This article was written by Tim Chadwick and published by News24 on 10 May 2026

 

Not Sharp Sharp

#MotorInsurance #Personal #MotorClaim

 

Better to pay a little for a risk advisor than try to save coin only to find yourself in a tight grip, bound by legal wording you thought you understood, writes Tim Chadwick.

 

Jan Hendrik is a Boerboel of some 96kg. He is slightly overweight and, strictly speaking, not permitted in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The regulations on this point are not ambiguous. Jan Hendrik was, however, there four times in 2025, as Frikkie Basson, his proud owner, holds what can only be described as a dog dispensation. The precise terms Frikkie and I have agreed not to disclose in print. What I will say is that a letter was written and the park people responded with unusual generosity. More than the letter perhaps deserved. Jan Hendrik is now a bona fide, documented exception to the park rules. Lucky hound. He is indifferent to the entire affair, which is consistent with how he handles most of his adventures, except his daily dose of ostrich biltong.

 

Hier kom die bok

We were on a dune road near Mata Mata, on a blue sky Kalahari morning, purring along in Frikkie’s 2025 Discovery 5, Jan Hendrik leaning on the armrest, me in the backseat with my camera and coffee in a well-used Stanley flask. Life was lekka. It got better. A martial eagle appeared. It was circling with something substantial in its claws. Martial eagles often hunt by dropping prey from high onto hard ground to finish the job; the aeronautical equivalent of outsourcing the difficult part. Like insurance to a proper risk advisor.

This one dropped a baby springbok. It landed neatly on the Discovery’s windscreen with a thud that announced immediate death and financial consequences. Not a scene for sensitive viewers. Frikkie sat very still. Jan Hendrik had a pre-bowel movement, then whimpered nervously. “Did you get the shot?“ Frikkie whispered. His camera was on the passenger seat. Lenscap on. Jan Hendrik looked at the windscreen, then at Frikkie, then back at the windscreen, with the expression of a dog who wanted answers.

The crack spread from the point of impact outwards in three directions, settling in for the long term. Everything was not entirely lekka. We did, however, have the martial eagle right next to us for an hour, feeding on the poor baby springbok. We also had a hectic roadblock stretching back to camp.

 

Shiny, sharp and spurious

Frikkie called “Sharp Sharp Insurance” from the camp that evening. He told me, across an unforgettable Kalahari fire, underpinned by proper Namibian braai hardwood, that he had found the marketing very sharp when he first signed up. He looked into the impressive flames for a long time and then said: “Can’t believe I fell for that Sharp Sharp line.” Jan Hendrik shifted uncomfortably on his blanket and launched another pre-bowel movement. More telling than the first. I said nothing, since there was nothing funny or useful to say at that point. Except maybe it could have been worse. We were in the Kalahari after all. The claim had not been lodged. Sharp Sharp had not yet had the opportunity to reveal its true colours. Paintings take time.

The true nature of a company invariably reveals itself at the claim stage. Not at the sales or marketing stage, which is a point the industry understands, and the public discovers in the bad moments. Usually, the expensive ones.

The assessor arrived at Frikkie’s house in Cape Town eight days later; photographed the windscreen; noted the odometer; scribbled something down with no visible reaction; said a Sharp Sharp-approved fitment centre would be in contact. They were. Frikkie got approved for a windscreen replacement. A non-Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)-certified aftermarket part that cost R5 101.

Frikkie called the fitment centre. He asked about recalibration. The 2025 Discovery 5 has a Lane Keeping Assist camera mounted in the windscreen, along with forward-collision sensors that make key decisions, while Jan Hendrik cerebrally watches for falling baby springboks and the like.

Their calibration is specific to the OEM glass. A non-OEM windscreen from a nonapproved centre means no manufacturer spec recalibration, which means a camera looking through the wrong glass at a road it is no longer correctly calibrated to read. Slightly under the influence, you might say.

