(1) In order to comply with the requirements of this Act, a policy of insurance must be a policy which—
(a) is issued by a person who is an insurer; and
(b) insures such person, persons or classes of persons as may be specified in the policy in respect of any liability which may be incurred by him or her or them in respect of injury to persons being carried in or upon or entering or getting on to or alighting from the motor vehicle or the death of or bodily injury to or damage to the property of any person caused by or arising out of the use of the motor vehicle on a public road.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), a policy of insurance referred to in subsection (1) shall not be required to cover—
(a) liability in respect of the death arising out of and in the course of his or her employment of a person in the employment of a person insured by the policy or of bodily injury sustained by such a person arising out of and in the course of his or her employment;
(b) any contractual liability;
(c) liability in respect of the first $250 of any claim by any one person;
(d) liability in respect of any sum in excess of $300,000 arising out of any one claim by any one person; and
(e) liability in respect of any sum in excess of $1,500,000 arising out of the total claims for any one accident for each vehicle concerned.
(3) In the case of damage to property, a policy of insurance shall not be required to cover liability in respect of any sum in excess of—
(a) $200,000 where the liability arises out of one claim by any one person;
(b) $500,000 where the liability arises out of a series of claims by different persons in respect of the same accident; and
(c) liability in respect of the first $250,000 of any claim by any one person.
(4) For the purposes of this Act “property” does not include—
(a) property carried in or on a motor vehicle;
(b) property belonging to or held in trust by or in the custody or control of the person insured; or
(c) any bridge, weighbridge, viaduct, road or anything beneath which has been damaged by vibration, by the weight of the motor vehicle or of the load carried by the motor vehicle.
(5) Where any payment is made by an insurer under a policy of insurance issued under this Act in respect of the death of or bodily injury to any person arising out of the use of a motor vehicle on a public road and the person who has so died or been bodily injured has to the knowledge of the insurer received treatment in a hospital in respect of the fatal or other bodily injury so arising, there shall also be paid by the insurer to the hospital the expenses incurred by that person at the hospital in obtaining such treatment to an amount not exceeding $10,000.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) “hospital” means an institution which provides medical or surgical treatment to persons suffering from any injury or illness and includes clinics, dispensaries and outpatient departments maintained in connection with any such institution, and the expression “expenses reasonably incurred” means, in relation to a person who receives treatment in a hospital the amount indicated as charges for treatment received at the hospital and for medicine prescribed by a medical practitioner.
(7) Despite anything in any enactment or rule of law, a person who issues a policy of insurance under this section is liable to indemnify the persons or classes of persons specified in the policy in respect of any liability which the policy purports to cover in the case of those persons or classes of persons.
(8) A policy is of effect for the purposes of this Act unless and until there is issued by the insurer in favour of the person by whom the policy is effected a certificate (in this Act referred to as a “certificate of insurance”) in duplicate in the prescribed form and containing such particulars of any conditions subject to which the policy is issued and of any other matters as may be prescribed, and different forms and different particulars may be prescribed in relation to different cases or circumstances.
(9) The owner of a vehicle which has more than 24,000 miles on its mileometer or is more than 3 years old shall, on application for or on the renewal of a policy provide the insurer with a certificate of roadworthiness in such form as may be prescribed, and the insurer shall not issue a certificate in accordance with this Act unless that certificate of roadworthiness has been provided.
(10) Despite subsection (9) the owner of a public service vehicle shall, on application for or on the renewal of a policy, provide the insurer with a certificate of roadworthiness in such form as may be prescribed irrespective of the age of the motor vehicle or the mileage on the mileometer of the motor vehicle and the insurer shall not issue a certificate in accordance with this Act unless that certificate of roadworthiness has been provided.
(Amended by Act 15 of 1998)