The brand is 1st for Women, often written First for Women, and both spellings refer to the same insurer. It publishes a separate number for each of its three product lines, and mixing them up is the usual reason a call goes nowhere: short-term cover, life cover and business cover are administered by different teams, and within each, sales and claims are split again. Start by identifying which policy you hold. Two numbers cut across all of it and are worth saving now rather than looking up later: the 24-hour emergency assistance line, and an international assist number for anything that happens abroad. There is also a fallback for the moment you cannot find your policy documents in an emergency, which the insurer publishes precisely because that is when people cannot find them. All details below come from the 1st for Women contact page.
Official contact channels
Short-term insurance, covering car, home, building and personal accident:
- Customer service, sales and claims: 0861 33 93 39, or [email protected]
- 24-hour emergency assistance: 0860 10 42 12
- International assist: +27 11 694 6694
- If you cannot find the emergency number in your policy documents: call 0861 00 55 85 and follow the emergency prompts
Life and business insurance:
- Life — customer service and sales: 0860 10 51 94, or [email protected]
- Life — claims: 0861 11 18 05
- Business — customer service and sales: 0861 00 33 28
- Business — claims: 0861 53 78 72, or [email protected]
- Broker queries: 0800 1000 11
What this organisation provides
1st for Women is a South African direct insurer marketed to women, selling short-term cover for cars, homes, buildings and personal accident, life cover, and business insurance covering vehicles, property and operations. Its call centre hours and its Auto & General group address place it alongside sister brands in the Telesure group rather than as a standalone company, which is why its business insurance mailbox uses a businessins.co.za domain rather than the 1st for Women one. The insurer also runs a mobile app, available on Google Play, the Apple store and AppGallery, from which assistance can be requested directly.
Address and operating information
- Sales: Monday to Friday 08:00 to 19:00, Saturday 08:00 to 13:00, closed Sunday, public holidays 08:00 to 13:00
- Support: Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00, Saturday 08:00 to 13:00, closed Sunday, closed public holidays
- Life insurance: Monday to Friday 08:00 to 18:00, Saturday 08:00 to 13:00
The gap between sales and support hours is the practical trap. Sales stays open two hours later on weekdays and works public holidays; support closes at 17:00 and is shut on public holidays entirely. If you need to change or query an existing policy, aim for a weekday before 17:00. Outside that, only emergency assistance is staffed.
Support and escalation routes
- Compliments: 0861 11 18 05 or [email protected]
- Complaints: 0860 22 21 78 or [email protected]. Note this is a different number from the general service line, and using it is what moves a matter out of ordinary support.
- Fraud hotline: 0861 11 56 53. The insurer states all reports are handled confidentially.
- Once the insurer’s internal process is exhausted, an unresolved complaint can be referred to the relevant financial services ombud scheme.
Sources
The telephone numbers, email addresses and call centre operating hours on this page were read from the 1st for Women contact page at firstforwomen.co.za on 30 August 2026. Nothing has been inferred or taken from a directory. Note that 0861 11 18 05 is published both as the life claims number and as the compliments number; both labels are reproduced above as the insurer gives them.