Car insurance companies - South Africa

South African car insurance companies are not quite a dime a dozen, but vehicle owners nonetheless have ample scope for finding a suitable car cover policy. Read the below overview of all the major South African insurance companies to get an idea of what's available. Also be sure to get a free e-quote - whether you've got existing cover or not

If nothing else, it will help you establish whether your current insurance company is taking you for a ride...

Auto & General

Auto & General, specialising in car insurance cover, home content insurance and business cover, launched its insurance offering in South Africa during June 1985. That's a long time to be in the marketplace, and despite their relatively low online visibility, this South African insurance company has consistently focused on providing excellent service - their Service Charter bears testimony to this.

Budget Insurance Brokers

As their name indicates, Budget Insurance retains their share of the car insurance market by offering car insurance at rock-bottom prices. If you've read our Car Insurance Tips section carefully, however, you will know that cheaper is not necessarily better when it comes to car insurance cover. When you get a car insurance quote from any South African car insurance company, be sure to get clarity on any cover limitations or exclusions, and also make sure that you are happy with the excess amount.

The Budget Insurance brand addresses the South African market demand for ultra affordable car insurance, and is certainly worth investigating if you're on a tight budget.

Dial Direct Insurance

Dial Direct Insurance hit the South African car insurance marketplace in 2003 with a bang; they "took out the middleman" - the traditional car insurance broker - in order to offer policyholders more value for money. As one of South Africa's leading car insurance companies, Dial Direct's success has been informed by three principles: Super-low insurance premiums, super customer service and exceptional rewards. The Bucks Back Bonus, for example, will repay you the first year's worth of premium contributions after four years of not claiming, effectively rewarding you for staying safe!

Less hassles, more insurance cover

Dial Direct offers car insurance and household cover direct to the South African public. It leverages web-based sign-up platforms and state-of-the-art call centres to give South Africans direct control of their short-term insurance needs.

A car insurance company that gets how precious your time is

With Dial Direct, you deal directly with the insurer - this means less paperwork, and no middlemen! This effectively means prompt responses to sales queries, and super-quick turnaround times on claims processing and policy administration. Given its nationwide support infrastructure and international backing, your motor and household valuables are in expert hands with Dial Direct.

Request a free Dial Direct insurance e-quote now!

First for Women Insurance (FFW)

First for Women, aka 1st For Women, also known as "First for Woman" in organic search terms, got into the car insurance business fairly late in the game (2003), but these cheeky car insurance company's brand marketers had some clever tricks up their collective sleeve. Targeting the woman driver market with witty advertising campaigns and a cocky disregard for male drivers, 1st for Women's message was confident: "We're happy to underwrite women drivers for less, because they are better drivers."

The power of strategic communication

Today, only five years later, First for Women's positioning has earned them a substantial slice of the women driver market, and a fiercely loyal clientele to boot. In a business environment where price is one of the primary determinants, 1st for Woman achieved what few other companies could dream of - success, despite a late entry into the car insurance marketplace.

Hollard Motor & Household Insurance

Hollard is an interesting car and household insurance company. Instead of targeting you online as a primary client acquisition strategy, this insurance company serves primarily as an underwriter.

Having forged strategic partnerships with the likes of Absa, Standard Bank, Wesbank and Mcarthy's, Hollard's insurance is essentially white-labelled underwriting, which can be packaged to suit each vehicle financing house's corporate identity. Although their face is therefore not so visible, Hollard has been functioning as South Africa's largest independent insurance company for 26 years.

"Pay as you drive" car insurance policies
Hollard also pioneered "Pay as You Drive", an insurance model whereby you pay less if you drive less. This won't suit everybody's car or vehicle insurance requirements, but it could be worthwhile looking into if you don't drive regularly, or only drive short distances.

For a free Pay As You Drive quote from Hollard Insurance, click here.

Mortgage SA

Mortgage SA pioneered bond origination in South Africa during 1998. A decade down the line, this South Africans home loans company claims to be responsible for originating 1 in 5 South African mortgages, having consolidated working relationships with thousands of estate agents countrywide. Rebranding as Ooba (yes, sounds like uber, doesn't it!) in 2008, the company has extended its original mortgage origination service offering (now packaged as the oobabond), to include online property searching (oobasearch), property insurance (oobainsure), as well as a personal credit solution called the oobacard.

