The Road Accident Fund
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) provides compulsory cover to all users of South African roads, citizens and foreigners, against injuries sustained or death arising from accidents involving motor vehicles within the borders of South Africa. This cover is in the form of indemnity insurance to persons who cause the accident, as well as personal injury and death insurance to victims of motor vehicle accidents, and their families.
The RAF is responsible for: providing appropriate cover to all road users within the borders of South Africa; rehabilitating and compensating persons injured as a result of motor vehicles in a timely and caring manner; and actively promoting the safe use of all South African roads.
The client base of the RAF comprises not only the South African public, but all foreigners within the borders of the country. The RAF provides two types of cover, namely personal insurance cover to accident victims or their families, and indemnity cover to wrongdoers.
What The RAF Provides?
The RAF provides personal injury and, when applicable, death compensation to those injured in motor vehicle accidents, provided the accidents weren’t caused solely by them. The person responsible for the accident is also, in terms of the RAF legislation, indemnified against any claims for compensation for bodily injury (save for so-called “emotional shock” claims).
How To Claim Road Accident Fund In South Africa
The Road Accident Fund provides compensation for:
- medical expenses that result from a motor vehicle accident
- funeral expenses in the case of a death caused by an accident
- general damages for pain and suffering, provided you suffered a serious injury (as determined with reference to set criteria), have lost an unborn child or have sustained serious disfigurement, mental impairment or the loss of a bodily function
- lost earnings, if you were unable to work as a result of an accident
- loss of support, if a household’s main income provider was killed in a road accident that resulted from someone else’s negligence.
Who Can Claim From The Road Accident Fund
Drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists can all claim from the Road Accident Fund, as long as they were not entirely responsible for the accident.
The fund provides cover for both South Africans and foreigners involved in accidents on South African roads.
You can claim from the RAF if:
- you were injured in an accident and were not the driver solely responsible for the accident
- you’re the driver responsible for the accident but not the owner of the vehicle, and the accident was a result of the owner’s negligence (for example, because the owner failed to replace worn brake pads on the vehicle)
- you’re a child, spouse or other person who was dependent on the income of a person killed in an accident; for more information, see our article on claiming for someone deceased
- you’re a close relative of the deceased and paid for this person’s funeral.
You cannot claim from the RAF if:
- you were the driver and are the owner of the vehicle solely responsible for the accident
- you were the only person involved in the accident (for example, you were injured because you crashed your vehicle into a tree or other obstacle, and nothing else, such as badly maintained roads, contributed to the accident).
