NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION NO 389
Mr M S F de Freitas (DA) to ask the Minister of Transport:
What (a) compulsory insurance are road users obliged to take and (b) are
the consequences if they fail to
do so?
NW470E
REPLY
a) Private road users are not required to take any compulsory insurance,
whilst persons carrying on the business of operating public transport
services are obliged, in terms of section 62 of National Land
Transportation Act, No.5 of 2009, to prove that insurance cover, as
prescribed, is in place before the operating license is issued; and
b) I am informed that the indemnity provided by the Road Accident Fund,
in terms of section 21 of the Road Accident Fund Act, No.56 of 1996,
for claims against bodily injury or death caused by or arising from
the driving of motor vehicles, no civil liability arises for either
private road users or for persons carrying on the business of
operating public transport services, in respect of the aforementioned
types of claims. However, the indemnity provided by the Road Accident
Fund is limited to claims for bodily injury or death. Road users are
therefore not indemnified for claims for material damages and or
economic loss, unless the road user has taken private insurance. In
the absence of such private insurance the road user is at risk losing
his assets, including his motor vehicle, to compensate the material
damages claims