Alexander Forbes car insurance: what happened and where to go now

Alexander Forbes ran a short-term insurance business, usually shortened to AFI. Momentum Metropolitan agreed to buy it in a deal announced in July 2019, and the deal was completed on 31 January 2020 after unconditional regulatory approval. Momentum said the transaction more than doubled its client base to 150 000 policyholders.

Nothing was combined at completion. On 16 July 2020, AFI was renamed Momentum Insurance Company Limited, but the two short-term businesses kept operating as separate entities, and existing policy terms were unchanged for the time being. The integrated entity, Momentum Insure, launched on 30 June 2021 with one brand and one insurance licence, and its products became available to new and existing clients.

So the servicing brand, contact channels and product wording changed in stages over roughly 17 months, and nothing removed cover from existing policyholders.

• Deal completed 31 January 2020: Momentum Metropolitan acquired the Alexander Forbes short-term insurance business (AFI) after unconditional regulatory approval. Momentum said it more than doubled its client base to 150 000 policyholders. (momentum.co.za)
• The sale price was R1.938 billion (deal announced July 2019). (cfo.co.za)
• 16 July 2020: AFI was renamed Momentum Insurance Company Limited, but the two businesses were to keep operating as separate entities for 12 to 24 months and existing policy terms were unchanged for the time being. (fanews.co.za)
• 30 June 2021: the integrated entity Momentum Insure launched, one brand and one insurance licence, with its products available to new and existing clients. (momentum.co.za)
• Momentum Insure's Safety Returns pays up to 30% cash back on premiums each year, even if you claim. (momentum.co.za)
• Momentum Insure car cover options named on its page: Momentum Select, Momentum Priceless, Momentum Envoy and Momentum 55+, alongside comprehensive, third-party fire and theft, and third-party only cover types. (momentum.co.za)
• Momentum Insure gives 24/7/365 roadside, home, medical and legal assistance through Momentum Assist. (momentum.co.za)
• Alexforbes today describes itself as integrated independent financial advice covering retirement fund consulting and administration, healthcare consulting, investments and wealth management, with no motor insurance on its home page. (invest.alexforbes.com)

Do not assume anything from an old document. Ask Momentum, or the broker who arranged the cover, for three things in writing:

• A current policy schedule showing the licensed insurer, the sum insured and the valuation basis for your car
• The current excess structure, including any additional excesses
• Confirmation of the debit order amount and date, and that premiums have been collected without a lapse

The risk in a book that has changed hands is not usually that cover vanished. It is that your details went stale. A car that is now worth far less than the sum insured means you have been overpaying, and one worth more means you are underinsured. Parking address, regular driver and business use all need to be current too.

Checked on 29 September 2026 against Alexander Forbes Insurance's official website. Numbers and channels change, so confirm on the linked page before you call. Alexander Forbes Insurance will not ask you to pay into a new bank account over the phone; hang up and call the official number if anything feels off.

Sources: momentum.co.za/...home-insurance/car-insurance, momentum.co.za/momentum/get-help/contact-us, invest.alexforbes.com/za/en/invest/contact-us.

Momentum Insure's car insurance page names these car cover options: Momentum Select, Momentum Priceless, Momentum Envoy and Momentum 55+, alongside comprehensive, third-party fire and theft, and third-party only cover types. Its Safety Returns benefit pays up to 30% cash back on premiums each year, even if you claim, and Momentum Assist gives 24/7/365 roadside, home, medical and legal assistance in an emergency in South Africa. We did not find Alexander Forbes itself offering car insurance.

Sometimes, yes. A long unbroken claims record with one insurer has value, and an inherited book is often priced to keep the client. But a policy that has not been reviewed since it changed hands is exactly the kind that quietly drifts out of line with the market.

Get two or three fresh quotes on identical cover, including at least one direct insurer, and compare the excess and valuation basis rather than only the premium. If your current insurer is within a small margin of the cheapest and the terms are the same or better, staying is a reasonable call.

The single most expensive mistake is cancelling the old policy before the new one starts. Work in this order:

1. Get the new quote in writing and check the excess, valuation basis and conditions such as a tracking device requirement
2. Accept the new policy and get a written inception date
3. Only then give the old insurer written cancellation notice, effective the day the new cover starts
4. Cancel the old debit order with your bank only after the last premium has run, so you do not trigger a lapse
5. Keep both schedules on file for at least a year in case a claim straddles the change

Disclose your full claims history to the new insurer, including claims you paid yourself. Underwriters share information, and hiding a claim is a fast way to have a future one rejected.

If a claim is rejected or handled badly, start with the insurer's own internal complaints process and ask for the decision in writing. If that does not resolve it, you can refer the dispute free of charge to the National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa (nfosa.co.za), which took over short-term insurance complaints from the former Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance (OSTI) when the schemes merged in 2024. Complaints about the advice you were given, rather than the claim itself, go to the FAIS Ombud. Market conduct is regulated by the FSCA, and insurers themselves are licensed under the Insurance Act by the Prudential Authority.