We can do our very best to create awareness of road safety and safe driving on the Arrive Alive Road Safety website.
The reality is however that many crashes will still occur and many innocent drivers and passengers are left disabled or scarred for life.
We report daily on-road crashes via our Road Safety and Accidents Blogs but seldom find more information on what has happened to those victims who are transported from the scene of the crash by our emergency services.
Are they recovering well and do they have the finances to help them on their path to recovery?
We are pleased that RoadCover has offered to join our panel of experts in assisting with advice to our road users who have been victims of road crashes.
But who and what is RoadCover and what should we know about submitting personal injury claims to the Road Accident Fund?
We have decided to do a Q&A with the experts at RoadCover and share their insights on claims to the Road Accident Fund:
History of Road Cover:
When did Road Cover start and for how long has RoadCover been assisting the injured in Road Accidents?
- The RoadCover idea was started in 2002 by Eugene Beck, CEO of RoadCover, who after submitting his own claim to the Road Accident Fund found the claiming process to be an absolute nightmare.
Could you provide a brief summary of the Team and Expertise by RoadCover to assist the injured?
- Our handpicked panel of experts consist of Senior Advocates, Senior Attorneys, Candidate Attorneys, Medico legal Experts, Actuarial Experts, Occupational Therapy Specialists, Professional assistants and Accident Reconstruction Experts specializing in personal injury claims.
Nature of Activities:
How would you best describe the organizational structure of RoadCover – it is not a Financial Services Provider – can it be described as a membership service that is a provider of very specialized legal services pertaining to personal injury claims?
- RoadCover is a non-insurance related service company that manages and processes claims on behalf of its member to the Road Accident Fund. It is one of the pioneering features that members will each have a dedicated RoadCover Legal practitioner handling their case. RoadCover takes NO FEES from the Road Accident Fund or from its members.
How do these services differ from the assistance provided by the attorney services?
- Your membership to RoadCover protects you from any fees related to claiming from the Road Accident Fund. RoadCover absorbs all fees 100% from the start to finish.
- RoadCover does NOT take the 25% contingency fees when final payment is made from the Road Accident Fund and all disbursements are paid and carried by RoadCover. In some instances, these disbursements run into hundreds on thousands of Rands on any claim.
- The member receives 100% of the payment made by the Road Accident Fund.
Benefits?
What do you regard as the most important membership service?
- The member receives 100% of the payment made by the Road Accident Fund.
- RoadCover covers all the costs associated with submitting a claim and finalizing it, be it settling or taking the claim all the way to the highest of the courts in South Africa in order to keep the best interest of all our members at heart.
Why should I consider becoming a member at the monthly membership fee instead of waiting for a personal injury and then having to approach an attorney?
- By waiting you stand to lose a large percentage of your claim to the process, also the last thing you need once you or a family member has been severely injured in an accident is the stress of submitting a claim. RoadCover removes this anxiety and guides you through the process from start to finish.
- In short, RoadCover has the interest of the member at heart on only the member.
Example:
Client X has been a RoadCover member for 20 years and paying R20.00 a month for his membership. Client X is involved in a “serious” motor vehicle accident with “serious injuries” and hypothetically gets a payout from the Road Accident Fund for R800 000. Client X has paid RoadCover R4800 in membership fees over the 20 years and receives his full R800 000.
Client Y is not a member of RoadCover and is hypothetically involves in the same accident with the same injuries and receives the same payout from the RAF. Client Y’s attorney will charge him a MINIMUM of 25% contingency fees - regulated by law - at R800 000 x 25% = R200 000.
The big difference is that the RoadCover member gets a savings of R200 000 - R4800 = R195 200.
Even if Client X was a member for only 1 month, he would have still received the full R800 000.
• This is what we call REAL VALUE.
Is there any rough guidance as to how long such a claims process may take?
- Purely Dependant on the severity of the injury.
People wishing to become members
Are members identified by keeping record of their Identification Documentation?
- Correct, we will verify if the victim is a member or, in the case of a family membership, the victim is a dependant of the main member.
Is it only the holder of that ID number who is covered?
- Depending on which membership the member has taken
- The “Inpidual Membership” is for the ID holder only
- The “Family Membership” includes the main member, spouse (any person to whom you may be married in terms of South African law, including a party to a customary union according to ethnic law and custom or to a union recognised as a marriage under the tenets of any Asiatic religion, or a person with whom you share a common home with pooled resources, with the intent that this arrangement is permanent), and any dependent child under the age of 21 years, (including adopted, foster and step-children, as well as children who are totally physically and/or mentally handicapped and reliant permanently on the support of the main member) or 25 years if they are full-time students and not married, who reside in the same residence as the main member.
Multiple Memberships
Can the vehicle owner purchase/ subscribe for and pay for memberships for his family - everyone in his car?
- The membership is not just restricted to a specific vehicle. The membership moves around with the member. The member can be a passenger in a friend’s car, a pedestrian or even a cyclist and the membership with look after the member if and when an accident does arise and the member needs to submit a claim to the Road Accident Fund.
Can an employer purchase memberships as an additional benefit for his employees?
- Yes employers can buy RoadCover for their employees as a group scheme
Reach across South Africa?
Can anyone from anywhere in South Africa become a member? Are processes in place to assist members from remote locations?
- If personal consultation is required, RoadCover will at its own costs transport the victim from a remote location to the required meeting and has done it on an ongoing basis several times.
Is personal consultation required or can everything be done via email, post and electronic communication?
- A personal consultation is not required but RoadCover does arrange personal consultations as it is one of our pioneering features and commitment in getting all information relating to the accident spot on.
Related services from road crashes and accidents?
Can a member receive assistance or guidance on other accident-related matters?
- It is important to remember that property damage cannot be claimed against the RAF. Having said that, RoadCover consultants would be happy to supply telephonic opinions to other accident-related matters in so much as it forms part of their professional expertise.
If there is no claim against the Road Accident Fund - can the vehicle owner be directed to experts to assist with other accidents claims for vehicle damage?
Communication
Are there other communications to members through the electronic media via email, SMS, websites etc?
How important is communication to RoadCover in terms of safety information and preventative measures in assisting members to avoid road crashes?
- Road safety awareness plays a large part in our various campaigns as it is far preferable to teach our members to avoid an accident rather than a claim for the injuries as a result of one. “STAY SAFE, THINK!” and WE CARE