PPS runs long member service hours and puts its call centre and WhatsApp on the same number. Two other lines are separate and worth noting before you dial: roadside and home assistance runs 24 hours on its own toll free number, and the fraud hotline is a direct Johannesburg line rather than a share-call.
Official contact channels
- Member services: 0860 123 777, Monday to Friday 07:00 to 19:00 and Saturday 08:00 to 13:00
- WhatsApp: the same number, 0860 123 777
- From outside South Africa: +27 10 085 3820
- Home and roadside assistance, 24 hours: 0800 008 773
- Fraud hotline: 011 644 4581
What this organisation provides
PPS is a mutual company for professionals, which is the feature that sets it apart from an ordinary insurer: it has no external shareholders, and members share in the profits through a profit share account rather than those profits going to shareholders. Its products cover life and health, including sickness cover and permanent incapacity cover aimed at professionals who cannot work, critical illness, disability, accidental death and education cover, alongside business assurance, healthcare solutions, investments including tax free and retirement products, and wills, trusts and estate planning. It also runs a foundation with bursary and university support programmes.
Address and operating information
Member services hours are longer than most financial services call centres, running from 07:00 on weekdays and opening on Saturday mornings, so an early or Saturday call is realistic here. PPS describes itself as a licensed insurer conducting life insurance business, a licensed controlling company and an authorised financial services provider. Because membership is built around professionals, expect questions about your qualification and profession when joining, and note that the benefit of membership is tied to remaining a member rather than to a single policy.
Support and escalation routes
Claim through the how to claim route on the PPS site, which separates claim types, and use the correct product path because sickness, permanent incapacity and critical illness claims require different medical evidence. If PPS does not resolve a complaint about a policy or a claim, a life insurance complaint goes to the National Financial Ombud on 0860 800 900, and a complaint about the advice you were given goes to the FAIS Ombud on 012 762 5000. A complaint about a retirement product falls to the Pension Funds Adjudicator rather than an insurance ombud, and a medical scheme complaint goes to the Council for Medical Schemes, so match the body to the product rather than to the brand.
Sources
- PPS member services, international, assistance and fraud numbers with member service hours, published in the site footer: pps.co.za
- PPS mutuality, profit share and product sections: pps.co.za/about/mutuality