Author: Melissa Cohen

Have you asked the question, why would my car insurance premium be so expensive? I think most of us have experienced the excessive quote for car insurance and we wonder to ourselves how did the insurer get to that number! There are a few factors that impact your car insurance premium and this is why some people pay more than others when it comes to their premiums. There are a number of risk factors considered by your insurer which create your premium so the riskier your insurer see’s you the more you will pay for car insurance. You can use…

In today’s time, we google every single question that pops into our heads, no matter how dumb it is we will ask Google what the answer is. In actual fact the dumber it is the more critical it is for us to know so that we don’t embarrass ourselves in public. The Google team decided to release a report to show users what the most googled terms and questions were over the last decade. It will show you how South Africans think and what crosses the majority of the country’s minds. The most popular categories searched in South Africa were…

2020 has without a doubt been the strangest year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and all the social and economic issues that come with it. If you feel like you want to pull your hair our, don’t worry, you aren’t the only one. South Africans are dealing with more stress than ever and that’s why we decided to take the 2019 short-term Ombudsman’s report and give you a quick overview. Why do consumers need to see this report? This report coupled with the SA-csi 2019 report, analyzing consumers experiences with their insurance companies, gives us guidance on future insurance decisions…

Many South Africans are suffering with some kind of financial stress in 2020. Employees have lost their jobs; company owners have lost their businesses and many of us have lost our sanity trying to figure out how we are going to pay rent from one month to another. The South African economy has been hit hard since the COVID-19 lockdown and too many businesses have strict trading restrictions which are causing companies to barely break even, companies we thought would never have a problem making profit. How Can I Make Rent This Month? Many people are talking about cutting costs…

It’s no secret that COVID-19 has damaged South Africa’s economy, causing businesses to close down and leaving many jobless. As always when unemployment increases so does crime and more criminals are born. The unemployment rate in South Africa has increased to 30.1% from the fourth quarter of 2019. This is why we need to make sure we protect ourselves and our loved ones by setting up emergency location sharing on our cellphones. Many people don’t even know that this function exists, better more that it’s this easy to set up. Both Android and IOS have a built-in function for emergencies,…

If you’ve received that dreaded email…” Dear Customer, this is your policy update…” you know what’s coming. It’s almost always your insurance premium increasing. We have seen some insurance companies taking a bit of a chance or making mistakes with their consumers policy’s and increasing premiums more than 30%. If you see this, it’s not normal and we suggest that you contact your insurer and firstly ask why your insurance premium has increased by such a large amount. They may have a good reason depending on your circumstance but sometimes they have simply made a mistake. You don’t want to…

Why do so many South Africans opt to purchase secondhand cars rather than new cars? It simply comes to price! The price of cars in South Africa is extremely high especially compared to consumers’ salaries and expendable cash. With all the financial stress of COVID-19, most purchasers are having to apply for loans and financial help to buy not only new cars but also used cars. Buying a secondhand car is extremely stressful and because the average Joe isn’t a professional mechanic it’s difficult to see when there is actually something wrong with your potential baby. How much do you…

Sadly, in South Africa being bribed by an officer of the law is a common occurrence. We acknowledge that there are good cops and bad cops and you never really know which cop you can trust. Dembovsky said, “It should go without saying that not all traffic officers are corrupt, however, equally, not all traffic officers are not,”. “The truth of the matter is no-one really knows the full extent of corruption amongst traffic officials, mainly because relatively little is being done to actively combat the situation.” This is why we constantly need to be aware of our situation and…

Since new car purchases have taken such a massive knock during the COVID-19 lockdown we have decided to take a look at the used car market. Focusing on which cars have been the most popular purchases. Covid-19 has damaged so many industries but hopefully the hurt markets are resilient to adapt well enough to survive. We are keen to see how businesses evolve and the creative strategies they come up with to roll with the times. This is especially true for the automobile industry as face to face sales may be a thing of the past. A report has been…

There are always so many questions consumers have about their car insurance and things they never fully understand. We have had so many questions around car insurance excess and why we have to pay excess for a car insurance claim. Why Do I Need to Pay Car Insurance Excess? We all know why we need to pay a monthly car insurance premium, but consumers often feel ripped off when they have to fork out a lump sum when it’s time to claiming. There are a couple of reasons that excess is enforced by insurance companies and the main being that…

Traffic fines are not only inconvenient, but they just feel like a waste of money. What once might have been a R100 traffic fine has now become R500. No, you are not imagining things, but if you reside in the Western Cape, the fine prices have increased at an alarming rate. Unlike the rest of the country that runs on the Criminal Procedure Act or AARTO when dishing out fines, the Western Cape created its own Traffic Law Enforcement Code Book. After closer inspection at the fine prices, it is clear that Western Cape residents are forced to pay almost…

Would you have believed it if I told you that the most fuel-efficient car in SA is a Renault. WesBank and FNB created the first Fuel Economy Tour where Renault was given the prize for the most fuel-efficient car in South Africa. The event was hosted to give drivers an accurate fuel consumption of over 40 of the most driven cars in South Africa. The tour took place on the 16th of November 2019 and lasted a full 5 days. The 32 vehicle classes took place including Fiat, Toyota, Lexus, Ford, Nissan, Honda etc. All the participating cars were driven…

There has been an intense decline in the purchasing of new and used cars being financed in Q1 of this year. We all know that the decline in sales has been caused by the same thing affecting most industries in a negative way…COVID-19. There has been a decline in sales of 35% for new vehicles and 31% of secondhand vehicles sold compared to the same time last year. New car sales have decreased by 98.2% in April due to the nationwide lockdown in South Africa. According to the National Association of Automobile of South Africa (Naamsa) only 574 cars have…

