Photo: Dennis Sylvester Hurd, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0Insurance complaints by company in South Africa (NFO figures)
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Non-life insurers: formal complaints opened in 2025
From the NFO Annual Report 2025, 'Statistics per top 25 participants', non-life (page 32). Names as printed by the NFO.
| # | Insurer | Formal complaints opened |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Standard Insurance | 779 |
| 2 | Absa Insurance | 767 |
| 3 | Santam | 647 |
| 4 | Old Mutual Insure | 634 |
| 5 | Guardrisk | 570 |
| 6 | Old Mutual Alternative Risk Transfer (OMART) | 512 |
| 7 | Discovery Insure | 481 |
| 8 | Hollard | 419 |
| 9 | King Price | 418 |
| 10 | Nedgroup | 399 |
| 11 | MiWay | 349 |
| 12 | Auto & General | 333 |
| 13 | Santam Structured | 304 |
| 14 | Dotsure | 255 |
| 15 | FirstRand Short-term | 251 |
| 16 | Budget | 250 |
| 17 | Momentum Insure | 246 |
| 18 | OUTsurance | 203 |
| 19 | Centriq | 196 |
| 20 | Bryte | 189 |
| 21 | New National | 131 |
| 22 | Compass | 130 |
| 23 | First for Women | 115 |
| 24 | Legal Expenses | 85 |
| 25 | Vodacom | 71 |
Life insurers: cases registered in 2025
Same report, life (page 48).
| # | Insurer | Cases registered |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Mutual Life | 1,231 |
| 2 | Liberty | 568 |
| 3 | Centriq Life | 492 |
| 4 | Hollard Life | 349 |
| 5 | Sanlam Life | 324 |
| 6 | Metropolitan | 313 |
| 7 | Absa Life | 275 |
| 8 | Capitec Life | 235 |
| 9 | FirstRand Life | 230 |
| 10 | Clientèle | 223 |
| 11 | Discovery Life | 222 |
| 12 | Sanlam Developing Markets | 217 |
| 13 | MMI | 213 |
| 14 | Assupol | 211 |
| 15 | 1Life | 197 |
| 16 | Guardrisk Life | 193 |
| 17 | Nedgroup Life | 151 |
| 18 | Emerald Life | 144 |
| 19 | AVBOB | 140 |
| 20 | Safrican | 129 |
| 21 | OMART | 128 |
| 22 | RMA Life | 59 |
| 23 | OUTsurance Life | 55 |
| 24 | BrightRock | 38 |
| 25 | AIG Life | 23 |
How to read these figures
- Counts, not rates. The NFO does not divide complaints by the number of policies, so the biggest insurers naturally appear at the top. Tulinde does not compute a rate: no official policy count per insurer is published alongside these tables.
- Not every complaint is upheld. A complaint opened is not a finding against the insurer.
- Brands and licences differ. A brand may sell through another company's licence (cell captives such as Guardrisk, Centriq or OMART carry many brands).
Across all divisions in 2025 the NFO took 122,778 calls, registered 34,560 cases, opened 25,691 formal cases and recovered R442,994,504 for consumers, of which R299.6 million in life insurance and R82.9 million in non-life insurance (NFO Annual Report 2025).
If you have a dispute with your insurer
Complain to the insurer in writing first, then to the NFO, free of charge: 0860 800 900, [email protected]. Step by step: how to complain. Your deadlines after a rejected claim: your rights as a policyholder.
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Frequently asked questions
Which insurance company has the most complaints in South Africa?
In the NFO's 2025 figures, Standard Insurance (779 formal complaints opened) tops the non-life table and Old Mutual Life (1,231 cases registered) the life table. These are raw counts, not rates per policy.
Do more complaints mean a worse insurer?
Not necessarily. Larger insurers have more customers and therefore more complaints, and a complaint opened is not a finding against the insurer.
Where does this data come from?
From the National Financial Ombud's Annual Report 2025, published on its annual reports page.
Sources
- National Financial Ombud — Annual Report 2025 (4 June 2026): statistics per top 25 participants, non-life (p. 32) and life (p. 48)
- National Financial Ombud — Annual reports
- NFO Scheme Rules (28 February 2024): rule 1.4 free of charge, Schedule A monetary limits
- National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa — Contact us