3rd party INsurance in Southern Africa
 

can anyone recommend an insurance company that will cover a UK registered vehicle in Southern African countries?

If you have come into a country via a land border of any southern Africa country there should have been an office selling insurance, before taking any out ask if they can issue you with a comessa which is the yellow equivalent of a European green card and take it out for the period of your tour. I have no idea if it is worth the paper it is written on but satisfies police, customs etc.

You don't need it in RSA or Namibia (it is covered by the cost of fuel). In Botswana it is very easy to get at the border and very cheap. A yellow card is the way to go if you are staying for any length of time and traveling to a number of countries - it will cover you throughout much of south and east africa and also in Ethiopia/Sudan. It isn't that much of a cost saving but saves the hassle at the borders.

The way it works is that it is an add-on to local insurance so you have to buy the local insurance first and then get a green card. NB the local insurance has to cover the full period you want the yellow card to cover.

So we got ours in Zambia - we wanted 10 months of cover all up the east coast so first had to buy 9 months of cover in Zambia, we then got a yellow card - it cost about 575,000 ZKW (120 USD) can't remember how much the local cost.

Can you tell us what countries this yellowcard covered? Also, is it available at most countries that are included? My route is taking me from RSA to Swazi, Moz, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, and Bots. Also, we may add in Uganda and Rwanda.

It can cover all those and more - there are about 20 countries you can choose from. What you pay depends on the number of countries you want covered and length of time. It is readily recognised at border posts. I don't think they sell it in RSA anymore (but you don't need it there anyway). Google COMESA for more info. As most people start their trips in RSA I think it is usually bought in Moz or Zambia. We bought ours in Livingstone.

Thanks itchyfeet. Big help.

So I did a little bit more research on the COMESA Yellowcard. Their website doesn't mention that Moz is covered. So I did some hunting here on HUBB and people are saying the Moz border officials take some convincing that it applies, although these posts were older. I was up there about a year and a half ago, but I don't remember what insurance I got. Probably just local since I stayed in Moz and RSA. Swaziland is also not listed on the COMESA YC site, but again, I gathered on HUBB that it worked. Not really sure what to believe as far as those two countries go.

I've also been told by my buddy who I am going with that we cannot purchase the COMESA YC since our bikes are RSA registered. Do you know if there is any truth to this?

Hi,

I am pretty sure that both Swaz and Moz are on our card but will check. Basically the card is covered with boxes containing codes for the countries covered which they cross out if you don't need/pay for. However, just because they're listed doesn't mean the country itself accepts it. For example Egypt is technically covered and on the card and we'd been warned by others they wouldn't take it, and they didn't. We used it successfully in Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan.

You can buy it for an RSA registered vehicle - we met plenty of people who had - though what your friend may be thinking about is that the RSA AA recently stopped selling it. This is no great loss as it was apparently very expensive. See this post on another forum.

Comesa third party insurance - SA 4x4 Community Forum

I'd recommend it - not so much from a cost saving perspective but because it makes life easier at border crossings. In particular it meant that we often didn't need any local currency at the border (visas often payable in $, local insurance usually in local currency). We could just drive to the nearest town with a bank/ATM.

By the way you may find the doc on this page useful - we did even though we don't have an RSA reg vehicle.

Explore Southern Africa by Road - The AA of South Africa

Thanks for the links. The information there is much better than on the actual COMESA site. Unfortunately, it looks like neither Mozambique nor Swaziland are included on policy (although they may be listed on the actual YellowCard). Also, since South Africa is not a member, RSA vehicles cannot use it.

And here is the complete list of countries covered for anybody coming after:

SOURCE: Comesa Yellow Card 3rd Party Insurance - The AA of South Africa

I wouldn't give up on it. Our vehicle is UK registered - so obviously not from a COMESA country.

I think this may be an explanation as to why they (ie the RSA AA) have stopped selling it rather than whether it can be used by an RSA registered vehicle.

Most overlanders have a yellow card. Over the course of the last two years we have met many RSA registered vehicles using it. In fact the majority have been RSA cars.

Perhaps try posting on the 4x4 community website I sent you a link too. Lots of RSA residents who contribute to the forum will have purchased it in the past.

Or drop the RSA AA a line asking them to confirm you can still purchase it outside RSA. I am sure they will.

I don't think this is correct - almost everyone on here who has bought the yellow card is driving / riding vehicles from countries that are not comesa members.