The grace period for renewing your driver’s licence card has ended, which may have you stressing about how that will affect your eligibility for car insurance in the event of an accident.

Well, the good news is you need not fret because even if you couldn’t renew in time, having an expired licence card does not play a large role in car insurance claims.

What matters when claiming is the scenario in its entirety, with every factor taken into consideration and this inspection is generally unhindered because, seeing that only the card is expired, your driver’s licence does not.

There are cases but they are very, very minimal. For example, your driving licence card… you will find that it expired in 2019, long before this issue happened, then you’ll find you’ll have to come up with tangible reasons why you didn’t renew it.

Zakes Sondiyazi – Motor Insurance Risks Manager at The South African Insurance Association (SAIA)

In essence, if you still have a licence, you are still fit to drive in the eyes of the law.

For those who still want to err on the side of caution, it is suggested that you let your insurer know if you are having problems renewing your licence card because that will put your issue on record and you can rest easier.

Expiration dates of driving licence cards are only considered in extreme circumstances where relevant.