It is “imperative” that truck owners/operators acquaint themselves with the insurance cover they presently have and safeguard their interests by ensuring that their insurance cover adequately covers them for all “foreseeable insurable perils”.
This from Nerisha Besesar, partner in the litigation department of Shepstone & Wylie Attorneys, who was responding to FTW around truck owner liability in the event of an accident such as the devastating Field’s Hill crash in which 24 people lost their lives in September 2013.
The case made headlines again last month after the owner of the truck – who pleaded guilty to all charges, including contravening the National Traffic Act in terms of the duties of an operator – received a R25 000 fine while the driver was sentenced to a 10-year prison term.
While the huge discrepancy between the two sentences raised a few eyebrows, with many saying the truck owner got away lightly, his attorney, Theasen Pillay, said Gregory Govender was “reeling from the repercussions” of the accident.
“While people may believe that the fine is a slap on the wrist, this tragedy has cost Mr Govender everything. Not just his assets, his business and his reputation, but his very peace,” he said.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said in a statement that the charges against the company, Sagekal Logistics, had been dropped as it was currently subject to liquidation proceedings.
The case has led to questions about potential risks outside the scope of criminal procedures, with Besesar pointing out that from the perspective of truck owners and operators, it was “commercially sensible and essential” that they would already have insurance in place covering them for damage to their vehicles or the vehicles of third parties damaged during collisions.
“Typically these owner/ operators will have fleet insurance in place or they would have insured individual vehicles against various perils,” she explained, highlighting that fleet insurance was the most practical insurance for the larger truck owner/ operators under the cover of one policy.
According to Besesar, comprehensive insurance policies nowadays (including fleet insurance) will have legal liability or public liability cover up to a specified amount included or as an “opt-in” option, which can even be increased for an additional premium.
“Some insurers will even have unique public and/ or third party liability insurance offerings as added protection for their customers,” she said.
In the event of families of victims needing to sue a company for damages, the company being sued would need to submit these claims to their insurer for approval and if there was no need for repudiation, the insurer would take over the handling of the claim on the company’s behalf.
“Claims for damages such as loss of income and future and past medical expenses will often be of a high value and if a company does not have insurance cover or their liability cover is inadequate, it will prove to be a costly exercise in defending these types of claims,” she commented.
INSERT AND CAPTION
If a company does not have insurance cover, or their liability cover is inadequate, it will prove to be a costly exercise in defending these types of claims. – Nerisha Besesar
