SA’s largest short-term insurer Santam has warned its clients to brace themselves for a potential delay in the repair of their damaged vehicles due to a crunch in the availability of vehicle parts caused in part by Covid-19.
The global supply bottlenecks have also affected the availability of electronic and other related equipment, Santam said in a statement on Monday.
Santam executive head of group sourcing Ebrahim Asmal said the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, flood damage to vehicle manufacturing facilities and the Durban harbour earlier in 2022, as well as the stringent lockdowns in China have worsened the situation.
Ebrahim said Covid-19 lockdowns had affected demand for vehicles and parts, while also disrupting the supply side. Logistics services have been severely disrupted and remained constrained, with the cost for these services increasing massively since 2020.
“At Santam, we are actively engaging with myriad industry stakeholders, including vehicle original equipment manufacturers, OEM parts dealerships and other suppliers, to find solutions to assist our clients,” Asmal said.
“We are also onboarding additional suppliers and increasing the rollout of our parts software solution. This will empower us to have a wider pool of suppliers, optimising motor body repairs’ parts procurement processes for Santam clients.”
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