Occidental Insurance drops 25 vehicle brands over spare part prices

Occidental Insurance Company has written to its agents and brokers to cease covering 25 vehicle makes and models citing rare and expensive spare parts.

The vehicle models mainly Honda, Suzuki, Mazda, Hyundai and some varieties of Toyota will no longer get comprehensive cover at the firm after Thursday’s directive.

In a letter dated February 14 addressed to all its business partners, the company also prescribed an age limit for private and commercial vehicles it will insure going forward.

“There exist some vehicles whose spare parts have become rare and or obsolete and have therefore proven to be a challenge when settling claims. We will therefore not underwrite these kinds of vehicles to ensure smooth running of business and excellent client experience,” read the letter signed by the company’s Senior Underwriting Officer David Mankone.

The letter seen by the Business Daily lists Honda HRV, Crossroad, CR-Z and Insight, Suzuki Swift, Alto and Escudo, six models of Mazda, all models of Daihatsu, Subaru Exiga, all Renault models, seven models of Toyota including Prius (hybrid) and Opa among others, as well as Ford Escape and all models of Hyundai.

Agents are instructed to only issue third party cover to these vehicles, a cover that does not cater for repair costs to the insured.

The company will also not insure private cars older than 15 years and commercial vehicles older than 12 years.

Under the current importation regime this means used cars arriving at eight years old will only be insured for seven years by Occidental, while commercial pickups will have just four years of cover before the underwriter rejects them.

An agent confirmed that the directive had been issued.

“Unfortunately, it is true... Sorry about that and thanks for verifying with us,” the agent told Business Daily.