Emergency medical response across South Africa
The nearest ambulance, covered by your membership.
Press one button. Helivac finds the closest available ambulance and gets you to the right hospital for your condition. Helicopter evacuation is included on Helivac Assist.
Join online in minutesFrom R109 a month. Cancel anytime. No medical aid required.
Helivac is not a medical aid.
Before anyone arrives
In an emergency, the hardest part is the first five minutes.
Someone collapses at the braai. A bakkie leaves the N3. Ouma doesn't get up.
Then the questions start. Who do you phone? Is it serious enough? How long will they take? Nobody standing there is a doctor, and nobody can tell you.
So people stop waiting, load the patient into the back seat and drive to casualty themselves. Every South African knows someone who has done exactly that.
The question we get asked most
Do I still need this if I have medical aid?
If you have medical aid, keep it. Helivac is not a medical aid and does not replace one.
Medical aid covers what happens once you are at the hospital: the ward, the specialist, the account. Helivac covers the part before that: someone getting to you, deciding where to take you, and paying for the ambulance.
Most South Africans are not on medical aid at all. For them, all of that falls to whoever is closest at the worst possible moment.
How it works
You press one button. We handle the rest.
Join and add your family. A few minutes online. You approve one DebiCheck debit order with your bank, no card needed, and your cover is active straight away.
Set up the app. Panic button on your cellphone, SOS on your Apple Watch, and your medical profile ready before the paramedics reach you.
Press and hold for three seconds. You are through to our 24-hour medical call centre, a real person every time, with your location already on the controller's screen.
We make the calls, not you. Our controllers dispatch the nearest appropriate ambulance and stay on the line. You are taken to the closest hospital or clinic that suits your condition and your cover, and the ambulance cost is covered by your membership.
Independent since 2008
The nearest help, not the nearest depot.
Helivac has never owned an ambulance and has never been tied to a hospital group. We partner with emergency providers in every province instead, which gives our members more than 5,500 emergency vehicles to draw on. Whoever is closest to you responds, whether you are in Sandton or on a farm road outside Harrismith.
A family business, proudly South African, since 2008.
A straight answer
Why we almost never send a helicopter.
Don't let the name fool you. More than 99.9% of our emergency responses are by road, because almost every time that is the fastest and safest way to get you to care, and we have 5,500+ vehicles to draw on.
Air evacuation is reserved for the day the road is not an option. It is assessed against strict medical flight criteria, and every Helivac aircraft is crewed by a doctor and a paramedic trauma team. Helicopter evacuation is included on Helivac Assist.
The part nobody tells you
Most of the time, you don't know if it's an emergency.
The toddler swallowed something. Is that a trip to casualty, or just a fright? Chest pain at 2am. Heartburn, or the real thing?
A panic button is for the moment you already know it's serious. Helivac also answers when you don't. Our 24-hour medical advice line is part of every membership.
Financial relief on Helivac Assist
When the worst happens, the money is handled.
Two payments that exist for the day you hope never comes. One to you, one to the hospital.
Paid to the main member within 30 days if anyone on your membership is airlifted by medical helicopter. Yours to use for anything.
Authorised in advance by our 24-hour centre and paid straight to the hospital, so the door opens.
Helivac Assist is R139 a month, or from R189 for a family.
Compare the two plansWhat your membership includes
Everything, in one membership.
Nine things that start working the moment your cover is active. Core covers the road. Assist adds the air and the money.
Mobile panic button
One press sends your live location to our 24-hour response centre. Works on iPhone, Android and Apple Watch, anywhere in South Africa.
Core and Assist24-hour medical call centre
A real person answers, any hour. They coordinate the emergency so you don't have to.
Core and AssistAmbulance transport, covered
The closest available ambulance to the right facility for your condition. The cost of the trip is covered by your membership.
Core and AssistMedical advice line
Qualified medical professionals, day or night, for symptoms, medication questions and whether you need emergency care at all.
Core and AssistTrauma counselling
Professional counselling after a serious incident, for you and your family. Recovery is more than physical.
Core and AssistHelicopter evacuation
When the road is not an option, a medical helicopter crewed by a doctor and a paramedic trauma team. Activated on strict medical flight criteria.
Assist onlyR50,000 flight relief
If anyone on your membership is airlifted, R50,000 is paid in cash to the main member within 30 days, to use for anything.
Assist onlyR20,000 casualty pre-payment
Up to R20,000 towards the casualty admission, authorised in advance by our 24-hour centre and paid straight to the hospital.
Assist onlyPoison information hotline
Guidance the moment a child gets into something. What to do now, and when to go.
Assist onlySimple, honest pricing
Two plans. One membership for the whole household.
From R109 a month. One membership covers up to 12 people. No medical aid required. Helivac is not a medical aid.
- Mobile panic button
- 24-hour response centre
- Ambulance transport, covered
- Medical advice line
- Trauma counselling
R150 once-off joining fee. Approve the DebiCheck debit order with your bank and your cover is active straight away. Cancel anytime.
- Everything in Core
- Helicopter evacuation
- R50,000 flight relief, paid to the main member
- R20,000 casualty pre-payment, authorised in advance
- Poison information hotline
R200 once-off joining fee. Approve the DebiCheck debit order with your bank and your cover is active straight away. Cancel anytime.
The Helivac Safety App
Help is a tap away, on your phone and your wrist.
The cover you hope you never need, but can't afford to be without.
Join online in minutesJoin online in minutes. No medical aid required. Cancel anytime.