How a public liability claim works, from the incident to the decision

After an incident, make people safe, record what happened, read your policy's claims conditions, and report to the provider in writing. The insurer must then decide within a reasonable period and tell you in writing within 10 days, with reasons if it refuses. You have at least 90 days to answer a refusal.

What do I do first?

The first hours matter for the people involved and for the evidence.

1. Make the area safe and help anyone hurt. Call emergency services where needed.
2. Record the facts. Write down what happened, the time, the place, and who was there. Photograph the scene and any damage.
3. Collect names. Get contact details for the injured person, anyone whose property was damaged, and witnesses.
4. Keep what is relevant. Keep the equipment, object or surface involved if you can do so safely, and any CCTV that may have captured it.
5. Read the claims conditions in your wording. Look for deadlines to report, what you must send, and any limits on admitting fault or agreeing to pay.

Do not guess at blame in writing or in messages. Stick to what happened.

Who do I report to, and how?

To the provider or insurer named in your policy documents, in writing, keeping proof of sending. The Policyholder Protection Rules (Short-term Insurance), 2017 help in two ways.

• Rule 17.8.3 requires the insurer to disclose to the claimant the type of information it requires, where, how and to whom the claim and related information must be submitted, any time limits on submitting claims, any excess payable, and any administrative fee for managing the claim.
• Rule 17.4.3 says a claim received by an independent intermediary, binder holder or other service provider mandated by the insurer to manage claims on its behalf is deemed to have been received by the insurer itself.

Ask who is mandated to receive claims on your policy, and ask for the answer in writing.

What happens when the third party makes a demand?

You may receive a letter of demand, a message or a summons. Pass it to the provider straight away. Do not ignore a summons: it carries a deadline, and the insurer needs time to act. Do not negotiate privately with the other side until you have read the conditions, because many policies set conditions on admitting liability or settling. How the insurer takes part in handling a covered claim is set out in the wording.

How does the insurer decide?

Rule 17.2.1 requires an insurer to run a claims management framework that enables claims to be assessed after taking reasonable steps to gather and investigate all relevant and appropriate information and circumstances, and that does not impose unreasonable barriers on claimants. Rule 17.5.2 says the escalation and review procedures should not be overly complicated or impose unduly burdensome paperwork on claimants.

Under Rule 17.6.1 the insurer must accept, repudiate or dispute the claim, or the amount of it, within a reasonable period after receiving it. Rule 17.6.2 requires written notice of the decision within 10 days of taking it. The Rules set no fixed number of days for the decision itself.

What if the insurer refuses or disputes the claim?

Rule 17.6.3 requires the notice to tell you in plain language:

• the reasons, in sufficient detail to let you dispute them;
• that you may make representations within a period of not less than 90 days after receiving the notice;
• the details of the insurer's internal claim escalation and review process;
• your right to lodge a complaint with an ombud, and the contact details and time limits;
• any time limit in the policy for starting legal action, and what it means; and
• if the policy has no such limit, the prescription period under the Prescription Act 68 of 1969.

If you make representations, Rule 17.6.5 requires a written decision within 45 days of receiving them. If the insurer still refuses, Rule 17.6.6 requires its notice to give reasons, include the facts that informed the decision, and repeat the escalation, ombud and time-limit information.

For the full process see business insurance claims and complaints.

What records help my claim?

A claim is easier to assess when the facts are documented. Useful records include the incident notes and photographs from the day, the names of witnesses, your maintenance or cleaning logs for the area, any signage you displayed, staff rosters showing who was on duty, and the policy schedule and wording in force on the date. Keep copies of every message with the other side and with the provider. Send documents in a way that leaves a record of delivery, and note the date you sent them.

Records also help later if you need to dispute a refusal. Rule 17.6.3 gives you at least 90 days from receiving the notice to make representations, and the quality of what you can attach will matter.

What time limits should I watch?

Two sets of time limits can matter, and they are different things.

For the person claiming against you. Section 11(d) of the Prescription Act 68 of 1969 sets three years for "any other debt", unless an Act of Parliament provides otherwise. Section 12(1) starts the period when the debt is due, and section 12(3) says a debt is not due until the creditor has knowledge of the identity of the debtor and of the facts from which the debt arises, with the creditor deemed to know what reasonable care would have revealed. This is general information about the Act, not a statement about any particular claim.

For you against the insurer. A policy may contain a time limitation clause for starting legal action. Under Rule 17.6.8, a clause in a policy entered into on or after 1 January 2011 may not count the 90-day representations period, and must allow at least 6 months after that period for starting legal action. Rule 17.6.9 allows a claimant to ask a court to condone non-compliance where good cause exists and the clause is unfair to the claimant. For large claims, get legal advice early.

What if I am unhappy with how it was handled?

Complain to the insurer first. Rule 18 requires insurers to run a complaints process, and Rule 18.10 requires them to make the contact details of the relevant ombud available, including where a claim is repudiated.

The National Financial Ombud Scheme says it can only look at a complaint after you have first lodged it with the insurer. Its non-life insurance page lists commercial insurance complaints about service, policy administration, settlements and rejected claims. It does not state monetary or time limits on the page, so ask the NFO about those before you rely on any.

How does Olvian fit in?

Olvian is a lead-referral service paid a fee by licensed providers. It does not handle claims, assess liability or advise on disputes. For an incident, go to the provider named in your policy.

Sources

Checked on 31 October 2026. This guide is information, not advice.

• Policyholder Protection Rules (Short-term Insurance), 2017, Rule 17: Claims management
• Rule 18: Complaints management
• Prescription Act 68 of 1969, section 11 and section 12
• National Financial Ombud Scheme, its complaints process and non-life insurance page