Retail value

Retail value is drawn from the trade guides South African insurers rely on (such as the TransUnion auto dealers' guide), reflecting the price a dealer would advertise your exact make, model, year and mileage at. Because it is the dealer asking price rather than a private-sale or trade-in figure, it is the most generous of the three bases at claim time.

The trade-off is the premium: insuring at retail sets a higher sum insured, so the monthly cost is a little higher than at market or trade value. For most owners that is worth it — at a write-off, the difference between a retail and a trade settlement on a typical SA car can run to tens of thousands of rand.

Retail is usually something you must request: many policies default to market value unless you specify otherwise. Check your schedule for which basis is recorded, and confirm it still reflects your car's real worth at each renewal as values shift.