SASRIA

Standard car policies specifically exclude loss or damage from riot, strike, civil commotion, public disorder, labour disturbances and terrorism. SASRIA exists to fill that gap: it is a state-owned insurer that carries these "special risks" so the mainstream market does not have to, which is part of why ordinary cover can stay affordable. The July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng was a large-scale reminder of exactly the kind of event SASRIA responds to.

You do not buy SASRIA separately at a counter — it is added to your underlying car policy by the same insurer, usually for a few rand a month, and issued as a SASRIA coupon alongside your schedule. Because it is inexpensive and the risk is real in South Africa, most insurers include it by default; it is still worth confirming it appears on your schedule rather than assuming.

SASRIA cover follows the value basis of the policy it attaches to, and it carries its own statutory limits. For an ordinary private vehicle those limits are ample, but high-value owners should check the maximum against their car's worth.