We will strive to improve insurance services, says new ombud

Retired Johannesburg high court judge Margie Victor has been appointed ombud for long- and short-term insurance.

Her term commenced on January 1 and will last two years. She replaces judge Ron McLaren.

Both ombuds' offices said Victor's career demonstrates her to be “possessed of a progressive approach” and to strongly favour social reform. 

After qualifying as a social worker, then an attorney, she was called to the Johannesburg bar where she spent 25 years as an advocate. Victor later served as a judge of the high court and Competition Appeal Court. In 2016 she was an acting justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) and between 2019 and 2021 an acting justice of the Constitutional Court.

Victor’s community work has included establishing a Montessori pre-primary school for underprivileged children. During her career as an advocate, she assisted abused women with legal advice. She also undertook an environmental law case assisting a small community living in the shadows of an industrial mill.

She is credited with writing a seminal constitutional case enabling domestic workers to obtain compensation for workplace injuries or death.

Victor said she was excited about her role as Ombud in both offices, which offered services that are accessible to all. “We enhance consumer confidence and will strive to improve insurance services by sharing our insights. But above all, everything we do will be guided by our sense of fairness.”

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