Insurance & Medical Aid · Contact details
Discovery Authorisations Contact Details
The Discovery pre-authorisation contact number is 0860 99 88 77, open 07:00 to 20:00 Monday to Friday and 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays. From outside South Africa the same line is reached on +27 11 529 6900. For an emergency admission or medically equipped transport, call Discovery 911 on 0860 999 911, which answers at all hours. ContactDetails.co.za is an independent directory and cannot access, change or act on a Discovery account.
Discovery pre authorisation contact number
Discovery runs hospital authorisations, claims and benefit queries through the member lines in this table, which were checked against the official Discovery contact page on 26 September 2026. Contact numbers do change, so confirm on the official page before relying on one for anything urgent.
| What it is for | Contact |
|---|---|
| Hospital authorisations (pre-authorisation), claims and benefit queries | 0860 99 88 77 |
| Hospital authorisations from outside South Africa | +27 11 529 6900 |
| Emergencies and medically equipped transport (Discovery 911, all hours) | 0860 999 911 |
| Healthcare professionals (member validation, benefit confirmation) | 0860 44 55 66 / healthpartnerinfo@discovery.co.za |
| WhatsApp Get Help | Link on the Discovery contact page (chat bot at all hours, agents 07:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday) |
| Claims email | claims@discovery.co.za |
The hospital authorisations line runs 07:00 to 20:00 Monday to Friday and 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays, and is closed on Sundays and public holidays. The healthcare professionals line runs 07:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday.
Discovery does not publish a separate pre-authorisation department number
Hospital authorisations run through the member line, 0860 99 88 77. Have your medical aid membership number ready when you call, because the agent needs it to open the authorisation. Inventing or copying a number from an unofficial listing is how people end up calling a line that no longer belongs to the business.
How Discovery hospital pre authorisation works
On Discovery Health Medical Scheme, you must preauthorise a planned hospital admission at least 48 hours before you go in. Call 0860 99 88 77 with your membership number, the hospital and the procedure dates. In an emergency you can go straight to hospital; call Discovery 911 on 0860 999 911 with your medical aid membership number.
For more on hospital authorisations, see Discovery hospital authorisation contact details.
Discovery email addresses for claims and healthcare professionals
Discovery lists claims@discovery.co.za for claims, which gives you a written record of what you asked and when, and healthpartnerinfo@discovery.co.za together with 0860 44 55 66 for healthcare professionals doing member validation and benefit confirmation. Hospital authorisations themselves are arranged on the 0860 99 88 77 line.
The WhatsApp Get Help service, linked on the Discovery contact page, runs a chat bot at all hours, with agents available 07:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday. Account and self-service tools sit behind a secure login on discovery.co.za.
Calling Discovery from outside South Africa
Use +27 11 529 6900 for authorisations from abroad, since the local 08 prefixes generally cannot be dialled internationally. Discovery splits its contact lines by department rather than running everything through one switchboard, so calling the wrong line usually means being transferred or asked to call back.
Complaints and escalation
If a first call does not resolve the matter, escalate through Discovery’s internal complaints process and ask for a reference number. Keep a short written log of each contact: the date, the channel you used, the name of the agent and the reference number. Most insurance complaint processes ask for exactly that history, and having it ready is usually the difference between a fast resolution and starting over. Other complaint routes for South African companies are listed in our Complaints section.
Avoiding fake Discovery contact numbers
Contact details for well known South African brands are a common target for impersonation. Numbers that look official appear in search adverts, social media replies and cloned websites, and the person answering is not Discovery.
- Reach Discovery through its official site at discovery.co.za rather than through a number in a search advert or a social media reply.
- Discovery will never ask you for your full card number, PIN, CVV, online banking password or a one time PIN. Nobody legitimate needs those to help you.
- Treat urgency as a warning sign. A caller who pushes you to install remote access software or move money to a safe account should be ended.
- If you are unsure whether a call was genuine, hang up and dial the official number yourself rather than calling back a number the caller gave you.
What Discovery calls cost
South African 0860 and 0861 numbers are charged at a share-call or standard rate depending on your provider, and 0800 numbers are toll free from a landline. Calls from a mobile are billed at your own operator’s rate, so check your plan if cost matters.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Discovery pre authorisation contact number?
Call 0860 99 88 77, 07:00 to 20:00 Monday to Friday and 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays. Pre-authorise a planned hospital admission at least 48 hours before you go in.
What is the Discovery pre authorisation email address?
Discovery lists claims@discovery.co.za for claims and healthpartnerinfo@discovery.co.za for healthcare professionals. Authorisations are arranged by phone on 0860 99 88 77, or +27 11 529 6900 from abroad.
Does Discovery have a separate pre-authorisation department number?
No. Discovery does not publish a separate pre-authorisation department number. Call the hospital authorisations line on 0860 99 88 77, or +27 11 529 6900 from outside South Africa, with your membership number ready.
How far in advance must a Discovery hospital admission be pre-authorised?
At least 48 hours before a planned admission. In an emergency you can go straight to hospital and call Discovery 911 on 0860 999 911 with your membership number.
How do I know a Discovery number is genuine?
Check it against the official site at discovery.co.za. A number that only appears in a search advert, a social media reply or a third-party directory should not be trusted for anything involving your account, your money or your identity document.
What should I do if nobody resolves my Discovery query?
Ask for the complaint reference and the escalation path on your first call, then follow that path. Keep the dates, agent names and reference numbers, because every formal complaint process will ask for them.
Sources
- Discovery Contact us page, discovery.co.za/corporate/contact-us, read 26 September 2026
- Discovery Going to hospital page, discovery.co.za/medical-aid/going-to-hospital, read 26 September 2026
- Discovery How to claim page, discovery.co.za/medical-aid/how-to-claim, read 26 September 2026
More medical aid schemes are listed in our Insurance section.