African Life was acquired by Sanlam, and its life and funeral business was absorbed into the Sanlam group. A policy issued under the African Life name is serviced by Sanlam today.
An old policy document is not worthless because the brand has gone. When an insurer is acquired, the obligations transfer with it. Quote the policy number and the identity number of the policyholder, and the record can be traced.
If premiums stopped years ago, ask before you assume the policy lapsed. Some older policies acquired a paid-up value rather than lapsing outright, and unclaimed benefits sit with insurers for years because nobody in the family knew the policy existed.
This page covers how to contact Sanlam in South Africa. The details below were taken from the official Sanlam contact page rather than from any third-party directory.
ContactDetails.co.za is an independent directory. We are not Sanlam and cannot act on your behalf. Everything on this page is a routing aid so you reach the right official channel quickly.
Sanlam contact numbers
These routes were verified against the official Sanlam contact page on 22 August 2026. Contact numbers do change, so confirm on the official page before relying on one for anything urgent.
| What it is for | Contact |
|---|---|
| Client care | 0860 726 526 |
| Alternate number | 011 359 7700 |
Client care answers on weekdays between 08:00 and 17:00.
Self-service options before you call
- Check the official site at sanlam.co.za, which carries the current contact details and any online enquiry form.
- Calling outside peak times. Monday mornings and the hour after 17:00 are usually the worst for South African contact centres.
What to have ready before you call
- A clear one line summary of what you need resolved.
- Your account, order or reference number if you already have one.
- The identity document or account holder details, since most South African providers verify who you are before discussing an account.
- Dates, amounts and any error message exactly as it appeared.
- A pen and paper for the reference number. Ask for one every time, because without it a follow up call starts from nothing.
What decides whether a funeral claim pays
- The waiting period. Funeral policies normally pay for accidental death from day one but impose a waiting period, commonly six months, on death from natural causes. A policy taken out last month will not cover an illness this month, and no amount of arguing changes that term.
- Whether premiums were up to date. A lapsed policy pays nothing. If a debit order bounced and was never caught up, the cover may have ended without anyone telling the family.
- Who is actually listed. Extended family cover only covers the people named on the schedule. A parent, in-law or child added verbally and never recorded is not covered.
- Whether the death certificate and identity documents can be produced. A claim needs the certified death certificate, the deceased’s identity document, the claimant’s identity document and the policy number, and delays are almost always documents rather than decisions.
- How fast you claim. Funeral policies carry short claim windows compared with life cover, and the point of the product is a payout within days. Phone the insurer before you commit to funeral costs, not after.
Keep the policy schedule where a family member can find it, and tell at least one person which insurer holds it. A funeral claim is made by people who are grieving and working to a deadline, and the single most common reason a genuine policy pays nothing is that nobody knew it existed.
Complaints and escalation
If a first call does not resolve the matter, escalate through the insurer’s or parlour’s own complaints process first, in writing. A funeral policy is long-term insurance, so an unresolved complaint goes to the National Financial Ombud on 0860 800 900, free of charge, and it can look at how the policy was sold to you as well as at the claim decision. If the complaint is about the funeral service itself rather than the payout, that is a consumer matter for the National Consumer Commission on 012 065 1940.
Keep a short written log of each contact: the date, the channel you used, the name of the agent and the reference number. Most funeral cover complaint processes ask for exactly that history, and having it ready is usually the difference between a fast resolution and starting over.
Avoiding fake Sanlam contact numbers
Contact details for well known South African brands are a common target for impersonation. Numbers that look official appear in search ads, social media replies and cloned websites, and the person answering is not Sanlam.
- Reach Sanlam through the official site at sanlam.co.za rather than through a number in a search advert or a social media reply.
- Sanlam 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 any caller who creates urgency, asks you to install remote access software, or asks you to move money to a safe account as fraudulent, and end the call.
- 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.
Related contact pages
- Insurance contact pages
- Complaints and escalation contact pages
- Bidvest Tyre Insurance Contact Details
Frequently asked questions
What is the Sanlam contact number?
The routes are listed in the table above, with what each one is for. The main route is 0860 726 526. Confirm it on sanlam.co.za before relying on it, since numbers are changed from time to time.
How do I know a Sanlam number is genuine?
Check it against the official site at sanlam.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 query?
Ask for the complaint reference and the escalation path on your first call, then follow the escalation route described above. Keep the dates, agent names and reference numbers, because every formal complaint process will ask for them.
Can ContactDetails.co.za resolve this for me?
No. We are an independent directory, not Sanlam, and we have no access to your account. Everything here is a routing aid so that you reach the correct official channel with the right information in hand.
Is there a cost to calling these numbers?
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.
Contact routes on this page were checked against the official Sanlam source on 22 August 2026. If you find a detail that has changed, the official source is always the authority.