Only 6% of Road Accident Fund Payouts Go to Medical Care

A study presented in Cape Town finds most Road Accident Fund payouts go to loss-of-income claims rather than treatment.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Financial Planning

Only 6% of Road Accident Fund Payouts Go to Medical Care

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Do you trust South Africa's Road Accident Fund to pay injured people fairly and on time?

An Actuarial Society of South Africa study found that only 6% of Road Accident Fund payouts went to medical care over the five years to March 2024. Over the same period, 53% went to loss-of-income claims.

Why it matters

Victims of road accidents may struggle to access timely emergency treatment and long-term rehabilitation under the current compensation system. The findings add to scrutiny of the Road Accident Fund's governance and financial management.

The figures come from an actuarial study of five years of payout data to March 2024, with the findings compared against the proposed no-fault Road Accident Benefit Scheme. Accident costs quadrupled in real terms from 2010 to 2020 while Road Accident Fund income doubled, and how the proposed scheme would perform under those pressures remains unclear.

The players

Road Accident Fund

The South African state-owned fund that compensates victims of road accidents, and which has been subject to multi-agency scrutiny over systemic failures in financial management and governance.

Actuarial Society of South Africa

The professional body for actuaries in South Africa, whose study examined how Road Accident Fund payouts are allocated.

The details

The research paper, titled 'Towards a reasonable, affordable, equitable, and sustainable road accident compensation system', was presented at the Assa Convention in Cape Town. It compared the current court-based claims system with the proposed no-fault Road Accident Benefit Scheme and with compulsory third-party insurance offered by private insurers.

March 2024: End of the five-year period covered by the payout data.
2010: Road Accident Fund income covered expected annual accident costs.
2020: Accident costs had quadrupled in real terms while RAF income had doubled.
10 November 2026: Study findings were published and reported by EWN.

Roadmap

The study weighs the current court-based road accident compensation system against the proposed no-fault Road Accident Benefit Scheme and compulsory third-party insurance. Its comparison sits within an ongoing debate over whether South Africa should replace claims litigation with a benefit-based model.

Victims of road accidents and their families may face gaps in funding for emergency treatment, long-term medical care and rehabilitation while claims remain unresolved. Planning for medical costs after an accident may therefore need to account for delayed compensation.

The takeaway

Accident compensation delays can leave households carrying medical and income costs for years. Reviewing your own cover for medical expenses and income protection can help reduce that exposure.