Remedies against uninsured road users

An insurance policy is a financial contract between a policyholder and an insurer, which is almost always an insurance company. The insurer agrees to pay in the event that the person or property insured suffers a type of loss named in the policy. For example, a car insurance policy will pay for the damage sustained by another vehicle and any injuries to its occupants in an accident where you’re at fault. 

But for uninsured motorists this is not the case. There are various reasons why there are uninsured road users. Some of these reasons include: Drivers not having car insurance due to not being able to afford it. Or that the driver thinks because they’ve never had an accident it’s unnecessary, as well as the cost of the insurance over a year being greater of the price of their car. 

According to the estimates by the Automobile Association (AA) most drivers on the road are driving uninsured. If we look at some of the remedies you could consider for uninsured road user these may include.  

There’s the Road Accident Fund (RAF)  

In South drivers are automatically covered by third party insurance as part of the RAF, this coverage only covers some of the many claims that may arise as the result of an accident. It offers basic third party insurance, but is extremely limited in nature. The Road Accident Fund only protects you from liability in the event of death or injury, and won’t protect you from being sued for damages to other person’s vehicle or property. 

Then also uninsured road users can self–insure  

If you don’t have an insurance policy to cover you that means you’ve decided to self–insure instead of paying a premium to an insurer. In theory this may sound like a great idea, if you can afford to payout damages made to your vehicle, such as a dent on the bumper for instance. But self-insurance may not always work out in the long run in instances where it would cost you more money to fix your car than you originally paid for it.