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Frequently Asked Questions

(Click on the links below to jump to the relevant FAQs)

  1. Why is the monetary compensation that I receive from my insurer so little when my vehicle has been damaged, stolen or hijacked?
  2. What recourse do I have if I am unsatisfied with the repairs done to my vehicle?
  3. How can my insurer reject my claim?
  4. Why does the complaints process take so long? What are the processes?
  5. What is important to remember when paying my insurance premium by debit order?
  6. What should I expect from an insurance broker?
  7. Should I use the small claims court?
  8. What is an excess?
  9. What if I am unhappy with somebody else’s insurer?
  10. Fraud and Polygraph testing
  11. Can my insurer cancel my policy?
  12. What cover do I have for my house?
  13. What about claiming for the contents of my home?
  14. What should I be asking of my insurance broker?
  15. How do “Lloyd’s” policies differ from policies of South African based insurance companies?
  16. What are the challenges with regards to personal accident claims?
  17. What should I be considering when taking out travel cover?
  18. What does “prescription” and “time-barring clauses” in policies mean?
  19. What about insuring my goods when I move or putting them in storage?
  20. What are the options available to me when considering motor vehicle insurance?
  21. What should I take into account when considering cell phone insurance?
  22. In what instances can the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance not help me?

Travel & Holiday
  1. "Why have we had to pay several "excesses" when the claim concerned only one incident?"
  2. It wasn't my fault that my angina flared up again during our holiday. Why won't the insurance company pay for my hospital visit?
  3. At the last minute, my wife felt she could not face the flight to Europe. Now the insurance company won't pay out for cancellation charges. Why is this?

General

  1. If I feel that my insurer's repudiation of my claim is legally wrong or absolutely unfair, how should I complain? The insurers allege that my claim is time-barred/ reported late/prescribed. What does this mean?
  2. The insurers allege that my claim is time-barred/ reported late/prescribed. What does this mean?
  3. Is the Ombudsman for short-term insurance the only free assistance available to me?
Motor
  1. I was completely innocent in the road accident which smashed up my car. How come I now have to lose my no claim bonus?
  2. In that same accident which was completely the fault of the other driver, I had to pay the excess on my policy. I asked my insurer to recover the excess for me, but it is not prepared to do so. Is this right?
  3. Some tiles have been blown off my neighbour's house and smashed up my car. Surely it must be the neighbour's responsibility to pay up for the damage?
  4. I paid thousands of Rands more for my car than the insurance company is offering now it has been written off. Why is this?
  5. My car was stolen notwithstanding that it had an immobifiser/gearlock. Why is the insurance company still repudiating?
House
  1. Why should I bother insuring my house for the rebuilding cost? It's higher, so if I had a fire I'd just move to another house?
  2. I have a friend living a few miles away whose house is practically identical to mine. Why is it that my rebuilding costs are so much higher than hers?
  3. Heavy rain has crept through my flat roof. Why won't the company pay to repair the roof? They keep saying its wear and tear.
  4. My carpet was damaged as a result of flood water and also certain tiles in the bathroom were loosened by the flood and had to be replaced. The insurer could not find tiles of exactly the same pattern and says it will therefore simply be meeting the cost of getting those tiles if they were available or provide tiles with a slightly different pattern. In regard to the carpet (which was secondhand), the insurers will arrange for a new piece of the carpet to replace the damaged piece and to be sewn on to the rest of the carpet, but this is not the same as the carpet was before. Can I object to this?
  5. I told the insurance company I would rather have cash than replacement furniture after my fire. Why is the cash they have offered a lower amount than the replacement cost?
  6. My three piece suite will never look the same with just one chair replaced. Why won't they replace the whole suite?
  7. My insurers will only pay 50 percent of my claim; because they say I am underinsured and the claim is subject to Average. But the claim was only R50, 000 and the total cover was R100, 000. How can they justify that?
  8. My house was burgled notwithstanding the fact that it was locked and there was forcible and violent entry.
 
 
Ombudsman For Short Term Insurance | © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Tel. 011 726-8900 | Fax. 011 726-5501 | Sharecall: 0860 726 890 | E-mail. info@osti.co.za
Postal Address P O Box 32334 Braamfontein, 2017
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