Since 87 with blocks

THE INSURER

SEPTEMBER 2017

Lose your driver’s licence forever

The new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTA) amendment bill aims to introduce a demerit points system for traffic offences as well as removing the courts from the AARTO process and replacing them with a dedicated authority. If a driver’s demerit points exceed 12, their licence is suspended for three months for every demerit point over 12. If suspended a third time, the licence is permanently cancelled.

After an accident

It is unfortunate but most drivers, no matter how well they drive or how roadworthy their vehicle, will probably have some sort of vehicle accident during the years that they are on the road. Knowing how to cope - when probably suffering from shock - will ensure that the matter is properly handled and that your insurance claim is processed quickly and effectively. Read here what to do when you have a car accident.

When spending = theft

Sibongile Mani hit the headlines when she went on a spending spree after R14.1-million was mistakenly deposited into her account. There is no easy way out for her – the law states that if you spend money that you know is not yours, you are committing theft. There is another problem, for those who pay money to the incorrect recipient. Because banks cannot remove money from someone’s account without permission, the only option is possibly lengthy and costly legal action.

Plans to scrap medical aid tax credits

Should the government scrap medical aid tax credits, it would force nearly 2 million people to stop using private healthcare, with an estimated 22% of SA’s 8 million medical aid members having to rely on the overloaded state system. In a National Health Insurance (NHI) policy document, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said he wanted to remove the tax credit, which amounts to R20-billion a year.

Cellphone insurance

Consumer journalist Wendy Knowler comments, “Many people go for the convenience of signing up for insurance while they’re ‘upgrading’…but often it’s cheaper to add the new handset to your existing short-term insurance policy: it is added to your cover on an all-risks basis, being specified and insured for a specific replacement value”. She also advises that updating the phone’s value is important: “Make sure your cellphone insurance policy covers you for the correct value of your phone…When you upgrade your phone, make sure that you upgrade your cellphone insurance at the same time.”

Safire Baynesfield MTB Classic

The Safire Baynesfield MTB Classic was held on Sunday 17 September, with riders of all ages and proficiencies taking to the scenic trails of the Baynesfield Estate near Pietermaritzburg for this fun, family-focused event. This day has seen a steady growth in popularity, appealing to both professional riders looking for a win as well as parents who see it as an ideal way to introduce younger members of the family and novices to a professional level ride. The 65km race winners were (male riders): 1st - Stuart Marais, 2nd - Matthew Stamatis, 3rd - Andrew Johnson and ladies: 1st - Christie-Leigh Hearder, 2nd - Nadine Nunes and 3rd - Stacey Hyslop. Have a look at more pics from the day on our Facebook page.

Moving milk

A ban by Russian president Vladimir Putin on cheese imports from the EU has caused milk prices in Russia to skyrocket by 14%. French yogurt-maker Danone is moving almost 5000 cows from the Netherlands and Germany to a dairy farm in Siberia to ensure that it has an affordable milk supply.

Nonstop OZ-UK

Airbus and Boeing are working on new models of long-range aircraft that could make the trip from Sydney to London nonstop in 20 hours and 20 minutes, and could reach New York in about 18 hours. Qantas hopes to take delivery of such a plane and begin its nonstop Sydney-London route in 2022.

Rising costs

The European Environment Agency says that extreme weather has cost Europe over 351-billion Euros and killed 85 000 people through heat waves, floods, storms, forest fires, droughts and cold over the last three decades. It states that global warming is worsening the situation, with costs to the EU soaring by 80%.

Extreme weather

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria recently battered the Caribbean, Cuba and the USA, while also this month there has been flooding in France, Italy and Oman. Signs of global warming or just the usual effects of extreme weather? Have a look…

WATCH

ECONOMIC TIDBITS

3% - amount of the world’s electricity produced by Africa, which has 1.2-billion people and 20% of global land mass.

1000 tons – amount of honey usually imported to South Africa annually to cope with our annual consumption of 3000 tons. The shortage could be worsened by the drought.

7th – South Africa’s position on a list of most charitable countries in Africa according to the Charities Aid Foundation.

50% - number of first-time vehicle finance applications rejected by financial institutions, as a global trend of sharing transportation grows.

R10-billion – amount of the total budget spent on environment protection by the SA government in 2014-2015.

R10.9-million – average turnover of small businesses in SA; 80% of them refuse to deal with government because of late/non-payment and red tape.

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