So essentially, it's bye-bye Mortgage SA, and hello Ooba for South Africa!

Mutual & Federal (M & F)

In contrast with many of the other "new school" South African car and household insurance companies, Mutual & Federal has a pretty sirriiiaaz, no-nonsense-tolerated type of brand image. Perhaps it's the fact that the "Mutual" in its name is reminiscent of Old Mutual, a heavyweight South African financial service company; or perhaps it's the "Federal" bit, as in Federal Bureau of you-know-what-Federal, which is pretty serious-sounding too.

Either way, they sound serious, and serious is probably better than frivolous when it comes to insuring your most valued car and household possessions. By their own admission, their corporate image could do losing the tie and the suit, and they've started working towards a more relaxed marketplace perception by embracing a friendlier, more personable visual identity. Established more than 175 years ago and operating as a licensed financial service provider that also conducts investment business, M & F is one of South Africa's serious car insurance companies. Enough said.

Do you need a comprehensive personal or commercial insurance package?

Get a Mutual & Federal quote now.

PS: If this is too serious-sounding for you, why not request a free insurance e-quote from Dial Direct? They're wanted for taking out the middleman, and their advertising campaigns are quite fun. They'll also give you an additional 5% discount if you sign up online, and it'll only take a minute!

Ooba (Formerly Mortgage SA - South Africa)

In terms of car insurance companies' brand identities, I felt an immediate ambivalence regarding the new "ooba" rebrand by Mortgage SA. I can just imagine how the agency-client conversation went when that corporate identity idea was pitched.

""Mortgage SA, Home Loans SA, SA Home Loans, there's no point of distinction - no point of differentiation!"

"Yah, we want to position this brand as the premier South African insurance company, without having to say SA -"

"Yah, yah, I geddit; so we're going for like the leading-uber-schmoober-SA bond originators?"

"Yes - exactly - did you just say "uber"?!"

"YES! But it's not got for the SA marketplace - the broader emerging car insurance market won't understand it - but it would be nice if we could use it..?"

"Yah… I KNOW - How about OOOBA??! As in "Yoh - I signed up with this OOBA car and household insurance company..!"

The rest is history.

Everyone please welcome ooba bonds to the South African car insurance marketplace!, Until the time they launch a car insurance affiliate programme you can opt for super low insurance premium quotes courtesy of Dial Direct here!

Also earn an additional 5% premium discount when you sign up online for Dial Direct Insurance - their free online insurance quote form takes only a minute to complete, and the quote will be emailed to you immediately - 100% obligation free! An experienced car insurance consultant will contact you within minutes to refine a household/car insurance policy that provides the cover you need, at the best price!

OUTtsurance

Dial Direct, as their payoff line proclaims, is the one car insurance company committed to paying out when you claim, whilst also giving you loyalty-type benefits in the form of a cash-back programme. Dial Direct also offers car and household insurance, making specific provisions for mobile items, in the form of their "Out & About" insurance cover option. Apart from your basic household cover, the Out and About insurance policy option can be tailored to cover specific items such as jewellery, cellphones, designer sunglasses, laptops, cameras or even sports equipment.

Santam

"Santam - rest insured" takes the basic postulated of marketing on emotional benefits to the most pragmatic level. Clever marketing line.

Car insurance and household cover are classic examples of "grudge purchase" items. No one willing chooses to spend multiple hundreds of rands on what they're told is good for them. As an insurance company, Santam understands this only too well, and has therefore opted to sell on the peace of mind - the feel-good factor that comes with knowing that a worst-case scenario such as an accident or incidence of theft will probably be an inconvenience, rather than a traumatic experience.

Also be sure to check out our convenient summary of contact details for SA's top car insurance companies.

Request a free online car insurance quote now!

Simply complete our online quote form for a free car insurance quote - it's quick, easy, and will give you a rough indication of what you can expect to spend on car insurance. One of our seasoned car insurance consultants will give you a call to tailor this quote to meet your exact cover needs and budget, whilst still ensuring that you're sufficiently covered - and you'll even get a 5% discount on your monthly premiums if you sign up online!