When the question come up “who qualifies for car insurance” the answer should always be not only anyone who owns a car, but also anyone who drives the car. Many car owners make the mistake of thinking that when the insure a car it means that anyone who drives the car will be insured in the result of an accident. The first and most obvious criteria should be that the person driving the car should have a driver’s license, which needs to be totally up to date.

If a person drives a car without having a license, they are not only breaking several laws they are also nullifying the terms of the insurance policy on the car. This means that if the car is involved in any form of accident, the insurance company are not obliged to pay out, and justifiably so. Car owners should make every effort to ensure that nobody drives their car without authorization.

This is a simple rule of thumb that many car owners overlook. Your car is an asset that will be worth a lot of money to you, and will be expensive to replace. Before you allow anyone to dive your car, take all the time and trouble that is involved to ensure that they are covered by insurance to drive your car. If anything happens you will soon discover that this “close friend” who was perched on your shoulder, relentlessly requesting to borrow your car has become conspicuous by their absence.

The other area where there is some doubt about who qualifies for car insurance is if the insurance policy is not paid up to date. Many car owners, especially in today’s troubled financial times, either fail to pay their policy altogether or fall into arrears with their standing orders to the bank. While this is a situation which is very uncomfortable, the plain facts are that a car whose insurance cover has lapsed due to non -payment of the premium should not be on the road.

Insurance companies are in business to make profit and usually react very aggressively when they do not get paid their premiums. Drivers who have taken out a policy for their car and failed to pay the premiums are not insured. If the car is stolen or involved in an accident, the insurance company will not pay out on their claim if the owner goes on their hands and knees and begs to back pay their premium on the policy.

Owning a car and driving it on South Africa’s roads is a major responsibility. The question of who qualifies for car insurance does not lead to any grey areas of uncertainty. The answer is that anyone who owns a car drives a car that they own or is given a car to drive needs to have a current car insurance policy, in line with their experience, age and any other factors that are liable to affect the policy’s terms and conditions.