Motorbike insurance complaints: your rights and the route to an ombud

Start by complaining to the insurer in writing. If it does not resolve the matter, you can take it to the National Financial Ombud Scheme, which is free to the complainant, or raise a conduct concern with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. The Policyholder Protection Rules require insurers to have a complaints process.

What counts as a complaint?

Rule 18.1 of the Policyholder Protection Rules (Short-term Insurance), 2017, defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction by a person to an insurer, or to its service provider, relating to a policy or service provided or offered. It qualifies when it says or alleges that:

• the insurer or its service provider has contravened or failed to comply with an agreement, a law, a rule or a code of conduct that binds the insurer or that it subscribes to;
• the insurer's maladministration, or wilful or negligent action or failure to act, has caused the person harm, prejudice, distress or substantial inconvenience; or
• the insurer or its service provider has treated the person unfairly.

So you do not have to use a legal term. If a claim was handled badly, a letter was never answered or a term was never explained, that is a complaint.

The Rules also say who can complain. A complainant includes the policyholder, a beneficiary, a person whose life is insured, a person who pays the premium, a member of a group scheme, and a potential policyholder whose dissatisfaction relates to the application, approach, solicitation or advertising or marketing material.

What must the insurer have in place?

Rule 18 requires every insurer to maintain a complaints management framework. The board of directors is responsible for effective complaints management (Rule 18.4.1). The insurer must also maintain an internal complaints escalation and review process (Rule 18.6.1), whose procedures should not be overly complicated or place unduly burdensome paperwork on complainants (Rule 18.6.2).

Rule 11.5.1(m) also requires the insurer, in the information it gives you after the policy begins, to set out your right to complain, how and where to complain, and the contact details of the relevant ombud. So your policy documents should show how to complain. If you cannot find it, ask.

What is the first step?

Complain to the insurer, in writing, and keep a copy.

1. Say what happened, with dates and the claim or policy number.
2. Say what you want: a decision reconsidered, an explanation, a correction, or a payment.
3. Attach the documents that matter, such as the schedule, the claim notice and any refusal letter.
4. Ask for a reply by a date. Keep proof of how and when you sent it.

If the complaint is about a claim, Rule 17 gives you specific rights. When an insurer refuses or disputes a claim, it must tell you within 10 days of its decision, in plain language, with its reasons. You then have at least 90 days to make representations, and the insurer has 45 days after receiving them to respond (Rules 17.6.2, 17.6.3 and 17.6.5). The notice must tell you that you can complain to an ombud and give its contact details. How a car insurance claim is handled and decided walks through the steps, and the same Rules apply to motorbike policies.

When can I go to the ombud?

The National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO) says it is an independent body that resolves consumer complaints against South African financial institutions, including non-life (short-term) insurers. It describes its service as "free, fair and impartial dispute resolution" at no charge to the complainant. It also says it "can only look at your complaint after you have first lodged it with your bank, credit provider or insurer."

To use it, lodge the complaint with your insurer first, then open a case with the NFO through its online complaint form. Its website lists a phone line on 0860 800 900 and a WhatsApp number on 076 574 8055. It has offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Check the website for the current details before you rely on them.

Do not wait for ever. A policy can contain a time limit for starting legal action, and the Rules say what that clause may and may not do (Rule 17.6.8). Read the time-limit information in the insurer's notice carefully, and speak to an attorney if it matters.

What does the FSCA do?

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority says it regulates and supervises the market conduct of financial institutions in South Africa, with a mandate to protect financial customers and promote their fair treatment. Its website says it assists clients with legislative related complaints, meaning concerns about how regulated companies conduct themselves and breaches of the laws that govern them. It has an online enquiry and complaint form.

So the two bodies do different work. Use the ombud to resolve your own dispute with an insurer. Use the FSCA if you believe a regulated company is breaking the rules that govern it. You can do both, since they ask different questions.

How long should the insurer take?

The Rules do not give one deadline for everything, but they set several that you can hold an insurer to on a claim.

• It must record the claim by the first business day after receiving it (Rule 17.8.7).
• It must decide the claim within a reasonable period (Rule 17.6.1).
• It must tell you of its decision in writing within 10 days of making it (Rule 17.6.2).
• It must answer your representations within 45 days of receiving them (Rule 17.6.5).

If a deadline passes without a reply, write again, refer to the Rule and keep a copy. That record helps when the matter reaches the ombud.

What about the Road Accident Fund?

A claim for injury or death after a road accident is a different process from an insurance complaint. It is governed by the Road Accident Fund Act, and a complaint about your own motorbike policy does not go to the Fund. Our guide on motorbike insurance and the Road Accident Fund explains the difference.

What should I keep?

1. The policy schedule and wording.
2. Every letter, email or message from the insurer, with dates.
3. Notes of phone calls: who you spoke to, the date and what was said.
4. Photos, repair estimates, police case numbers and similar proof, if you made a claim.
5. Your own letters and the proof that you sent them.

Rule 17.8.6 says the insurer must keep you informed of the progress of your claim, so if you have not heard anything, ask in writing and keep the request.

What if my complaint is about how my details were used?

That is a separate right. The Protection of Personal Information Act lets any person complain to the Information Regulator about interference with the protection of personal information (section 74). Our guide on what Olvian does with your details explains how Olvian handles yours.

What does Olvian do?

Olvian is a lead-referral service. You ask once, and your request goes to licensed providers who pay Olvian a fee and call you back. Olvian is not an insurer, broker, financial services provider or adviser, and it cannot decide or change a claim. If you have a complaint about a policy, the insurer that issued it is the first place to go.

Sources

Checked on 31 October 2026. Olvian is not a financial services provider and this guide is information, not advice.

• Policyholder Protection Rules (Short-term Insurance), 2017, Government Notice 1433, Government Gazette 41329 of 15 December 2017: Rules 11.5.1(m), 17.6, 17.8.6 and 18.
• National Financial Ombud Scheme
• Financial Sector Conduct Authority
• Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, section 74
• Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996, section 17