Lessons We Can Learn From The Freak EDSA Accident Last Thursday

3 min read By eCompareMo on February 10, 2015

On Thursday, February 5, a freak car accident blew the whole country by storm. Circulated early in social media, then picked up by media outlets not long after, a gray Toyota Vios was crushed by two buses at the Muñoz portion of EDSA. Photos of the accident showing the sedan pinned underneath the bus from its rear while the other bus slammed on the front portion of the bus have been all over social media websites and news outlets.

Though the damage to the vehicle was tremendous, the driver luckily survived the crash. Rescue teams were able to extricate the driver of the Vios and was rushed to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City. Currently, authorities are looking for one of the bus drivers who fled the scene.

Although these accidents are unfortunate, incidents of car crash are hard to predict—even if you religiously abide by the rules and have full situational awareness—these road accidents can still happen to any person at any time. With this sensational topic at hand, what are the lessons we can learn from this gruesome and bizarre car accident?

Why Filipinos should not only rely on Compulsory Third-Party Liability

While most motorists in the Philippines are satisfied with their Compulsory Third-Party Liability insurance—which is actually mandated by the Compulsory Land Transportation Office upon registration or renewal—nothing beats the security of being protected by a comprehensive car insurance. To understand more about the said insurance, here are the benefits under CTPL:

Compulsory Third-Party Liability (CTPL) Insurance
• For public utility vehicles (PUV), PHP 100,000 coverage for passenger-victims and PHP 100,000 for third-party victims.
• For private vehicles, PHP 100,000 coverage for third party victims only.

For both types of CTPL, the owner of the vehicle involved in the accident will not be covered by the CTPL. For private vehicles, passengers as well as family members of the driver up to second degree of consanguinity or affinity are also excluded from being covered by the CTPL.

Aside from limited coverage as well as the exclusion of certain people from the coverage, CTPL insurance also offers no additional services. If ever a vehicle owner gets in the same accident with the Vios driver and he has comprehensive car insurance, his car will be deemed a loss and he will get no compensation for total loss or damage to the vehicle.

It pays to have comprehensive car insurance

Fortunately for the Vios owner, he just got his car from the dealer the day before the accident, and most car dealers throw in one year of comprehensive car insurance as part of the package. If the vehicle owner already has car insurance, the insurance company will cover the cost of the vehicle, which is as good as providing a new car to the owner! However, what if this happened to a person who owns a vehicle for quite some time now, and he has no comprehensive car insurance to protect him from financial losses that may arise with vehicle-related incidents?

To fully understand what are the benefits of comprehensive car insurance, here are the coverages included in a comprehensive vehicle insurance package:
• Loss or Damage to the Vehicle
• Excess Bodily Injury/Excess Liability Insurance
• Property Damage
• No Fault-Indemnity Cover
• Auto Passenger Personal Accident

Aside from the said coverages, comprehensive car insurance buyers can also include the following add-ons for wider protection:
• Acts of nature coverage
• Strikes, Riots, and Civil Commotion
• Additional Accessories and Modification

Accidents similar to this one are likely to happen, and any driver may be the unfortunate person under that bus. However, you can protect yourselves from financial losses that may come with these mishaps if you have comprehensive car insurance protection.

Finding the most affordable car insurance can be a tedious chore, and people to settle for what’s readily available despite the fact that there are far better insurance policies in the market. However, those days are finally over with eCompareMo.com. We will help you find the right type of car insurance for you by helping you compare all available car insurance packages in the market.