Very few people are aware, and once they become aware, they get quite upset that money paid for medical expenses in RAF claims are invariably refunded to the medical aid. Most clients feel that they pay the medical aid a monthly amount, and when the case is finalised, they should then get all the past medical expenses themselves. What very few people realise is that, if they read the policy they actually have quite carefully, they actually only have a sickness benefit in terms of their medical aid and not an accident benefit. In other words, medical aids do not actually have to pay out if you are injured in an accident, and the only reason they do this, is that they know in most cases that money will be refunded from your Road Accident Fund claim.

The one benefit that people have is that there is no doubt as a result of the moneys recovered by the medical aids in this regard, that they are able to keep medical aid contributions lower than they would be – in other words, if none of that money went back to them, every group will then be responsible for the payment of all of the accident expenses, and as a result monthly premiums would certainly have to go up, over and above whatever the usual increases are – and may then make medical aids even more unaffordable. There is only one medical aid in the country which allows its members to keep the money, if the accident was after 30 June 2009 and you may think about it when you hear who that medical aid is, especially when you think about who actually pays the costs in an event of a shortfall. It is GEMS, or the Government Employees Medical Scheme, and they not only cover the expenses, but allow the employees to keep whatever is recovered from the Road Accident Fund. That is obviously one of the benefits of working for the government, and having your salary and benefits paid for by – wait for it – us!