Husband could have more to worry about than just an angry wife

Vishal Vishnu, Bidvest Insurance’s General Manager for Legal & Risk.

You may have read the recent news article about the husband who let his anger get the better of him when he drove his sports car into the back of his wife’s mini. The incident not only made news headlines and became an amusing anecdote to discuss, but also raised some important questions around liability and claiming on insurance.

“The question of claiming on insurance is an interesting one. Without having all the facts on this particular matter it’s difficult to comment but my view is that most insurers would reject a claim submitted by the husband in this instance due to his intentions as the “insured driver” in deliberately causing damage to the vehicles. Most motor insurance policies contain a clause indicating that the drivers and owners should take reasonable precautions to minimise damage to the insured vehicle wherever possible and not cause any malicious damage to property,” explained Vishal Vishnu, Bidvest Insurance’s General Manager for Legal & Risk.

“Not only would the husband be facing some costly consequences for the damage of his own car, but also possibly for his wife’s damaged vehicle and the damages to the property of the estate,” Vishnu added.

And what about the Wife? After all it was her Mini that was rear ended by the irate husband. “Well,” continues Vishnu, “that’s also an interesting one as it appears that the wife and an unknown person fled the scene of the accident. A large number of policies include specific exclusions relating to fleeing the scene of an accident and although the wife does not appear to be at fault, and she may have plenty of valid reasons for fleeing the scene, her claim could also potentially be rejected by insurers if her policy contained that exclusion”.

Vishnu further commented that the estate would probably have its own insurance to cover the damage to its property, but that their insurer would most likely claim against the “husbands” insurance, and if his insurance rejected the claim, then the husband would be personally liable for damages.

With that in mind it means this could prove to be a frighteningly expensive outcome for the husband with some valuable lessons to be learned when it comes to knowing where you stand with your insurance. “It’s extremely important to read all of your insurance documents and most importantly for you to fully understand them,” explains Phil Donnelly, Sales & Marketing Director at Bidvest Insurance. “Insurers have made great strides in writing policies in plain English to help achieve this, but if you’re ever in any doubt about the terms or conditions in a policy - your first call should always be to your broker for clarity.”

So the next time you’re wife burns your dinner, or hubby comes home late, don’t let that urge to break something end up costing you an arm and a leg.