Omnibus association strengthens partnership with local businesses |14 June 2020

Meeting with Mr Woodcock from H.Savy Insurance

A number of local businesses are teaming up with the Seychelles Association of Omnibus operators (SAO) to show their support to the group and strengthen business partnerships.

These include, but not limited to, insurance company H. Savy, tyres and accessories company Tires 4 All also known as Federal Tyres, and spare part dealership PMC.

Some members of the association’s executive committee met with the new partners last Friday to formalise the agreements, which aim to bring a number of benefits to the SAO while at the same time bringing business directly to the companies.

SAO chairman Mervin Elizabeth and secretary Ivan Hollanda said H. Savy Insurance had been very welcoming and encouraging, where discussions focused on discounts on insurance policies, but also other important aspects of insurance cover. This included questions and explanations on how comprehensive and third-party policies work, how premiums and excess are calculated as well as how they assess a claim from a client.

H. Savy’s general manager Lambert Woodcock explained how a client can claim on his/her insurance, and the best ways to go about it, the available types of covers for omnibuses, and what causes a client to be seen as high-risk.

“It is of utmost importance that an omnibus driver always has a valid driver’s license, valid insurance cover, and a valid driver’s license for whatever class of omnibus that is being driven,” said Mr Woodcock.

“But for the sake of the omnibus operators/drivers, we also strongly advise against drivers working under the influence of drugs/alcohol, as their insurance cover will be null and void should it be determined that they had an accident while under the influence of same.”

Operators were also advised to always read their insurance documents well, especially the “fine print”, and to know how this could affect their premiums or no-claim discounts.

Mr Elizabeth spoke of the difficulties faced by operators, such as loss of use when omnibuses have been in an accident, or is under repair, especially as even if their policies cover loss of use and they are given a vehicle to use, there are no omnibuses available for them to use in the meantime.

Meeting up with Tires 4 All, Steve Jardine and Mr Elizabeth signed a memorandum of understanding, in which the former agreed to give omnibus operators a percentage discount on all products bought from them, which include tyres, batteries and accessories.

This agreement between the two had already been active for several years now, but has now been formalised through the MoU.

“We are always bringing in new and better products to meet our clients’ demands,” said Mr Jardine.

“In the case of the omnibus operators, we are always bringing in improved types of tires to suit the kinds of roads/surfaces that they drive on, from smooth, to rugged, to off-road.”

PMC spare manager Reuben Port-Louis pledged a healthy business relationship on the basis of consistency from omnibus operators in bringing business to the company. Despite current economic difficulties, he said the PMC remains devoted to as much as possible making spare parts, service parts, tyres, etc available to their clients.
“Apart from selling only genuine parts to our clients, we also provide breakdown services, after-sales service, and we also have a garage, which we ask clients to make use of,” he said.

Mr Elizabeth said that all SAO members receive a membership cards upon their registration, which they can use with all its partners to identify them as a member of SAO. Mr Elizabeth added the SAO remains committed to forming as many new partnerships as possible, and also working on improving existing ones, to bring as many benefits to its members as possible, while also ensuring that it is a mutually beneficiary relationship for its partners too.

Contributed by SAO