****** and Recovered vehicle with SAPVIN numbers

My car was ****** on 24 October 2022 but shortly thereafter recovered by the Police. By the time the vehicle was recovered, it was damaged, the vehicle’s VIN numbers were changed and it was fitted with new false number plates and a new false license disc. I duly reported the theft to Discovery Insure, my insurer. Subsequently, a dispute however arose between me and Discovery Insure as to the extent of my damages for which I ought to be compensated. My dispute was based on the fact that the ******* removed my vehicle's VIN numbers and affixed false VIN numbers. The vehicle was after recovery taken to the SAP motor theft unit, where they informed me that according to the Road Traffic legislation, SAPVIN numbers must be stamped on my vehicle, because the original numbers were altered by the *******. It is general knowledge in the motor trade that a vehicle with SAPVIN numbers is worth a lot less (approx. 50% less) than its original market value. My vehicle was insured for R 900 000.00 with Discovery Insure on a Purple plan. After investigating the influence of SAPVIN numbers affixed to my vehicle, I realized that the value of my vehicle is now much lower and there will also be other challenges, like getting finance when selling and potential problems at roadblocks and crossing the border. I discussed the matter with Discovery Insure and was very disappointed with the way they handled the case and the time it took them to respond to my queries.After receipt of Discovery Insure's final settlement offer of R 22 734.49 for fixing the rather insignificant physical damages to my vehicle, I declared a dispute with them in terms of paragraph 5.11 of the Insurance Plan Guide.I decided to request assistance and intervention from the office of the Ombudsman in regard to my problem with Discovery Insure. I have sent the details of my vehicle to Webuycars and Weelee Car Dealers and described the condition of the vehicle as excellent and mentioned the fact that the car was ****** and recovered and SAPVIN numbers were affixed to the vehicle. I received an offer of R 350 000.00 from Webuycars and a statement from Weelee Car Dealers reading : "We work with a network of pre-approved dealerships who pay to be a part of our system, and part of their stipulations regarding the cars we put forward on the system is that it cannot have an SAP VIN.We regret any inconvenience, but unfortunately our dealership network will not be able to purchase your vehicle" I further submitted a letter from Rustenburg Toyota where they also said that they will not be able to do any transaction on my vehicle, and also confirmed in writing that the financial institutions they are dealing with, won't finance a vehicle with SAPVIN numbers. I also submitted a statement under oath from a broker with 37 years experience : " I confirm that I have been informed by Santam and Hollard that, in instances where insureds' motor vehicles are ******, and the Vin numbers are tampered with by the *******, and the South African Police services after the recovery of the vehicle punches in SAP Vin numbers on the relevant vehicle, those insurance companies afford the insured client the option to choose whether the vehicle should be written off or not. " In November 2008 an article was published about vehicles with SAPVIN numbers and the loss of value the insured will experience in such a case. The article included a statement from Mutual & Federal : "Due to the fact that the vehicle's identification numbers have been tampered with, the claim will usually be settled on a total loss basis. This is mainly due to the stipulation contained in the Mutual & Federal policy conditions that the client will be indemnified in accordance with reasonable market value. Once a vehicle has been stamped with SAPVIN numbers, dealerships are reluctant to purchase these vehicles and offer less than normal market value," agrees Ken Lawrence, General Manager: Claims Technical at Mutual & Federal. According to the FSCA " Short-term insurance is a contract with an insurance company in which a monthly premium or contribution is paid for policy benefits that insure you should an event occur – this is called a risk. The policy benefit is intended to place you in the same position that you were in before the loss event ." I always thought that Discovery Insure was a reputable company that would also, like the other mentioned insurance companies, settle a claim on the principle " to place you in the same position that you were in before the loss event". I was very disappointed to find out that Discovery Insure had a different view when they referred my case to their Legal Department which contended that my loss relating to the diminished value of my vehicle is consequential in nature and not related to the theft! How on earth can Discovery Insure say that my loss is consequential in nature and not directly related to the theft ? I have proved that my vehicle is worth much less than the insured amount of R 900 000.00 and that this lower value is a direct result of the theft and the ******* physically altering my vehicle's VIN numbers and SAPVIN numbers having been stamped to my vehicle by the South African Police. After months the office of the Ombudsman made a provisional ruling in my favor. Discovery Insure rejected my claim and the ruling of the Ombudsman and they still maintained their stance that my loss is consequential in nature. The case was referred back to the Ombudsman and after a year from my car having been ******, a formal ruling was made, again in my favor: " After careful consideration of the submissions by the parties to the dispute as well as the evidence on file, we find that the insured has not been properly indemnified as he will be faced with numerous difficulties that would not have been present if not for the theft of the vehicle. As per our fairness and equity jurisdiction, we request that the insurer write off the vehicle." Again Discovery Insure rejected the ruling and the case was now referred to an escalation committee. The escalation committee took another year to make a provisional and final ruling, and this time in favor of Discovery Insure, based on the following arguments. 1. The loss that I suffered is a consequential loss and the policy is not intended to provide cover for the depreciation of the value of the vehicle. 2. I am only insured against the loss of the vehicle or damage to the vehicle and "damage to" means physical damage to the vehicle. Discovery Insure admits that I am covered against physical damage, but because you can't cure the physical alteration of the VIN numbers, they don't accept this damage as physical damage ! I can't believe that the escalation committee can make a decision in favor of Discovery Insure with all the evidence on their table, proving that my loss is directly related to the theft of my vehicle and the South African Police stamping SAPVIN numbers to the vehicle. "The Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance is an independent, non-profit industry ombud scheme. They provide the insuring public and the short-term industry with a free, efficient and fair dispute resolution mechanism through an alternative dispute resolution process, applying the law and principles of fairness and equity." How can you claim fairness if an insured client pays a monthly premium, calculated on a vehicle worth R 900 000.00, and after a theft incident has to settle for a vehicle now worth R 350 000.00. It is so ironic that the Discovery Insurance Plan Guide highlights the fact that a vehicle with SAPVIN numbers has a lower retail value, but when they have to settle a claim, they say the loss is consequential in nature. "Vehicles that are registered with SAPVIN numbers or as a Code 3 (for example rebuilt vehicles) have a lower retail value than the published value for that particular vehicle type and will be settled at the lower value." I have been deprived of the use of my motor for two years and in this time kept on paying my monthly premiums to Discovery Insure believing that the outcome of my case will be fair. I am utterly disappointed and frustrated by the insurer’s failure to acknowledge the fact that their settlement offer is falling substantially short of compensating me for my true loss. My total portfolio is with Discovery - Discovery Health (Diamond status), Discovery Life insurance, Discovery Insure (Short term insurance) Discovery Bank (Diamond Status) and I refuse to accept the manner in which Discovery is treating me. I realize now that the moral high ground is not important to Discovery and that they will fight a case with arguments that are definitely not based on fairness and equity. I will therefore share my experience on every social media platform available, because I believe every Discovery Insure client or potential client should know what will happen if their vehicle is ****** and the ******* tamper with the VIN numbers