How to check a broker is really FSCA registered
It takes about two minutes, it is free, and everyone who gives you financial advice in South Africa should be happy for you to do it. Including us.
Written by Anton Slabbert, Director, Micah Financial Services (FSP 46080) ·
Why this matters
Anyone giving advice on, or arranging, a financial product in South Africa must be an Authorised Financial Services Provider, or a registered representative of one, under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act. That authorisation is granted and supervised by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
An FSP number is not decoration. It means the provider has met fit-and-proper requirements, carries the required professional indemnity or fidelity cover, is subject to a compliance regime, and, critically for you, that you have recourse to the FAIS Ombud if something goes wrong.
If someone selling you insurance cannot produce an FSP number, you have no such recourse.
How to check, step by step
- Ask for the FSP number. Any legitimate provider gives it immediately and without hesitation. Ours is 46080, and it appears on every page of this website.
- Go to the FSCA website at www.fsca.co.za and find the regulated entities search.
- Search by FSP number or by company name.
- Check three things on the result: that the licence is active, that the name matches the business you are dealing with, and that the product categories include what you are being sold.
That last point is the one people skip. A provider may be licensed for long-term insurance but not short-term, or the reverse. Being licensed for something is not the same as being licensed for what is in front of you.
If you cannot get online
The FSCA operates a toll-free line for exactly this purpose. You can phone and ask whether a provider is authorised, and they will tell you.
Six questions worth asking any broker
- What is your FSP number? Immediate, unhesitating answer expected.
- Which product categories are you licensed for? It should include short-term insurance, personal and commercial lines, for a broker like us.
- How are you remunerated on this policy? You are entitled to know. Commission rates on short-term insurance are capped by regulation.
- Are you tied to any insurer? An independent broker compares the market. A tied agent represents one company. Both are legitimate, but you should know which you are talking to.
- Who is your compliance officer? Every FSP has one.
- What is your complaints procedure, and who is the Ombud? It should be published, not improvised on the spot.
Warning signs
- Reluctance or evasion when you ask for the FSP number
- Pressure to sign today, or an offer that expires within hours
- A request to pay premiums into a personal bank account rather than the insurer’s
- No written record of what was recommended and why, which FAIS requires
- A quote materially cheaper than everyone else with no explanation of what was removed to get there
Check us
We would genuinely rather you did. Micah Financial Services (PTY) Ltd. is an Authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46080, and our full regulatory disclosures, conflict of interest policy and complaints procedure are on our compliance page. If anything there is unclear, ask us and we will explain it in plain language.
General information, not advice. This guide explains how cover of this type usually works in South Africa. It does not take your personal circumstances into account and is not advice under the FAIS Act. Policy wordings differ between insurers, so always check your own schedule, or ask us to read it with you. Micah Financial Services (PTY) Ltd. is an Authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP 46080.
Questions about how we are licensed or paid?
Send us your current schedule and we will read it properly and tell you where the gaps are, even if the answer is that you should stay exactly where you are.