Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance

The ombud is your free, independent recourse when an insurer rejects a claim, underpays it, or applies a term you believe is unfair. Its adjudicators weigh the policy wording, the facts and the principle of fairness, and it exists specifically so consumers do not have to litigate to challenge a large company.

There is an order of operations. You first exhaust the insurer's own internal complaints process and obtain a final response (or "deadlock") letter; only then does the ombud take the matter up. Bring the policy schedule, the claim correspondence and the rejection letter — the clearer the paper trail, the stronger your case.

Since 1 March 2024 the short-term insurance ombud function sits within the National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa (NFO), which consolidated the former short-term, long-term, banking and credit ombud offices into one body. The service remains free to consumers, and the ombud's determinations are binding on the insurer within set limits, while you keep the right to take the matter further.