Die versekeraar vergoed die herstelkoste.

Because Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for both singular and plural nouns, and for all genders.

So in this sentence:

• die versekeraar = the insurer
• die herstelkoste = the repair costs

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not switch between the forms based on gender or case, and unlike languages such as German, it does not have different article forms like der / die / das.

Versekeraar means insurer.

It is built from the idea of verseker (to insure / assure) plus the ending -aar, which often refers to a person who does something.

So:

• verseker = insure
• versekeraar = insurer

This is similar to how English can form nouns like teach → teacher, although the exact ending is different.

Vergoed means something like:

• compensates
• reimburses
• covers
• pays for

In insurance contexts, it often means that the insurer pays the cost or reimburses the expense.

So Die versekeraar vergoed die herstelkoste can naturally be understood as:

• The insurer reimburses the repair costs
• The insurer covers the repair costs

Yes. In this sentence, vergoed is in the present tense.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form depending on the subject, which is much simpler than English.

For example:

• Ek vergoed = I reimburse
• Jy vergoed = you reimburse
• Hy vergoed = he reimburses
• Die versekeraar vergoed = the insurer reimburses

Notice that vergoed stays the same each time.

This is the normal main-clause word order in Afrikaans: subject + verb + object.

So:

• Die versekeraar = subject
• vergoed = verb
• die herstelkoste = object

This is very similar to standard English word order:

• The insurer
  • reimburses
    • the repair costs

Yes, it is one word, and that is very normal in Afrikaans.

Herstelkoste is a compound noun:

• herstel = repair
• koste = costs

Together:

• herstelkoste = repair costs

Afrikaans often writes combinations like this as a single word where English would usually use two words.

Afrikaans strongly prefers compound nouns, so the idea of repair costs is written as herstelkoste.

Also, koste is already a normal word for costs/expenses. In careful standard Afrikaans, koste is generally preferred over kostes in many contexts.

So:

• herstelkoste = the standard compound form
• not usually herstel kostes

A rough English-friendly guide:

• versekeraar ≈ fer-suh-KEH-raar
• vergoed ≈ fer-KHOOT or fer-GHOOT, depending on accent and how you approximate the guttural sound

A few helpful notes:

• Afrikaans v is often pronounced closer to English f
• g is usually a guttural sound, not the normal English g
• ee in versekeraar is a long vowel
• oe in vergoed sounds like oo in food

It is best understood as plural in meaning: the repair costs.

The word koste refers to costs/expenses, so even though the whole idea is packaged into one compound noun, the meaning is still plural.

That said, in practical translation, English may sometimes use:

• the repair costs
• the cost of repairs
• repair costs

depending on style and context.

Yes, depending on context, that is a very natural interpretation.

Afrikaans present tense can sometimes sound broader than a narrow English present tense. So vergoed may be translated as:

• reimburses
• covers
• will cover

If this sentence appears in a policy description or a general statement, English may prefer will cover or covers.

No. Modern Afrikaans does not use grammatical gender the way some other European languages do.

So die is used regardless of whether the noun would historically have been masculine, feminine, or neuter.

That is why you can simply learn:

• die = the

for all definite singular nouns and also for plurals.

Yes. In this sentence, vergoed directly takes the thing being reimbursed or compensated for:

• vergoed die herstelkoste = reimburses the repair costs

So you do not need a preposition like English sometimes does with phrases such as pay for.

Afrikaans can express it directly:

• Die maatskappy vergoed die skade.
• Die versekeraar vergoed die herstelkoste.

This direct structure is very common.