Tag: motor insurance rates

5 ways to get cheaper car insurance in Kenya

Here are 5 simple ways to get a saving on your car insurance premium in Kenya.

According to Kenyan law, car insurance is mandatory for anyone to operate a vehicle on Kenyan roads. Third party car insurance is the minimum required cover for motor owners. A large percentage of motor vehicle owners use comprehensive motor insurance. The annual cost of this can vary from as low as KSh 18,000 all way to over KSh 500,000 depending on the market value of the vehicle. Below are 5 simple ways in which you can get a saving on your insurance costs whether buying a new car or renewing your existing car insurance policy!

BUY ONLINE

With the advent of online shopping in Kenya with the likes of jumia.co.ke and kililmall.co.ke, you can also go online and shop for financial services like credit cards, bank accounts and last but not least insurance. Using websites like www.pesabazaar.com, online price comparison portals, you can check the cost of insurance, benefits, limits and more from many different insurance companies in the market all at your fingertips. In addition, you can also compare with insurance company websites like jubilee insurance, old mutual insurance which offer live prices on their respective websites. In addition, check out new products in the market like Heritage Auto Correct motor insurance policy. It is geared at savvy customers and use telematics to score and rate your With the advent of technology, the customer now truly has choices in the market, convenience, savings and transparency. So next time you are shopping for your new car insurance or renewal policy, start your journey online before you bother heading offline into company offices, agents and brokers.

Remove non-essential add-ons

When purchasing your car insurance, look closely at the quote to verify the add-ons section. These are normally the insurance options on top of the basic car insurance cover. The most common ones are the excess protector for own damage, excess protector for theft, political violence and terrorism cover, courtesy car, towing and rescue by AA Kenya and Infama and more. So if you want to get your insurance costs down, review these optional add-ons and decide whether it makes sense for your particular needs to get rid of them.

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Use Your NCD

The No Claims Discount (NCD) is a scheme that was introduced in the Kenyan insurance market to reward good drivers with clean claims record. This is a common concept in other developed markets overseas where a customer receives discounts on the cost of his insurance each they spend without claiming. In Kenya, the system has failed to take off because of lack of coordination between the different insurers in the market. However, with advance planning, a customer is able to get their NCD certificate and use it to shop around between different providers to get a good deal on their insurance cover. In addition, staying with a single insurer and proving a good claims record can give you the customer leeway in negotiating cheaper insurance rates.

Look out for offers

This is yet another way to get your motor insurance policy in Kenya at a cheaper price. Plan ahead before buying your car insurance or renewing you existing motor policy, many banks (bancassurance), brokers and online insurance platforms give out offers to attract new customers or retain existing ones. Discounts may apply to the motor insurance prices, offers for free fuel, shopping vouchers, credit card offers. These can help you pay less up front costs or receive rebates in the form of offers. However, it is important to calculate the total net savings on any offers and promotions because many times these offers may only be amounting to marketing gimmicks.

NEED A QUOTE?

If you are looking to save up to 30% on your car insurance premiums, compare benefits and liability limits from up to 10 top car insurance companies in Kenya, then check out live quotes on the link below or get chatting with one of expert sales agents online.

https://www.pesabazaar.com/insurance/motor-insurance/comprehensive

 

How Comprehensive Car Insurance works in Kenya

Comprehensive is the best car insurance policy on the market in the Kenya. Below we look into the details of the cover, prices, how to get the cover and finally what happens in the event of an insurance claim.

When it comes to getting a motor insurance cover in Kenya, one is faced with 3 choices:

  • Comprehensive
  • Third Party Only (TPO)
  • Third Party Fire &Theft (TP

The TPO cover is the most popular cover on the market because it is the most cost friendly starting at KSh 5,063. It is also the lowest cover required and mandated by law to be able to operate a motor vehicle on Kenyan roads according to the traffic act Cap 405

In this series, we shall look at the comprehensive insurance cover and explore how it works, what it covers, how to get on cover and the claims process!

Car Insurance Companies

Most of the companies offering General Insurance products also offer car insurance. While all companies will offer this for private cars and commercial vehicles, most have already shied away for PSV related vehicles like UBER/Taxify and Matatu buses. Therefore, when getting comprehensive car insurance, shop around and see where you could get the best value for money.

The table below shows a typical comprehensive car insurance policy offered in Kenya and what is covered

COVER LIMIT (KSh)
Third party property damage 20,000,000
Death Injury to any one person 3,000,000
Death Injury any one event Unlimited
Passenger legal Liability one person 4,000,000
Passenger Legal Liability One event 20,000,000
Authorised Repair Limit 50,000
Emergency Medical Expenses 50,000
Towing 50,000
Windscreen damage 50,000
Entertainment Unit 50,000
Floods, Earthquakes, Thunder Covered
Riot, Strikes, Fire Covered

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Windscreen and Radio Cover

This is a special section of the comprehensive car insurance cover. It normally covers from KSh 30,000 up to KSh 100,000 for damages or loss to the windscreen and car entertainment system separately. While car radio thefts were prevalent in the past, they are much less common presently, windscreen damage is the most common on this cover. Customers can also buy a higher limit of insurance for this section at a price, which is normally 10% of the additional limit required. For example, to buy an extra KSh 50,000 of windscreen cover, one pays KSh 5,000.

In case of damage, this cover is not subject the excess requirements on the insurance policy. The damage claim is admissible however small. Many car insurance companies will normally settle such a claim on re-imbursement. This means that the insured will repair the damages and present receipts for re-imbursement.

