New SA Taxi insurance product is game changer

Innovative benefits and cash back options improve taxi safety and owner business sustainability.

 

SA Taxi, South Africa’s leading specialist financial services provider to the taxi industry, has launched two insurance products, Khusela Taxi Insurance and Khusela Taxi Business Insurance, aimed at helping operators improve the safety of their taxis, protect their business operations, and earn extra revenue.

 

Designed specifically for the taxi industry by SA Taxi and underwritten by Guardrisk, South Africa’s most advanced specialised insurer, the Khusela products have attracted the participation of the country’s top taxi insurance brokers, including Scottfin, Venshaw, and Taccsure.

 

“What has impressed us about the Khusela products is that they on help the entrepreneurs who run taxi businesses protect their revenue streams when vehicles are taken off the road for repairs or have to be written off after an accident,” says Taccsure’s Theo Mvalo.

 

“Taxi insurance doesn’t normally demonstrate this level of commitment to supporting the actual operations of a taxi business. Other products tend to focus on the vehicles themselves rather than the role they play in the operator’s business. For instance, conventional taxi insurance does not acknowledge that the operator’s ability to pay his monthly instalment on a vehicle is directly related to that vehicle working as planned throughout the month on its given route. By contrast, that’s where the Khusela products focus.”

 

Khusela Taxi Business Insurance provides instalment protection, should a vehicle not be repaired within seven days of an accident or breakdown, ensuring that up to 100% of the operator’s next instalment is paid to his credit provider. Should a taxi be damaged within the first six months of purchase to the extent that it unsafe to repair, it will be replaced and a new fleet tracking unit installed. A Taxi Business Legal Assist option provides owners with access to legal advice for their business.

 

“The sms alert system built into the Khusela products also indicates just how involved and committed to the industry SA Taxi is,” Mvalo says. “The alert system tells the operator when a vehicle is not on the road – and therefore that the business’ revenue is under threat.

 

“It’s features like these that prove to the taxi associations we talk to that the Khusela products will add tangible and significant value to their operations.”

 

SA Taxi’s insurance executive, Brad Shirras, says that, having invested in taxi owners and operators as entrepreneurs for many years, the company has an in-depth understanding of their needs. “So, we’re in an ideal position to create products that really do empower them to build strong, viable businesses.

 

“For a taxi operator’s business to be sustainable, his or her taxis must be safe on the road. However, maintenance and repairs are costly and operators don’t always have the cash flow to meet such expenses.

 

“So, in both our new products, we not only provide comprehensive cover for accident and windscreen damage, theft, and hijack, we also encourage operators to take the kind of pre-emptive action that reduces the need for repairs and prevents accidents. Operators can get 10% cash back on their premiums, from the first month, if they ensure that they pass an approved safety check, install and maintain a tracking system, and participate in an sms theft or hijack alert system.

 

“In other words, by protecting their vehicles through the Khusela products, operators gain the means to protect their businesses.”

 

Through the Khusela offering, operators can also gain access to media companies that want to place adverts in taxis. By this means, they can earn extra revenue – usually more than enough to cover their insurance premiums.

 

“The Khusela products are not just about insurance,“ Shirras says. “They’re about making taxi operators sustainable by making it easier and more affordable for them to keep their vehicles safely on the road and earning money.”