Complaints · Complaint & ombud
Insurance Ombudsman Contact Details
All complaint & ombud routesCheck this is the right body
The insurance ombudsman contact number in South Africa is 0860 800 900, and the email address for complaints is info@nfosa.co.za. The office is the National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa, at 110 Oxford Road, Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, and at 6 Vineyard Road, Claremont, Cape Town. We read these details on nfosa.co.za on 23 September 2026.
Insurance ombudsman contact numbers
| Share-call number | 0860 800 900 |
|---|---|
| Mobile and WhatsApp (contact page) | +27 (0)76 574 8055 |
| Second WhatsApp number (site header icon) | +27 (0)66 473 0157 |
| Complaints and general email | info@nfosa.co.za |
| Complaints about the ombud itself | servicecomplaints@nfosa.co.za |
| Media queries | media@nfosa.co.za |
| Johannesburg office | 110 Oxford Road, Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2198 |
| Johannesburg parking entrance | 19 9th Street, Houghton Estate, Illovo, Johannesburg, 2198 |
| Cape Town office | 6th Floor, Claremont Central Building, 6 Vineyard Road, Claremont, Cape Town, 7708 |
| Website | nfosa.co.za |
Both offices take complaints on the same national number. There is no separate Cape Town or Johannesburg switchboard published, and no regional email address.
Which office handles insurance complaints now
If you are looking for the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance, the Ombudsman for Long-Term Insurance, the Credit Ombud or the Ombudsman for Banking Services, all four are gone as separate offices. They amalgamated into the National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa, which began operating on 1 March 2024. One number and one email now cover insurance, banking and credit complaints.
The scheme runs three divisions internally, for non-life insurance, life insurance, and banking and credit, but you do not have to pick one before you call. The enquiry form on the contact page asks which area you need help with, and the switchboard routes the call.
The NFO is registered as a non-profit company under number 2023/162407/08 and is recognised as an industry ombud scheme by the Ombud Council under reference OC/001/24.
The old osti.co.za address for the short-term insurance ombudsman was returning a server error when we checked it on 23 September 2026, so if an older letter or policy document sends you there, use nfosa.co.za instead.
How to lodge an insurance complaint
Complain to your insurer, bank or credit provider first. The NFO asks you to give the company a chance to resolve the matter and to keep its response, although its own rules do not make that a strict precondition for approaching the office.
- Complete the application for assistance form, published as an interactive PDF at nfosa.co.za under Application for Assistance.
- Or use the online complaint form on the site, where every field has to be completed for the submission to go through.
- Or phone 0860 800 900. The NFO says it provides a telephonic and a walk-in service as well as written intake.
Whichever route you use, the office asks for the name of the participant company, your account or policy number, your full contact details, a short factual summary of the complaint and copies of the correspondence you are relying on.
You may submit a complaint in any of South Africa’s official languages. The service is free to complainants. If someone is complaining on your behalf, they must submit a written mandate, and the office publishes a sample mandate form for that.
What happens after you complain
You receive a letter of acknowledgement. If you had not already taken the complaint to the company, the NFO asks the company for a written response within 21 working days, and then gives you a chance to comment on that response. It may ask either side for more information at any stage. Once the investigation is finished it may issue a ruling or make a recommendation.
You can follow the case yourself using the tracker on the site. It asks for your ID number, your surname and the last five digits of your case number. The case number appears in the acknowledgement email and looks like 08/05/2024-0014202, of which you enter only the 14202.
Unhappy with how the NFO itself handled your matter, as opposed to the outcome on the merits, email servicecomplaints@nfosa.co.za. The office tries to settle service complaints internally and refers those it cannot settle to an independent assessor.
Before you phone
The NFO can only look at a complaint against a company that participates in the scheme. It publishes its participant lists separately for non-life insurance, life insurance, banking and credit, and checking your company appears on the right one saves a wasted call.
Have the paperwork in front of you. An ombud decides on documents, so the policy or account number, the dates, the amount in dispute and the company’s written response matter more than the phone conversation itself.
Keep your wording short and factual. The office’s own guidance asks complainants not to write angry, sarcastic or threatening letters, and asks that handwritten complaints be legible.
A note on the two WhatsApp numbers
The NFO contact page displays +27 (0)76 574 8055 next to a WhatsApp link, while the WhatsApp icon in the site’s own header links to a different number, +27 (0)66 473 0157. One of the links on the page is also malformed, dropping a digit. Both numbers are published by the office itself, but if you want certainty, 0860 800 900 and info@nfosa.co.za are the channels it prints consistently.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Ombudsman for Insurance contact number?
The numbers listed on this page for Ombudsman for Insurance are 0860 800 900 (Share-call number) and +27 (0)66 473 0157 (Second WhatsApp number).
What is the Ombudsman for Insurance email address?
The email address listed on this page is info@nfosa.co.za (Complaints and general email).
Does Ombudsman for Insurance have a WhatsApp number?
Yes. The WhatsApp number listed on this page is +27 (0)76 574 8055 (Mobile and WhatsApp).
How do I know these Ombudsman for Insurance details are correct?
We only list details read from the official website or channels of Ombudsman for Insurance, and this page shows the date they were checked. Confirm on the official site before you share personal information or make a payment.
Sources
- National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa: nfosa.co.za contact page, numbers, email addresses and both office addresses (read 23 September 2026)
- NFO How to Complain, Complaints Process, Track Your Complaint and Service Complaints pages, for the intake requirements, the 21 working day response period and the tracker (read 23 September 2026)
- NFO About Us, for the amalgamation of the four predecessor schemes, the 1 March 2024 start date, the NPC registration number and the Ombud Council recognition (read 23 September 2026)