July 4, 2019
You have just come out of the shops and walked down the street to where you parked your car. To your horror, you discover that it’s no longer there. “No, it can’t be true, maybe I parked on the other side of the road”, you say. None of us would like to be in such a situation, and fortunately, today, many car guards are doing a great job. Let’s examine why car theft cover makes up a vital part of car insurance.
Please consider this article as only information and not advice. Car insurance is complicated, and if you are considering to purchase some car insurance product, you will be well advised to first consult a financial advisor.
A November 2017 Wheels24 article1 reveals some interesting figures. Vehicle theft in South Africa is happening at a high rate. From April 2016 to March 2017, a total of 16 717 cars were stolen, a considerable increase on the previous year’s 14 602 cars. Hijacking increased by 14.5%. About 40 – 45 cars1 per day were stolen during 2015 – 2017.We don’t want to be part of these statistics and so what can be done to mitigate these risks?
Vehicle theft appears to increase over weekends.1 This is understandable, seeing that, over weekends, people that usually park in secure office parking lots, may now be parking in unsecure areas. This may happen when watching a rugby match, leaving you with no choice but to park in some isolated area. For these reasons, criminals are particularly active over weekends.
For some reason, this theft pattern has emerged, and motorists need to be extra alert during these two months.1
Seeing that Gauteng is the most densely populated of all the provinces, it makes sense that car theft occurs the most in that province (64.65%).1 The province with the lowest car theft is the Free State (1.35%).
Car theft in KwaZulu-Natal is the second-highest at 14.39%, with Durban Central, Westville, and Pinetown considered hot-spot areas.1However, don’t rely too much on all these patterns, as they can shift all the time depending on police and criminal activities.
According to the Wheels24 article of November 2017, during 2016-2017, 8610 cars were hijacked in Gauteng, compared to 3029 in KwaZulu-Natal, and 2201 vehicles in the Western Cape.1
The following points are worthwhile taking note of:1,2
We have seen how dangerous South Africa has become regarding car theft and car hijackings. So what are you waiting for? Do you have car insurance? PMD provides affordable car insurance, which you can buy using their Online Insurance Purchase Platform. The whole process doesn’t take long, and isn’t difficult. You can do this at any time that suits you. If you have any problems, you can use PMD’s call-back facility, as well as audio and video materials.
Sources:
November 7, 2023
November 7, 2023
