What approval actually refers to
Approval has two layers that are easy to conflate. The first is independent certification of the product against recognised vehicle-security standards; the second is the individual insurer's approved-product list, which draws on that certification but is the insurer's own. A device needs to satisfy both to be approved for your cover.
The practical implication is that approval is not a single global stamp. A device can be certified in general yet still need to appear on your specific insurer's current list, which is why the safe habit is to check approval against your own insurer rather than assume a well-known product qualifies everywhere.
VESA, the primary South African reference
In South Africa the most commonly cited certification reference for vehicle-security products is VESA, the recognised industry body that certifies tracking and security equipment to defined standards. A VESA-certified product is the usual baseline that insurers look for, and VESA approval alone typically satisfies most insurer requirements.
Crucially, VESA approval attaches to specific device models, not to companies in general, so a provider can have some approved products and others that are not. The takeaway is to confirm that the exact device being installed is on the current approved list, rather than relying on the provider's overall reputation.
Company-level quality certification
Separate from product certification, some providers hold company-level quality-management certification such as ISO 9001, which speaks to their internal processes, customer service and complaint handling rather than to any single device's performance. It is a signal about the operator, not the hardware.
For a consumer this is an indirect quality indicator: a provider that has invested in formal quality management tends to deliver more reliable service, but it is not a substitute for product-specific approval. Both matter for different reasons, and neither replaces the other.
Hardware reliability standards
Beyond security certification, a quality tracker is built to withstand the physical conditions of a vehicle: vibration, temperature extremes, dust and water ingress, and electrical interference. Reputable products are engineered and tested against recognised environmental and reliability standards so they keep working in real conditions, not just on the bench.
This reliability dimension is less visible than the security certification but matters for the same end goal: a device that fails physically is no more use at claim time than one that was never approved. Asking about a product's environmental rating, especially for harsh-use or coastal vehicles, is a fair question at fitment.
Why insurers require certified products
There are two reasons an insurer insists on certification rather than taking a working device on trust. First, certified products have audited recovery performance the insurer can rely on to price the risk; an uncertified device might perform well or poorly, and the insurer cannot price what it cannot verify. Second, certified products use standardised reporting and recovery-coordination protocols that the insurer's claim infrastructure can actually interface with.
Put plainly, an uncertified tracker that happens to work is not the same thing as a certified tracker that has been tested and audited. The insurer needs the verifiable certification, not optimistic confidence in an unknown device, which is why the approved-product condition is non-negotiable on the policies that carry it.
How to check your tracker is approved
The reliable check has two steps: confirm the specific device model is certified, and confirm it appears on your own insurer's current approved list. The provider should be able to tell you the model's certification status, and your insurer or broker can confirm the list position at quote stage or against the policy schedule.
Do this before fitment, not after a claim. The certification gap that surfaces at claim time is one of the most preventable causes of declined theft and hijacking claims, and the few minutes it takes to confirm the device is approved is trivial against the cost of an avoidable decline.
The OneCompare view
Check approval before fitment, not after a claim, and check it in two places: that the specific device model is certified, and that it sits on your own insurer's current approved list. The certification gap that turns up at claim time is among the most preventable causes of a declined theft or hijacking claim.