PEOPLE insure their cars and homes so that in the event of an accident or fire they will be compensated.

This is why Tovhowani Tharaga insured his Mazda 323 with Outsurance in 2008.

When he had an accident, Outsurance wanted to write off his repairable car and pay him far less than the insurable value. Tharaga said this would have left him indebted for R12000.

He begged Outsurance not to write off the car, but they wrote it off anyway. So he repaired his car for R8000 himself, he said.

Tharaga's problem started when he had an accident in January . He lodged a claim with Outsurance, but was not happy with their service.

"I reported the matter to them, but it is taking for ever to resolve the matter," Tharaga said.

He said he was forced to pay for what they should have paid.

Tharaga said his policy stated that should his car be written off, Outsurance would pay R49435, but they offered only R39090, which he rejected.

"This would have left me indebted to Motor Finance Corporation for R12000," Tharaga said.

"The left front light and front bumper cover were damaged, which was fixable, but the assessor wrote off the vehicle so they could sell it as a salvage to recover costs," Tharaga said.

He told the assessor he could not afford to pay R12000 to the bank.

He said the short-term insurance ombudsman is soft on Outsurance.

"I have a good case but it's taking the ombudsman too long to resolve it. Now that the policy has been cancelled, they give the ombudsman lucrative offers that I should have got, but they did not communicate them to me," he said.

Tharaga said Outsurance's manager Galy Mahlangu told him that the only viable option was to cancel the claim.

"They cancelled the claim and ordered me to collect the car from the SMD depot immediately or I would be liable for rental costs from that day," he said

He had to hire a tow truck to remove his car from the pound to a panel beater, whom Tharaga paid about R8000 for material and labour.

"I felt betrayed. I was a loyal client for two years," he said.

Consumer Line will carry Outsurance's lengthy response in our next column.

When a vehicle is written-off:

• After writing off a vehicle, insurance companies re-sell it to compensate for a payout.
• All vehicles for sale by insurance companies are deemed repairable.
• Most vehicles are sold via salvage auctions so you can be assured of a good price.
• Many write-off vehicles auctioned are new and some with only delivery mileage have appeared from time to time. If you are looking for a nearly new-car salvage, there are often many vehicles that are under two years old and younger.