Travel insurance in South Africa

What travel insurance is

Class 15 (travel) of the Insurance Act 18 of 2017 covers loss from cancellation, interruption, loss of property (including baggage) or other unforeseen events before, during and after a trip, and from a death, disability or health event while travelling in a country where you are not ordinarily resident. It is non-life insurance, sold by short-term insurers.

If you belong to a medical scheme or have a hospital plan, check in its rules what it pays abroad before relying on it. See health insurance.

Schengen visa: the €30,000 rule

Article 15 of the EU Visa Code, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, requires visa applicants to prove travel medical insurance covering repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical attention, emergency hospital treatment or death. The insurance must be valid throughout the Schengen area, cover the entire stay, and have minimum coverage of EUR 30,000. Applicants should in principle take it out in their country of residence.

The Embassy of Sweden's checklist for South African applicants (3 June 2026) repeats it: individual travel medical insurance of at least EUR 30,000 for emergency medical assistance, emergency hospitalisation or medical repatriation. The European Commission lists medical insurance among the standard documents, alongside a visa fee of €90 for adults and a processing time of normally 15 days (up to 45).

1. Check the policy limit for medical expenses and repatriation is at least €30,000 (or the rand equivalent your embassy accepts).
2. Check it is valid in every Schengen state and covers every day of the trip, including transit.
3. Get a certificate naming you, the dates and the cover, and take it to the visa appointment.
4. Multiple-entry visa: cover the first trip, and sign the form's statement that you will be insured for later trips.

Medical repatriation

Medical repatriation means bringing you home, or to a suitable hospital, when you fall ill or are injured abroad — or repatriating your remains if you die. It is one of the items the Visa Code requires the insurance to cover. Look at its limit in the policy schedule, and check whether the insurer's emergency assistance line must approve the transfer in advance — that rule is in each policy wording.

“Free” travel insurance on bank cards

Several South African banks attach automatic travel insurance to their cards when the ticket is paid with the card. It is real insurance, but with its own limits and conditions. Two examples from the banks' own pages, in alphabetical order (seen 29 October 2026):

Claims and complaints

1. In an emergency, call the insurer's assistance number on your certificate before you are admitted or transferred, where the policy requires it.
2. Keep every document: medical reports, invoices, police reports for theft, airline reports for baggage.
3. If the claim is refused, complain to the insurer in writing first (NFO).
4. Then take it to the National Financial Ombud Scheme — free, for complaints up to R5 million (NFO Rules), within three years.

The NFO's 2025 report counts travel among “other types of insurance” in its non-life division. More: insurance complaints and your rights.

Sources

1. Insurance Act 18 of 2017 — Government Gazette 41388, 18 January 2018, Schedule 2 Table 2 (gov.za)
2. Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (EU Visa Code), Article 15 — text as reproduced by legislation.gov.uk
3. Embassy of Sweden — Schengen visa checklist, tourism, South Africa (3 June 2026)
4. European Commission (Migration and Home Affairs) — Applying for a Schengen visa (2 December 2025)
5. FNB — Travel insurance page (seen 29 October 2026)
6. Standard Bank — What does travel insurance cover? (seen 29 October 2026)
7. National Financial Ombud Scheme — Annual Report 2025 (non-life division)
8. National Financial Ombud Scheme — Scheme Rules (28 February 2024)
9. National Financial Ombud Scheme — Complaints process