• 64% are 'very or extremely attached’ to their car
• 4 in 10 have named their car
• 37% 'unable to function' without their car
• 45% do not know the monetary value of their vehicle
Cape Town - Nearly two-thirds of SA drivers consider themselves to be “very or extremely attached” to their car, reveals a survey by insurer Santam.
More than a third (37%) said they would be “unable to function” without their car either as a result of a theft or accident and four in ten drivers have given their vehicle a name.
The survey was sent to more than 1 900 South African car owners with insurance policies. Asked how they would cope if their car was written off or stolen, 40% of respondents indicated that they were in a position to purchase another vehicle, whereas 37% would not be able to go about their normal daily lives.
Nearly half of car owners (44%) do not let anyone else drive their car, and for those who do, generally a spouse or partner is allowed to drive their vehicle (48%).
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The survey showed that when asked whether they knew the current monetary value of their vehicle, nearly half (45%) did not know this amount, even though the majority (58%) of the participants had read their insurance policy in the last six months.
An impressive 81% of respondents, says Santam, were aware of what their insurance covers.
However, when it came to the settlement car owners would be willing to receive if their vehicle was stolen, nearly half (48%) expected the full amount for which the vehicle was insured.
Other settlement amounts that drivers would be willing to receive were “the market value the car was insured for (29%) and “a similar ‘replacement vehicle’” (23%).
A majority (68%) of respondents considered their vehicle to be an asset, placing a high degree of value upon it with 45% being the sole driver.
Among those surveyed, 39% indicated they own their car outright, and of those paying off a vehicle, the average monthly payment was between R3 000 and R5 000.