The fitment centre said it should be able to calibrate the windscreen. “No problem, boet, we call it generic calibration,” they said. “Close enough,” they muttered after an uncomfortable pause. Not a dicky bird, thought Frikkie. A R2 million piece of British stateof- the-art engineering, with a no-name windscreen made in China. Nee wat. Jan Hendrik growled. Frikkie manned up and said he wanted an OEM windscreen. It cost R34 498. The Randela difference was not a packet of chips. Sharp Sharp said no. Sharply.

 

Blunt force trauma

Frikkie raised the calibration argument. They counter-argued that Certified Aftermarket Parts (CAP) were standard practice on out-of-warranty vehicles, endorsed by the National Financial Ombud, nogal.

Apparently, a legitimate cost management approach. The savings were meant to be passed to consumers in the form of reduced premiums. The principle sounds fair, except Frikkie’s premiums had just increased? What Frikkie required was a safety argument that he needed the OEM windscreen. But he was on his own. Just like he was on his own and fully sharp when he made his “direct” and instant insurance decision.

As a risk advisor, I never remind him of that. We are friends of the Kalahari. Sharp Sharp stressed the odometer reading of 106 973km. The diagnostics said the odometer read 100 005km when poor Bambi landed. The manufacturer’s warranty expired at 100 000km. Frikkie had driven 5km further than a man with a cracked windscreen and a Boerboel needed to have driven. Eish. Sharp Sharp had Frikkie in a tight grip, bound by wording he thought he understood. In a wordy legal letter, they came in for the kill, with a bone-crunching jab Frikkie never saw coming.

A policy condition that non-OEM parts may be used for vehicles outside the manufacturer’s warranty, provided like-for-like quality is maintained. They used the word “maintained” with some confidence. They approved the R5 101 fitment. File closed. Klaar gelag. Jan Hendrik howled like a possessed jackal. Frikkie called me. It was late. Jan Hendrik was snoring loudly. No flatulence, fortunately. They had lost. To be fair, it was always an unfair contest. A lightweight shadow boxing against a heavyweight. The like-for-like argument for an out-of-warranty vehicle has a strong legal foundation.

 

Good marketing pays – but not for you

The Ombud has repeatedly upheld insurer decisions to use CAP parts outside the warranty, provided the parts do not compromise the vehicle’s safety. Sharp Sharp would say the CAP windscreen meets that standard. Five kilometres is five kilometres. And a policy condition is a policy condition. Five kilometres? Come on, man. Throw a Boerboel a bone.

What intrigues me is why people go “direct”. A risk advisor costs the client nothing. The insurer pays them from the premium. Usually, you get a much better product and a real understanding of the policy. Before the claim, not afterwards on a Kalahari dune road with a cracked windscreen and an upset Boerboel. Plus, you get professional help during the claim. Frikkie paid R999 a month for a catchy, shiny tagline and a direct line to a direct insurer’s call centre. For R1 055, he could have had a personalised caring service, proper advice and stronger cover.

He saved R56 a month and now owned every bit of this headache. He chose the billboard. Good marketing pays. But not you at claim time. I have stopped trying to explain this, especially to Frikkie. There is a huge billboard on the N1 near Paarl. Sharp Sharp Insurance. And in impressively large, shiny font: “Claims Paid Sharply”. Jan Hendrik howls uncontrollably whenever Frikkie drives past it on his way to the Hex
River Valley. Throw Jan Hendrik a bone is what I said to Frikkie. Maybe some ostrich biltong too. Frikkie turned to me and asked dryly: “Can you please find me an insurer who pays claims without the sharpness?” The bone cracked this time. Not the windscreen.

 

About The Author: Tim Chadwick is CEO insurance and risk advisory firm Chadwicks. He advises businesses and individuals on risk and insurance. He also writes on the psychology of risk.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction for educational purposes only. No permission is granted for AI training, scraping or use in model development. The characters, events and conclusions described are hypothetical and illustrative. This content is not professional insurance, financial or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.