doing this.

What cover do the different car insurance policies give you?

Dialdirect offers four Car Insurance packages including Comprehensive Car Insurance, Comprehensive Off-road Car Insurance, Third-party, Fire and Theft Insurance and Third-party Only Insurance:

• Comprehensive Car Insurance:  Our Comprehensive Car Insurance covers the widest range of risks and gives you direct access to emergency assistance and Tow Truck Direct. Specifically, you’re covered for theft, accident, write off, third-party damage, windscreen, flood, and fire damage, and you can choose to include hail cover in your policy. You can also be certain your vehicle will get top-quality care if it needs repairing, because all repairs carry a lifetime guarantee. Get Car Insurance quotes online today so you can do your thing and get back ching.

• Comprehensive Off-road Car Insurance: Just like our standard Comprehensive Car Cover, our Off-road Insurance is fully inclusive. This is the right option if you’re a 4X4-driving adventure seeker. With Comprehensive Off-road Car Insurance, you get all the perks of Comprehensive Car Insurance, such as theft, accident, fire, flood cover, and more.

• Third-party, Fire, and Theft Insurance: Take up our Third-party, Fire, and Theft Insurance and you’ll be covered for vehicle theft, third-party damage, towing and storage, and you can choose to add windscreen, canopy, and sound system cover to your policy.

• Third-party Only Insurance: Our Third-party Only Insurance is a basic coverage that will help you out if you accidentally damage someone else’s property.

In addition, when you have Comprehensive or Off-road cover with us, you also get full access to our top-rated Dialdirect Insurance App. With it, you can request a tow at the tap of a button with Tow Truck Direct and earn cashback if you take up our Monthly Payback option. We are the only insurer to give you up to 75% of your premiums back in cash every month, just for driving right, depending on the cover and payback option that you are paying for.

What types of car insurance are there for businesses?

When insuring a vehicle/s for your business you have two options:  An option to insure a work vehicle under one driver, or an option to insure under multiple drivers with benefits limitations. Multiple drivers of the same car could mean slightly higher premiums.

What is car insurance excess?

An excess is the amount you have to pay in the event of a loss and is the uninsured portion of your loss. The excess serves to prevent customers from submitting minor claims as well as fraudulent claims and assists in keeping premiums down. Let’s use motor excess as an example. When you submit a claim, you will have to pay an excess, no matter who was to blame for the accident. It is important to read your policy documentation regarding excesses as there may sometimes be additional excesses depending on the facts of your claim, e.g. who was driving your vehicle at the time of the loss. In most cases, we offer a flat excess as opposed to an excess that is a percentage of your loss. We will also do our best to recover your excess from a guilty third party, just to make your life easier. This is a service we offer to our customers at no extra charge.

• How can I reduce my excess?: You can definitely reduce your excess. The way to do this is by increasing your premium. You can also reduce your premium by increasing your excess.

• Why do I have to pay an excess if I was not at fault?: An excess is payable whenever a claim is submitted and is the first payment that needs to be made in the event of a claim – regardless of whether you are guilty or not. The administrative cost of a claim is the same. If you are not at fault, you can claim the amount back from the other party. Unfortunately, this can take a long time, especially if the guilty party isn’t insured. Our legal recoveries department will do their utmost to recover your excess, at no extra charge.

• Why is an additional excess payable if someone else drives my vehicle?: Premiums are based on the details of the regular driver only. We provide cover for someone else to drive the vehicle occasionally without increasing the premium, but with an additional excess payable in case of a claim.

Why are some cars more expensive to insure than others?

To determine your car insurance premiums, car insurers will weigh up the risks you and the car you wish to insure, present. A good rule of thumb is: the bigger the price tag, the bigger the insurance premium.

There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, expensive cars with unique features and replacement parts (the availability of which is often scarce) cost more to repair. Cars you should avoid driving if you’re looking to minimise your insurance premiums and maximise your coverage include: 

• Higher-powered performance vehicles: The faster the car, the higher the premiums. This is because speed means higher accident risks and more damage means more to replace, which will drive the cost of your insurance up. 
• High-end luxury cars: High-end cars with all the latest comforts and features are typically expensive to insure because repairing them can be costly, especially if they’re written off. 
• Electric vehicles: If the price tag isn’t high enough, electric vehicles come with hefty insurance premiums – again due to the repair costs involved. Replacing an EV battery alone can cost thousands of rands.
• Cars targeted by thieves: In South Africa, some cars are high on the most-wanted list for hijackers. This is another factor you should take into consideration when choosing a car because it could affect your insurance premiums. Dialdirect’s Comprehensive Insurance covers theft, accident, third-party, windscreen, flood, and fire damage, plus you can choose to include hail cover in your policy.

Does cover include towing and roadside assistance?

It sure does. Dialdirect customers with Vehicle Insurance can make use of this benefit when caught between a rock and a hard place. Tow Truck Direct allows all Dialdirect Customers registered under the Comprehensive, Off-road Car Insurance and Third-party, Fire, and Theft Insurance to manage their own emergency and other assistance services. With Tow Truck Direct you can:

• Request assistance at the tap of a button through the Dialdirect Insurance App
• Be located automatically or give us your address where help is needed
• Know who will be helping and track the driver and estimated time of arrival
• Be assured that the right certified provider supplies the correct service to you

• Tow Truck Direct gives you peace of mind when you need it the most

Our Roadside and Towing Assist is now even better with the Dialdirect Insurance App. Get direct access to emergency roadside assistance with the tap of a button, whether that’s help changing a flat tyre, charging a flat battery, the services of a locksmith, fuel delivery (fuel charged at cost), or towing and storage of your vehicle. 

Dialdirect values your safety. In the event of an emergency, we make sure you send your vehicle off with an accredited assistance provider. We will send you the name, photo ID, and vehicle registration number of the assistance provider on their way to assist you so you know who to expect. 

Once you’re a Comprehensive Vehicle Insurance or a Third-party, Fire, and Theft Insurance customer, all you need to do is download the Dialdirect Insurance App and register for Tow Truck Direct. 

Note: The Breakdown Assistance service has a maximum annual limit of three call-outs per insured vehicle. 

Car Insurance with Dialdirect

Don’t get caught ‘uncovered’. Insure your car the way you want to with Dialdirect’s different Car Insurance types today and feel certain that your insurance will pay out in the event you need to claim. Get a car insurance quote online in just a few minutes today.

Remember, you can download and register on the Dialdirect Insurance App, and if you take up our Monthly Payback option, you can earn cash back every month. We are the only insurer to give you up to 75% of your premiums back in cash every month, just for driving right, depending on the cover and payback option that you are paying for. Plus, you automatically qualify for a Payback Bonus after four years of uninterrupted cover, even if you make certain claims.

If you get stuck or would like to clarify anything about your insurance coverage, simply call us on 0861 555 580 and a friendly consultant will help you, so you can be certain of the cover you’re taking out. Do your thing. Get back ching.