In addition, after a claim has been admitted and settled, the client has to buy a windscreen cover re-instatement at a cost of 10% of the windscreen limit on the policy

Accidental Damage and Theft

This is the biggest and most often claimed part of the comprehensive car insurance policy. This covers against physical damage to the insured vehicle from road accidents caused by the insured and third parties. The motor policy will then foot the costs of towing, inspection and repairs subject to the excess terms discussed in the section below.

Car Insurance Theft
Car Insurance – Theft

In addition, comprehensive insurance in Kenya covers partial and full theft of the vehicle. Partial theft is where parts and accessories like tyres, side mirrors, etc are stolen while full theft the entire vehicle is taken. Again, this insurance covers these losses subject to excess terms.

Excess Protector

This is the most recommended add-on to the basic comprehensive car insurance. It kicks in when an accident has occurred and the vehicle is to be repaired. As the name suggests, it protects the insured against paying excesses from their own pocket. The excess payable is normally set at 2.5% of the vehicle value for private cars and 5% of vehicle value for PSV and commercial cars. It is also subject to a minimum of about KSh 20,000. Check your quotes and policy schedule for more details and specific values for the policy. If the damage repair costs exceed these figures, the excess protector kicks in and the insured does not have to pay a penny out of pocket. For a detailed explanation of the excess protector, description and examples of the different scenarios, check out this excess protector guide

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Motor Insurance Rates and NCD

When it comes to rates for comprehensive car insurance in Kenya, it’s all about compare and shop around. Generally, the rate will be between 3-4% of the market value of your car for the basic comprehensive cover. The insurance industry in Kenya introduced the concept of the No Claims Discount (NCD) in the early 2000 but this concept failed to take off. It promised to reward good drivers with no insurance claims with low prices while punishing high claiming clients. However due to lack of information sharing in the industry and vigorous undercutting, it failed to take off.

It is always advisable to add excess protector for own damage and political violence and terrorism (PVT) cover to the basic comprehensive cover. These normally go for 0.25% each of the value of the car to be insured subject to a minimum of KSh 1,500 each. While these are the most common add-ons, you can check out additional benefits and their prices on a comparison site like www.pesabazaar.com

Car Insurance Fire
Car Insurance – Fire

How To Make a Car Insurance Claim

With the high number of vehicles on the roads, the NTSA statistics reports over 683 people have lost their lives in 2019 as a result of road accidents. Therefore, in case of an accident, don’t panic. Get out of your vehicle and step away from the scene. Do not accept liability of any kind. Wait for the police to arrive and get in touch with your agent/broker. They advise on how to lodge a claim and help you with towing, paper work, accident assessors and garages. It is therefore crucial to have a good agent/broker for when the bad times come.

GET A QUOTE

If you are looking for a quote for comprehensive car insurance, to compare at least 10 different providers, prices, benefits and customer reviews, click here to get a quote instantly.

BRITAM Car Insurance Cover

BRITAM is the third largest car insurer in Kenya and offers cover for all kinds of motor vehicles except the MATATU industry. These are some of the details of the BRITAM motor cover.

British American (BRITAM) is one of the largest insurance and investments companies in the region with areas of operation from Kenya, Malawi, South Sudan, Rwanda, Mozambique, Uganda and Tanzania. In Kenya, BRITAM is the second largest life insurance company closely behind the industry leader JUBILEE. BRITAM is listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange and boasted of record profits of KSh 1.4 Billions half-year profits in 2018.

BRITAM car insurance is of the largest insurance portfolios in Kenya totalling to KSh 2.5 billions in premiums at position number 4 in the market. On the list of the top car insurance companies, BRITAM comes behind CIC Insurance, UAP Old Mutual Insurance and APA insurance company. It underwrote car insurance premiums of KSh 2.6 Billions in 2017 putting it in third place. Similar to the rest of the industry, it also suffered a big underwriting loss in this class of close to KSh 600 millions

BRITAM offers car insurance for private vehicles, commercial vehicles and also the popular class of chauffeur driven vehicles operating on the ride hailing apps like UBER, Taxify and LITTLE. In addition it also offers car insurance for hired vehicles, these are vehicles, which are leased out to members of the public who wish to self-drive.

The BRITAM car insurance policy is divided into the following key sections:

1. Accidental loss or damage to own vehicle

This may be resulting from the collision, overturning, fire damage or theft of whole or part of the vehicle.

2. Third Party Liabilities – legal liabilities arising out of ownership or use:

This includes damage to property and belonging of other people, vehicles and buildings. In addition to death and injury of pedestrians and members of the public and death and injury to pedestrians

3. Emergency Medical Expenses to driver or passengers or pedestrians following an accident

This policy covers different types of vehicles including the private motor vehicles, commercial vehicles like lorries and pickups for commercial and own goods carriage and last also the PSV chauffeur driven vehicles like UBER and Taxify vehicles.

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The BRITAM motor insurance cover also gives the following special benefits:

i. Free cover for windscreen, theft of audio and video accessories which are not subject to excess

ii. Free cover for spare wheel, jack and tool box for the insured vehicle

iii. Free cover for protection, recovery & towing after accident

iv. Non Claim Discount (NCD) – this goes up to 60% depending on the number of years for not claiming

v. Discount on fleets of vehicles of size ranging from three vehicles and more

vi. Flexible premium rates and terms

vii. Cover for damage to vehicles in the custody of Motor Trader or Garage

viii. Geographical scope – Kenya, but can be extended to other East African countries on request

x. Authority for emergency repairs up to an agreed limit as per the car insurance policy document

GET A QUOTE

If you are looking for a quote for motor insurance, check out a comparison of over 10 motor insurance covers online and compare benefits, prices and also check out customer reviews. Get an online motor insurance quote here