Pretoria - The days of second-hand vehicle buyers paying thousands for previously written-off vehicles could be coming to an end.
The South African Insurance Association has agreed to make its vehicle salvage database public after lobbying by the South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association.
In South Africa, it had become a norm for people to purchase cars without having accessed the accident history. Customers spend money on cars they would not have purchased had they known about their previous accidents.
This new development means that the VIN numbers of all previously insured written-off vehicles will be published on an open website for consumers to use.
Richard Green, national director for the SA Motor Body Repairers’ Association, said they had pursued this matter to stop the practice of written-off cars being rebuilt and put back into circulation by unscrupulous repairers, to be purchased by unsuspecting consumers.
He said the insurance industry had now agreed in principle to make its vehicle salvage database public, backed by a comprehensive communication programme to make consumers aware of the site.
“Originally, the SA Insurance Association opposed making the vehicle salvage database public, reasoning that it would contravene the Protection of Personal Information Act.“
It said that “the vehicle salvage database was created to combat crime, and if it were made public, criminals would have access to it, which could see a dramatic increase in false financing and insurance of cloned vehicles”.
He said the SA Insurance Association now appeared to have made a turnaround, and had agreed in principle to make public the vehicle salvage database.
This reportedly came about after a meeting with the Retail Motor Industry Organisation and various other relevant parties, including the Insurance Crime Bureau and Road Traffic Management Corporation.
At this stage, the official release date of the vehicle salvage database has not been confirmed. However, the SA Insurance Association said it would deliberate on the proposed way forward at its next board meeting on March 10.
Green said this was a win for customers because there were motorists financing vehicles that insurers had written-off because they would be uneconomical to repair, yet some people purchased them, “repaired them” and put them back in the market.
Pretoria News