If we thought the VAT increase, petrol price hikes and sin tax was enough- brace yourself for another excessive expense. With the introduction of the new demerit system, South African motorists can expect to pay exorbitant penalties should they ‘step out of line’. But how is the government able to get away with, once again, overcharging their citizens in order to salvage their own mistakes? With the new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act of course! What is the AARTO Act? Dubbed by some as some kind of “nightmare”, the Aarto Act was passed in August 2019 with the aim…

We know things have been tough with the Coronavirus and SA’s National lockdown. Many South Africans are losing their jobs as businesses are struggling to keep from going under. South Africans need all the financial help that we can get during this struggle. We did some research because we feel like South Africans should know about the insurance that is included in their loan that will cover your debt payments should they get retrenched. Ever heard of Credit Life Insurance? Majority of us haven’t as credit life insurance is built into your personal loan, mortgage, student loan, credit card etc.…

South Africans are in a full panic about the new pandemic, the Coronavirus. But we need to understand that panic doesn’t serve anyone, we have full right to be nervous and cautious and so we should be. Panic purchases for “doomsday” doesn’t help and is just going to leave consumers with an excess amount of toilet paper and packed freezers of meat and a shortage for those consumers who can’t afford to panic buy and are left with nothing. This is why it’s important to take precautions but stay levelheaded and look at the statistics that have been released: …

With the fuel tax implementation and the steady increase in the petrol price in 2019, it was a challenging year for all car owners. Despite all of this, the Road Traffic Management Corporation(RTMC) has now added an extra expense to the mix. As of last year, South African motorists have to pay an increase of 14% towards car licence fees. This increase has been recorded as the second increase in just over a year. What Is This Fee? According to the RTMC, all licencing centres nationwide are required to pay a transaction fee for every vehicle processed. This is essentially…

Although taxis provide a cheaper form of transport for many people across the country, they have become feared by many drivers and pedestrians around South Africa. Not only have taxis increased the stress of driving and road rage, but a peaceful drive down the road has become a game of dodge ‘em cars or taxis in this case. Sometimes taxi drivers pull out the fast moves and it is too late- you find yourself in a fender bender or worse with them. If you do, however, find yourself hit by a taxi, here are some tips to prevent further damage.…

Have you had to deal with bad service and claim rejections from your insurer? Or have you been lucky enough to get top class service from the minute you signed on the dotted line? Well… the results are in and we release the best and worst insurance companies taking SA by storm in 2019. And the Most Complaints Received Goes To… For the second year in a row, Absa Insurance has been given the title of being the most complained about insurer in South Africa. With 800 complaints being put forward to the Ombudsman this past year, Absa Insurance has…

Just like the inconsistency of the weather in Cape Town, so too is the petrol price. The fluctuation of the petrol price has had many South Africans taking bets as to whether next month’s price is going to increase or decrease. Many South Africans have been encouraged to use alternative methods of transport due to the rapid increase in petrol price. Whether you have taken the carpool route, public transport or even found yourself cycling to work, you have definitely saved yourself a buck or two instead of taking the car! Is A Potential Decrease On The Horizon?  According to…

It’s not about how much money you earn, but rather about your happiness. Ever heard that line before? Even though happiness should always be a factor when making a job decision, why can’t we be happy whilst filling our pockets with dosh? So many people spend many years in jobs that they are unhappy in, whilst still not being compensated for accordingly. Whether you’re in high school deciding which profession to go into, thinking of a career change or just curious, we explore some of South Africa’s top jobs according to Career Junction’s job data. IT (Systems and Network Administration) The…

Many of us tend to complain that we never have money by the end of the month and that payday couldn’t come sooner. We wanted to find out if we were being a little bit overdramatic or if things really are getting a whole lot more pricey. We decided to compare the prices of many of SA’s favourite products and services between 2009 and 2019. So if your pocket is feeling lighter, this might be the reason why… From Then to Now With Love… What More Can We Expect?  Not only has the price of our basic products increased, but…

Have you ever been in an accident and tried to claim, but been rejected? Well, this is not an uncommon occurrence in the insurance world. We, the consumers, often find ourselves having to spend ridiculous amounts of cash every month on car insurance premiums, however at the end of the day, what we thought was covered, sometimes turns out not to be! This year the Ombud resolved 9,474 complaints out of 9,779 formal complaints lodged in the review period, recovering a total of R87.2 million for consumers! This is according to the 2019 annual ombudsman’s report. Although many of the…

Nowadays we tend to find ourselves complaining about paying more for less. When it comes to renting accommodation, for most of us, this is definitely the case. PayProp has recently released the 2019 rental index which has shown an increase in rental growth. The results lead us to believe that the rental growth rate has been good at a 3.7% year-on-year growth. This growth rate compares to that of 2016 and 2017, whereby the market was suffering.  This changed during the first quarter of 2018 as it brought in the first uptick in the rental market growth in two years.…

Freelancing is growing at a rapid speed in South Africa. South Africans are taking this on full-time or part-time. If you are looking at freelancing part-time, make sure there is nothing in your full-time job contract that prohibits you from working odd jobs. We sourced 5 top tips to consider before you start your freelancing career. 5 Must-knows: What makes you special?– your Unique Selling Point. This is a skill or talent you can market to bring in an income. Find your niche and let your talent shine. WWW – Make sure you have a great internet connection. If you…