Watch Out for Cross Country Insurance

Cross Country is, in my experience, one of the worst insurance companies in South Africa. I filed a claim for my Mercedes-Benz, and they instructed me to take it to a panel beater. I chose Silver Lakes ARC, an approved Mercedes-Benz panel beater, who provided a quote of nearly R40,000. After waiting for almost three weeks, Cross Country responded, approving only R14,000 and insisting I take my car to Auto Magic, which is not Mercedes-Benz approved. This is less than half the original quote, and they made this decision without having an assessor from Cross Country inspect my vehicle.

I also noticed they charged a R6,000 excess fee, even though my policy clearly states there is no excess for me and my spouse. They justified this by saying my spouse is 25 years old. Based on this experience, I cannot recommend Cross Country as an underwriter for short-term insurance.