By: Eba Kandovazu
Hollard Insurance is refusing to pay out vehicle insurance to the son of businesswoman Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun, who last year was involved in a car accident on Hosea Kutako drive, Windhoek.
Haddis Junior Tilahun has since approached the high court, seeking an order to compel Hollard insurance to make a payout of over N$ 800 000.
Haddis’ luxury Vehicle, a 2016 BMW M4 convertible, was damaged beyond repair. He says, as a result, he suffered damages in the amount of N$ 893 000.00, which is the reasonable replacement value of the vehicle, which he had insured N$ 893 000.00 at a premium of N$ 2044.64.
“It was agreed that the vehicle would be used for social, domestic and pleasure purposes as well as to travel to and from my place of work. The vehicle may also be used for professional and business-related trips. The driver of the vehicle at the time/event of a claim must have a valid driver’s license in compliance with the applicable legislation of the specific region where the vehicle was used at the time of the damage,” Haddis says in his particulars of claim, filed in the high court.
He added that Hollard would also pay the costs for towing and storage of the vehicle following an accident to the maximum amount as stated in the limit section, which provides the towing costs to be limited to N$ 5000.00 and the storage costs to be limited to N$ 2500.00.
It is further his testimony that he obtained the relevant police report and submitted a claim to Hollard on 7 January 2021, which he says was later rejected on 16 March.
Hollard, in their reply, state that an insured cannot claim more than the actual loss and that if the damaged item insured can be repaired, they may pay for the cost of repair only when it makes economic sense. They also allege that Haddis, at the time of the crash, was in possession of a foreign driver’s license and therefore did not possess a valid driver’s license to drive the vehicle.
“In submitting his claim, he said that the speed he was travelling was 75 kilometres per hour, that the condition of the road was wet and lose sand and therefore slippery, that the car slid on the road, hit the curb and overturned two times. His representation was false in that he was driving approximately 149 kilometres per hour in a 60-kilometre-per-hour area, the road was not wet and slippery, the car did not slide due to the road’s condition, but due to the reckless and dangerous speed he was driving the vehicle,” Hollard says.
A local daily newspaper at the time of the crash reported that the Windhoek police initiated an internal probe after Haddis refused to take an alcohol breathalyser.
