The insurance product is available for kombis, buses, and sprinters, and covers for loss of income following an insured event, whilst a vehicle is being repaired, or during a period when the vehicle is being traced following theft or a hijacking.
By Ntokozo Nkambule
The Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation (ESRIC) has introduced a product extension to its Passenger Services Insurance Product. The extension will cover for loss of income following loss, damage, theft, and/or hijack of an insured vehicle.
Worth clarifying is that this product will only apply on fare paying passenger vehicles insured under comprehensive insurance. ESRIC’s Marketing, Corporate Communications, and Business Development Manager, Gcebile Simelane in an interview with this publication disclosed that their own investigations have unearthed that a number of public transport operators lose a lot of income whilst their insured vehicles are temporarily off the road as a result of unforeseen events which are covered in terms of the policy. For instance, whilst their Passenger vehicles are being repaired following accidental damage that is covered by the policy or during the period of tracing and recovery following theft and/ or hijacking.
Simelane said for kombis this product will allow for one month cover, while on buses and sprinters two months cover will be allowed. She said the rationale behind that is because it normally takes a two-month period to fix a bus or sprinter, but no more than a month in most cases for kombis.
Requirements for the Insured
- The insured shall be required to prove income, hence a log book for each vehicle must be kept.
- A copy of log book for the vehicle to be insured must be presented at the inception of the policy and /or on mid-term additions.
Pricing of Extensions- KOMBIS
| Limit of Cover | Premium Amount Per Year |
| E20 000 | E1 400 |
| E40 000 | E2 400 |
Pricing of Extensions –Buses/Sprinters
| Limit of Cover | Premium amount Per Year(One month) | Premium Amount Per Year (Two months) |
| E40 000 | E2 400 | E4 000 |
| E80 000 | E4 000 | E6 400 |
Moreover, Simelane said this product extension has been inspired by the corporation’s aim to address social inclusion in the context of insurance. “The purpose is to ensure that our products remain attractive to the insuring public, and to attain insurance social inclusion; it becomes important to design products that are affordable across all income groups and business sectors,” she said.