The exorbitant cost of petrol, along with most other things, is leaving us all short and we have to choose between what we really need and the “nice-to-haves”.
Our company does a lot of work for insurance companies and I am picking up an alarming trend: many are opting to have their valid claims settled on a cash basis because they can’t afford the excess payment.
Please always ensure you fully understand what your excess payment will be in terms of your policy. It is often something that is not fully understood until you receive an account from your service provider for somewhere between R500 and R1500, depending on the insurer and the event.
Obviously, no one wants to pay R1000 for a repair that is valued only at R3000, so they would rather take R2000 cash and do the job themselves, or live with the damage. There are two problems here: many people don’t repair the damage and use the money for something more pressing, or forget that if the same thing happens again they might not receive a pay-out.
Be wise and repair, or let an expert do it for you. We all have to start cutting down on the amount of petrol we use. Listening to my favourite radio station, it became clear that driving at 90km/h instead of 120km/h will knock about 25% off your fuel bill. I have issued an instruction at work that anyone caught driving over 90km/h will be called into my office for a chat.
*Handy Mac, aka Don MacAlister, is our expert on household DIY issues. If you have a question for him, please send it to [email protected] or SMS only to 082 446 3859. Find Don on FB: