Insurance and Car Sound Systems.
Most people love to listen to music while they drive, it’s one of the great pleasures of driving, being able to turn up the volume and enjoy your favourite music. When you buy a new vehicle the car radio and sound system is usually standard equipment.

The serious music lovers among us are not happy with our standard radio and spend money on a state of the art music system. Sometimes the sound systems installed in some very old cars may even be worth more than the value of the car itself! We are no longer content to listen to the car radio only, we want a CD player, MP3 Player, CD or MP3 Shuttle Player and even a DVD player in the car. You may even need to modify the car to accommodate the sound system!

With all this said and done, you have insurance on your car but do you know if your wonderful sound system is covered? Many people assume automatically that, as they took out comprehensive insurance, their car radios are covered. Bad news, with most car insurance policies this is not the case. Even if you took out comprehensive insurance on your car you still need to specify your sound equipment and you will pay an additional premium for that. Insurance policies do not by default cover any items installed in your car.

If you did not specify your sound equipment, the cover follows that of the car policy and often the insurer also limits the maximum amount payable on the value of equipment. Be careful here: the excess you have to pay may be so high that you won’t get much from the insurance company. It’s no use making a claim AND affecting your no-claim bonus as well if you are going to receive a couple of hundred rand toward the loss.

You need to make a decision as to whether or not, and for how much, you insure the sound equipment in your car. If you install a new sound system and you have an existing car insurance policy you need to advise the insurance company of the change, should you have specified your car radio previously. They need to record the new equipment and the value and adjust your policy accordingly. This rule is applicable to any change you make to your vehicle, installing security equipment such as an approved immobilizer, will actually reduce your monthly premiums.

Always make sure that you know exactly what is covered and how much the excess on each item is. You may decide that it is not worth paying the additional premium every month if you have an average car radio. Check your policy document to confirm that your sound system is listed under specified items and confirm the insured amount and the excess payable as well. Take care of your car sound equipment, don’t be negligent and leave the radio or CD player in your car if you can remove it.

A little sound advice: no matter how much you love your music, don’t let it become a distraction that prevents you from being an alert, responsible driver.

The Ombudsman for short term insurance, under which car cover falls, recently urged consumers to make sure that they understand all details, terms and conditions on their policy documents. Diarize to revise all your insurance needs at least once a year to make sure that you have sufficient cover, also that you are not paying too much.

As with any insurance need, shop around for the best cover to suit your individual needs, use the internet to compare prices, ask for discounts, negotiate—it’s your right.

Enjoy your music and safe driving.