Going through the change of ownership process for a car is a chore that forces many to put it on the back burner. Well, according to Act No. 7 of 2021 Finance Act, if you do not put your name on the registration book your insurance company can, by, law refuse to honour the insurance policy.
The Road Traffic Act[Chapter 13:11] is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 23— “23B Temporary validity of statutory policies of insurance in certain cases
(1)If the name of the person to whom a certificate of insurance is issued in terms of section 23(2)(b) is not recorded on the registration book of the insured vehicle or trailer as the owner thereof then, despite that fact, such person is deemed to be the owner of the vehicle or trailer for the first two terms of the policy of insurance concerned.
(2) If after the expiry of the second term of a policy the name of the person to whom a certificate of insurance is issued in terms of section 23(2)(b) is still not recorded on the registration book of the insured vehicle or trailer as the owner thereof
(a) the insurer may refuse to honour the policy of insurance;
(b) and the person in whose name the policy was issued shall be personally liable for the amount for which the insurer would have been liable to pay out under the policy, in addition to any amount that a court may find the person liable for in respect of the death or bodily injury or bodily injury to, any person caused by or arising out of the use of the motor vehicle or trailer concerned on a road.”.
Act No. 7 of 2021 Finance Act, Section 46 (via Vertitas Zimbabwe)
On top of your insurance refusing to pay up in the event of an accident, the person whose name appears on the registration book will be liable for the amount for which the insurer would have been liable to a payout under the policy.
So essentially if you as the buyer doesn’t finalise the sale by changing ownership then the person who has their name on the policy has to pay up instead of the insurer in the event of an accident. This is a very unorthodox way to get people to pay the steep Excise Duty Fees for the change of car ownership…
Change of vehicle ownership fees for second-hand cars have been increased
But I imagine it will have the desired effect because the buyer now has to push to update the registration information.
Share
Home
6 comments
Welcome to Zim, where a car changes hamds 15 times but still bear the name of the first registrant hahaha
Changing ownership is buyers responsibility,how can the seller force a buyer to pay up an excise duty?this is not thought through.
Added to that stress is Zimra which is taking forever to change ownership whilst reAssessing customs duties for vehicles, the system is not encouraging to change ownerships it’s very repulsive
Then simple don’t accept payment from anyone whose name is not on the Reg book of the car
Fag00tism
. insurance accept money but not pay when there is accudent. This is their bholy.
.
.ok… I not change ownership so all CURSINGS goto first owner … BizMuLLaGh .. pwe pbuh pwa SWaT dil dil kkk ngk kgb kjv niv ssd ddt rip etc.
Fag00tism ..
. insurance accept money but not pay when there is accudent. This is their bholy.
.
.ok… I not change ownership so all CURSINGS goto first owner … BizMuLLaGh .. pwe pbuh pwa SWaT dil dil kkk ngk kgb kjv niv ssd ddt rip etc.
I don’t see why you would not want to change ownership of your vehicle.
1) It is required by law
2) If the vehicle is stolen or being looked for, those issues come to light early while you can still trace the previous owner
3) A mischievous person can resell the car, assuming they get their hands on the book or request a “lost” book from CVR
4) You have to keep contacting the previous owner each time ownership needs to be clarified, e.g on resale, after an accident. They might also not be forthcoming, because as far as they are concerned that car is an “ex”.
5) If you die, your property ownership can again come to dispute
It’s not a simple a “fees are high, government is squeezing us for tax”.