Best car insurers in South Africa

Auto & General is rated as the best car insurer in South Africa in Forbes’ latest insurer rankings.

To determine these results, the publication partnered with market research firm Statista to survey over 45,000 insurance clients from 15 countries, including nations such as Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, and the United States.

Respondents who said they’ve held an auto insurance policy within the last three years were asked how satisfied they were with their cover provider and if they would recommend it to others.

They were also tasked to rate insurers based on criteria including the advice employees offered, customer service, damage service, price performance, and transparency.

After fielding the responses, Forbes assigned each insurer an individual score with the 160 top-rated companies landing on the final list, several of which were based in South Africa.

High prices and unhappy customers

Forbes noted that insurance costs across the globe have risen substantially in modern times while customer satisfaction simultaneously dropped to never-before-seen levels.

This has spurred insurers to come up with new and creative ways to satisfy their patrons, generally using technology.

In South Africa, it has born innovations such as digital insurance companies that do not require clients to visit a brick-and-mortar location in person or talk to a representative over the phone. All they do is punch in a few details on an app or website, and they’re covered.

Other modern-day initiatives include enabling motorists to temporarily stop coverage if they know they won’t be using their car for a while, which allows them to stop paying their monthly premiums until they activate coverage once again.

The top-rated insurers all showed stellar adaptability to changing market conditions and the introduction of new technologies.

Estimations from the Automobile Association indicate that as much as 70% of the vehicles on local roads are uninsured, making it a vital expense for motorists who want to protect their possessions in a country where there are over 800,000 car accidents a year.

It is also a requirement by most credit providers that clients do not cancel their insurance coverage for any amount of time during the finance contract.

The best vehicle insurers in South Africa, according to Forbes, are detailed in the table below: