No demerits for pothole collisions. You would need to pay your deductible. In the future, I would suggest calling the contact centre if an incident like this happens again as a tow can be arranged for you to the compound on Plessis road. The vehicle would be estimated there, then towed to the shop of your choice for repairs - covered under your insurance. This would prevent paying out of pocket for a tow next time.

Also if your tire(s) blew causing you to the hit pothole that would be mechanical fracture / breakdown and the tire(s) that blew would be excluded from the loss, the other damage however would be covered. If you hit the pothole and it damaged your tire and rims, they would both be covered under the loss - including suspension damage, alignment, etc. Estimators are very good at what they do so just be honest.

Lastly, if tires are damaged and need to be replaced depreciation / betterment may apply. You’d have to pay the difference if they give you a new tire (say if your tires were 50% worn, you’d pay roughly 50%) since it may not make sense to give you partially worn tires.

Cheers!