When it comes to car insurance there are so many things one need to know and consider, very often we do not think of the consequences and responsibilities that come with driving a car. Something that we may not often think about is transporting passengers – if you do so at any time you are at risk of incurring passenger liability claims.

When we think of passenger vehicles we think of taxis or minibuses transporting paying passengers and yes, they must all have passenger liability insurance. There are special insurance policies for this type of transport that will include passenger liability cover; the same goes for busses.

But what happens if you are always transporting your child’s netball team to and from games in your private car? You are opening yourself up to passenger liability claims and you

should immediately discuss this with your car insurance company. You can take out passenger liability cover in the form of an extension to your existing policy.

The amendments to the Road Accident Fund that came into effect in 2008 abolished the passenger’s right to claim against the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident. The cost of passenger liability should actually reduce considerably. This is still early days for the new legislation, rather contact your insurance company if you carry any passengers on a regular basis and make sure you are covered.