IT was on March 3 this year while I was going for work around 07:30 hours that another motorist hit into my motor vehicle from behind.
As fate had it, 07:30 hours is too late a time for me to be on the road to work, since I always want to beat the traffic congestion, which becomes intense any time after 07:00 hours in the capital city, Lusaka.
On this day, however, and for reasons beyond my control, there I was on Independence Avenue just after the Woodlands Shopping Complex Roundabout heading into town.
In the Baptist Church/United Church of Zambia (UCZ) vicinity, with my car stuck having joined the traffic jam, I could, through the rear mirrors, see a car coming after mine at high speed.
From that speed, I could foretell that it would not stop without applying emergency brakes and momentarily, I could not think of what to do – whether to scream, hoot or drive the car off the road to escape the imminent rear danger.
By the time I subconsciously decided to hoot, the approaching car had already hit into my car and as they say the rest is history!
One would, however, not be faulted for wondering as to what that road mishap I experienced has to do with this column!
It has something to do with Policy Analysis because my “basher” insisted that the insurer of his car would be able to meet the cost of repairing my car, under the third party arrangement.
Despite being told the cost implications in terms of time, inconvenience, and other issues which made the insurance route unattractive to him and me, the man who caused the accident said he would totally rely on his insurance firm.
For the sake of gaining some experience, I reluctantly agreed even if I knew it would cost me more than using my own money to have it repaired without going through the insurance company.
Using some known credible repairers I could have managed to have the car repaired at an affordable price, within a day or two, thereby eradicating all inconveniences.
I was, however, ready to go through the nasty experience which I am still doing up to now, for the sake of this article so that I could drive a point or two home, on insurance vis-à-vis motor vehicle policy.
At a risk of sounding like I am undoing what “my page mate,” Webster Twaambo has built over the last four years he has run the “Insurance Talk column,” I would say my experience with the insurance on this issue has not been encouraging.
As a victim of the accident, you are given so many tasks to do and most of them could clearly be seen and understood as having been aimed at frustrating you so that you stop the claim.
Despite producing the police report and other documents the insurance firm officials would demand for all the original documents whose copies you have furnished them with and have already been authenticated by the police.
At one time the insurance document for their counterpart, my insurer as the third party became the subject as the officials tried to discredit the policy I had with the insurer of my damaged car.
Before that you are given a catalogue of about 30 garages dotted in different parts of the city where you have to get at least three quotations, amid laborious paperwork.
This means that for that week one has to be dedicated to the sourcing of these quotations and paperwork, abandoning all other daily chores.
Ironically, this is the same person whose car has been damaged, who has to go round the city looking for these garages!
This is followed by the frequent visits to the insurance firm to push for the processing of the papers.
Even when one has done all this, and when one thinks it is over, there is the issue of the victim’s insurer confirming that the policy one has is valid, which could take another one week or so.
Then there is the issue of the long periods of repairs which for me is expected to take five working days from Monday this week when I took it to Friday since March 3 2016 when it was damaged.
That brings in another issue, the cost of alternative transport while the car is undergoing repair and who meets it.
I have come to understand why most motorists insure their motor vehicles just because it is law.
It is little wonder that stakeholders in the sectors had to intensively lobby, firstly to make the insurance, at least for third party, compulsory and secondly to make it mandatory to display the motor vehicle discs on the vehicles.
In my opinion, having achieved these two feats, which I am sure have raised the motor vehicle insurance levels, the stakeholders should not become complacent.
They should introduce ways of making motor vehicle insurance enjoyable and not merely endurable by the motorists and I would like to come up with some recommendations to that effect next week!
For comments: jmuyanwa@gmail.com, 0977 246099, 0955