Main Menu

Insurance

Bucks Back Bonus

What is the Bucks Back Bonus? Dial Directs Bucks Back Bonus will pay you an amount equivalent to the first year's premiums or 25 % of the total premium paid over four - consecutive claim free - years (whichever is the lesser). All claim types affect this bonus.

What happens to my Bucks Back Bonus if I claim? The Bucks Back Bonus is a means of rewarding your clients for a claims-free history.  If you submit a claim, you will unfortunately forfeit your Bonus. You will however automatically begin a new four-year cycle towards your Bucks Back Bonus.

Claims

What is a no-claims bonus? A no-claims bonus is the discount given to drivers who have enjoyed continuous comprehensive cover without claiming during this period. An interruption of insurance of no less than 39 days will still qualify as continuous cover. Claims for window glass, car sound equipment and hail do not affect the no-claims bonus.

Will my premium increase if I submit a claim? Submitting a claim affects your no claim bonus which is the discount that you enjoy for a claims free history.  Your premium will therefore be adjusted after a claim.

Excess

When you submit a claim you will have to pay an excess. When you have to pay an excess for damages arising from an accident it is irrelevant who was to blame for the accident. An excess is the first amount payable by a customer in the event of a loss and so is the uninsured portion of your loss.

It serves to deter customers from submitting minor claims and it also deters fraudulent claims.  The main objective of the excess is to keep premiums down. 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 loss.

In most cases we offer a flat excess as opposed to an excess that is a percentage of your loss.

Recovering your excess: Dial Direct customers have the added benefit that we will try to recover your excess from a guilty third party even though there is no legal obligation for us to do so.

General

What action can I take if I dispute your decision on a claim? After we inform you of our decision on a claim, we will allow you 90 days to make representations with regard to our decision.  If we do not compensate you for a claim in full or any part of it, and you challenge our decision, you must serve legal process on us within 90 days after the time we allow for representations on disputed claims.

If I am unhappy about the way that I have been treated by Dial Direct what can I do? You can complain about your treatment to the Management of Dial Direct. If the matter is still unresolved you can refer the case to:

The Short-term Insurance Ombudsman P.O.Box 32334, Braamfontein, 2017, Tel: (011) 726 8900, Fax: (011) 726 5501. We have the Ombudsman for Short Term Insurance a written undertaking that we will always abide by his formal rulings in respect of any matter referred to him by a client.

Financial Services Board P.O.Box 35655, Menlo Park, 0102, Tel: (011) 428 8000, Fax: (011) 347 0221

Household

How do I determine the value of household contents? Before deciding what your home contents are worth and how much you should insure them for, you must make sure that you know what your home contents are. An easy way to determine this is to imagine taking the roof off your home and turning it upside down, everything that falls our of your house constitutes home contents.

You would then have to consider what it would cost to replace all these items at today's values; this is how much you should insure your home contents for. We will provide you with inventory to assist in calculating the value of your household goods.

You can also contact one of our specialist advisors who can assist you with any queries that you may have. Remember to reconsider this value every year because things keep getting more expensive and you generally also buy new goods every year.  Ensure that you increase this value every year to provide for the increase in value of your assets and to provide for the new assets you have purchased.

If I have home contents cover what am I insured against? Home contents cover provides cover for items stole from or damaged in your home in other words theft as well as other perils e.g.

• Fire
• Lightning
• Explosions
• Malicious damage
• Impact with your home and outbuildings without direct to your home
• Falling trees (but not while they are being felled)
• Earthquakes (but not from mining operations)
• Storms
• Floods
• Bursting or overflowing of geysers, equipment or pipes
• Break-in and theft

At Dial Direct you can also purchase cover for fire and storm which includes the above perils excluding theft and break-ins. This is a cheaper option but offers limited cover.

Policy

How do I make changes to my policy? Clients' circumstances may change from time to time e.g. his/her residential address or the make of a vehicle.  The client can change his/her contract to suit his/her new circumstances by phoning (link to contact details) or on the website (link to amendments) and requesting the change.  If the change is made via the website a consultant will contact you to confirm the change. This is done to ensure that we have the correct information and so that you can enjoy the correct cover. Any change to the policy is evaluated automatically by the system in terms of the normal underwriting criteria.  New documentation reflecting the changed information will be sent to you.

Can I cover the same item on more than one policy? Yes, this is known as double insurance and exists when two or more policies are taken out by an individual, for the same item and the total sum of the insured is more then what is required to replace the item. 

Important to remember is that in such a case the insured cannot recover more than the total amount for the loss of this item. 

However he/she can recover the "loss" amount from any one of the insurers. Once he/she has been indemnified, he/she cannot replicate the claim by expecting settlement from the other insurer.

Premiums

What factors are taken into account in determining what premium I pay? At Dial Direct, numerous things are taken into account including:

• The make and model of your motor vehicle.
• Where you live.
• Where your vehicle is kept at night.
• Who the driver of the vehicle is.
• What purpose your vehicle is used for.
• Your previous history claims.

Because your premium is calculated inter alia on these facts it is very important that you are honest with your insurer when answering these and any other questions.  If you are not sure about an answer rather tell the consultant this and get back to them later on.  It is important not only to be honest when you take out insurance but in your dealings with your insurer or broker, including when you claim.

Fraudulent claims costs the insurance industry millions every year and in turn results in increased premiums for you, the honest consumer.  A person claiming for a leather jacket that they never had in the first place would be considered guilty of fraud.

Fraud can also lead to a criminal record as most insurers prosecute customers who have committed fraud.

Is it true that my marital status can affect my premium?

Yes. We have found that married or co-habiting policy holders pose a lower risk than single or divorced policy holders do.

This is possibly because single people go out more often, and therefore pose a greater risk as they are on the road and their residences are left empty, more often.

Vehicles

When my vehicle is damaged in a collision, can I have repaired at a panelbeater of my choice? Our policy stipulates that we will repair your vehicle using a supplier on our panel.  Our motor body repairers guarantee their workmanship and will issue a lifetime guarantee on the repairs, once the vehicle has been repaired.

This allows us to constantly monitor the quality of the repairs affected by the motor body repairers that we work with.

However, should you insist that you want your vehicle repaired by a panelbeater of your choice; we will give you a cash in lieu settlement in the amount that it would have cost us to repair your vehicle.  In such an event we can obviously not guarantee the repairs of the vehicle.

What values can I insure my car for?

You can usually insure your car for either retail or market value.Retail value is the amount that a dealer would be able to sell your car for.Trade value is what a dealer would pay for your car. Market value is the average of these two values.  It is the amount that the car would be sold for in the market place.  The market value is therefore a lower value than the retail value and you would obviously pay a lower premium for this cover.

It would make no sense to insure your vehicle for more than either the retail or market values as you only will be paid out for the retail value of your car. These values obviously vary over time.

For a Free online Quote Click Here or Call : 0860 10 45 73