Advertiser and regulatory disclosures

How we make money

We earn a referral fee from a medical scheme, insurer or accredited advisor when a reader we referred takes out cover. We are never paid by you: medical scheme contributions are set by the scheme and approved by the Council for Medical Schemes, so no comparison site or broker may add a fee on top of your premium.

Some pages also carry paid placement — a clearly labelled band or row that a partner has paid to appear in. Paid placement buys visibility. It does not buy a better editorial score, a higher ranking in a comparison table, or a more favourable review.

What our labels mean

Every commercial element on the site carries a label you can click for an explanation of where the information came from. If a row or card has no label, no money changed hands for its position.

• Advertiser — we have a commercial relationship with this provider and may earn a fee if you take out cover.
• Sponsored — the provider paid for this specific placement or article slot.
• Editor's pick — chosen by our editorial desk on merit, with no payment attached.
• Indicative price — drawn from a published scheme rate table, not a personalised quote.

How editorial independence is protected

Editorial scores are produced against a fixed rubric — hospital network breadth, specialist payment rate, chronic formulary, day-to-day benefits, co-payment structure and value at each price point — before any commercial discussion happens.

Commercial staff cannot change a score, reorder a comparison table or edit a review. Where we have a commercial relationship with a provider we rank below a non-paying competitor, we leave the ranking as it is and label the paid relationship anyway.

Coverage and what we leave out

We aim to include every open medical scheme registered with the Council for Medical Schemes, whether or not we have a commercial relationship with it, plus the major gap cover and health insurance providers.

We do not cover closed (employer-restricted) schemes you cannot join, and we exclude products we judge to be poor value at any price. Where a well-known product is missing from a comparison, the reason is stated on that page rather than left implicit.

Regulatory position

This site publishes information and comparisons. It does not provide financial advice or intermediary services as defined in the FAIS Act. When you ask to be contacted, we refer you to one accredited financial services provider who is licensed to advise on that product and who must give you a record of advice before you sign.

The provider is required to disclose its FSP number, its commission and any conflicts of interest to you directly. Ask for those disclosures in writing — a legitimate advisor will supply them without hesitation.

What happens to your enquiry

Your enquiry goes to one accredited advisor for the product you asked about. We do not resell enquiries, we do not run a lead auction, and we do not pass your contact details to unrelated marketers. Our privacy policy sets out retention periods and how to delete your data yourself.

Corrections and complaints

If a premium, benefit or disclosure on this site is wrong, tell us and we correct it and note the change date on the page. If you believe a commercial relationship has influenced our editorial judgement, write to editor@medicalinsurance.co.za and we will publish the outcome of our review.

Complaints about a product go to the scheme or insurer first, then to the Council for Medical Schemes for medical scheme matters or the FAIS Ombud for advice-related matters.