Your body has just suffered a massive shock from a speedy collision with a street barrier which has whipped your car into a 360 spin. You eventually come to a standstill with shattered glass strewn across the freeway and oil leaking from your severely damaged car.

Just a freak accident that happened as a result of a burst tyre.

You now face the possibility of serious physical injuries and your car appears to be a write-off because the engine is no longer where it’s supposed to be.

Laura Oosthuizen, our Marketing ANGEL at accidentANGELS™ stopped to assist at the scene of this accident on the N1South, just after the 14th Avenue off-ramp. It was rush-hour traffic and the accident happened literally a minute before Laura drove up to the scene. The emergency response number was immediately called to notify emergency services of the accident.

There were two ladies in the car – the driver and her passenger. Both ladies’ airbags had deployed, which gives you an idea of the severity of the impact. Luckily, both ladies were conscious and were able to communicate.

Many people don’t realise this, but the first accident support that generally arrives on the scene is the Tow-Truck driver. Laura watched one such driver cut across 4 lanes of oncoming traffic on the freeway to reach the scene of the accident. He then got out of his car, softly spoke to the driver involved in the accident, who was still sitting in the driver’s seat of the banged up car, waiting for the emergency services to arrive. He then turned around, climbed into his truck and left. Just like that.

I think it’s safe to guess what it is he asked the lady….”Do you have car insurance?” Her answer was obviously no, which meant there would have been very little chance of him recovering his fees from an insurer or possibly the accident victim if he towed her vehicle. It’s not worth his time and expense.

It’s very possible that the owner of the car is now still paying off a finance loan for the vehicle and likely has no savings to buy a new car. This is why car insurance is so critically important. Loss of income of this magnitude is hard to recover from.

The ambulance service arrived shortly thereafter and the first question that is generally asked after assessing the condition and safety of the accident victims is “Do you have medical aid?” The answer to this simple question determines whether you are sent to a private hospital facility for treatment, or if you are sent to a public hospital emergency room. The difference between these two options is stark.

This situation is one of the many reasons why accidentANGELS™ began. Our members are guaranteed admission to a private hospital. Furthermore, emergency fee transport costs are taken care of and we provide immediate cash via our members accidentANGELS™ MasterCard® of up to R10 000 to use at the hospital for medical expenses. If a members’ injuries are serious enough to need admittance into hospital, a further benefit of up to R200 000 is provided for in-hospital expenses. The stress of dealing with the Road Accident Fund on any valid claim is also removed because accidentANGELS™ manage this entire process on behalf of the member.

The reality is that 800 South African’s every day who are involved in a car accident require some form of medical treatment. It could be you. So what would happen to you if you were in a car accident and you have no car insurance or medical aid?

While accidentANGELS™ take care of our members physical wellbeing, there are Companies out there like Styles & Co that can protect customers from the financial impact of losing a car. You simply can’t afford not to have protection.

Be safe on our roads, because your life matters!