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Always insure your car for its retail value

Always insure your car for its retail value

Jul 2, 2019 | Blog, King Price

Always insure your car for its retail value
 
When you insure your car, you can choose how much you want to insure it for. We don’t mean that you can choose the exact value. Like, you can’t go and choose to insure your 2009 Hyundai i10 for R180,000. Rather, you’re given 3 types of values for your car and you can choose between them. These 3 options include the market value, the trade value, and the retail value. Usually, you’ll read up on this info and be told what each is and then you get to decide which 1 is better for you. That can be useful… But knowing what the words mean isn’t always the most helpful guidance you can receive.
We’re going another way with this. We’re going to unpack what retail value means and then tell you why we think it’s a good value to choose when insuring your car.
 
What retail value is
An easy way to remember what retail value means is to think about ‘sales’. Because the retail value is the price that your car can go on sale for. Or if that’s too complicated and you don’t need a story to remember what this means, then basically, the retail value is the average amount that a dealer would sell your car for if it is stolen or written off in an accident.
The retail value of a car is generally higher than the market value, which takes into account factors like mileage, your car’s condition, service history, and accident reports. This results in a value that you could likely sell your car for if you were to do it privately.
 
Why retail value is good
Even though the retail value of a car is generally higher than the market value, it isn’t (as some people might think) a way to make you richer after an accident. You see, car insurance is intended to indemnify you, which is to bring you back to the same financial position you were in before the accident or theft.
And you usually can’t do that when you choose market value.
When it comes to retail value, your car will be insured for its full retail value at the time of the incident. So you’ll receive a pay-out equal to the amount that your car is worth when it was stolen or written off. Not the value it had when you originally bought it. So if you claim for your car, you’ll get the best pay-out if you insured your car for the retail value.
Some insurers will only insure your car for its full retail value, like King Price, because they so thoroughly believe that it is the fairest value to offer consumers. And because they’re big believers in keeping things fair, they don’t just look at the true value of your car when it comes to its insurable value. They also look at its value over time and how this impacts your car insurance premium.
To this end, King Price automatically calculates your car’s depreciating retail value and passes these savings onto YOU every month. This way, your car is still insured for the best possible value, at a super cheap premium that will decrease monthly. And why on earth should you pay the same premium every month for a car that only ever loses value?
If you want to save money on your insurance without having to lift a finger or do the calculations yourself, then get a King Price car insurance quote today.
Car Insurance

Car Insurance

Oct 30, 2018 | Blog, King Price

5 Things to look out for in a good panelbeater.

 

Without car insurance, a trip to the panelbeater can leave you with a pit in your stomach. You probably haven’t had a ton of accidents (well, we hope not!) and so you’re probably not well-versed with the costs involved, or which panelbeater to trust, or how long anything should take. And that’s kind of a good thing, until you actually need a panelbeater.

Obviously (or maybe not so obviously) the best-case scenario is 1 in which you have car insurance from a reputable insurer that only uses trusted suppliers and repairers to help get their clients back on the road ASAP. But what if you don’t have cover? Or what if the damage quoted by your insurer is almost the same amount as your excess so you choose not to claim but now have to find your own panelbeater to deal with the repairs?

You’d need to know a thing or 2 and these tips will help you find an honest, reliable, and cost-effective panelbeater.

 

#1 A rock solid reputation

You’re looking for a panelbeater that’s been active in the industry for several years, has a spotless reputation and a few certifications, and has a clean online presence that gives you info about their services upfront, or even a social profile where you can read customer reviews.

A panelbeater with a good rep will want to protect it, so a good rep is a good sign.

 

#2 Appearances matter a little

You wouldn’t be paranoid if you did a drive-by to see if the workshop has actual equipment (that isn’t from the dark ages), is reasonably tidy, and gives you the feeling that you’re dealing with professionals. That it’s not someone’s backyard, with a few skadonks parked on the lawn, and metal scraps lying around.

It isn’t even legal for a panelbeater to operate out of a residential area, so just don’t.

#3 Special cars need special skills

If you’ve got a classic, vintage, or in any way special, car then you need to make sure that your panelbeater can handle your baby’s special requirements. This usually includes having connections in the industry for specialised parts, special equipment, and hands-on expertise. To be honest, it wouldn’t be rude to ask to see some of the repairer’s previous work.

 

#4 It’s in the details (of the quote)

It’s no good getting a quote for the overall cost. What you want before any work is done is a breakdown of the cost, showing you in great detail what’s going to happen to your car. A good and reputable panelbeater should list the cost of the parts, labour, painting, and any other repairs that your baby needs.

You might even be able to suss out from the quotation how long the work will take to be completed. Actually, a good sign is a panelbeater who’s willing to talk openly and honestly with you about costs, timelines, quality, and any other concerns.

#5 Got any guarantees?

They say that there are no guarantees in this life. But that’s not the case when it comes to panelbeaters. What you’re on the lookout for is a panelbeater who’ll provide a guarantee of the parts they’ve sorted out for you, a warranty of those parts, and a guarantee on the workmanship.

This tells you that the business has your interests at heart and wants to protect their own reputation.

 

#6 Get insurance that only uses the best

It can be challenging to find a panelbeater that you can trust, but with these tips you’re sure to be much better off. Of course, if you have car insurance from an insurer with a reliable reputation for putting their clients’ wellbeing at the front and centre of all that they do, then everything becomes that much easier.

King Price, for example, makes no secret of the fact that they treat all their clients like royalty. The royal insurer also prides itself on using royally-approved service providers and offering sensible car insurance that decreases every month. Which is what you want when it comes to protecting your 4-wheeled baby.