Internet access – Survey reveals South African connectivity statistics
Communication plays an important role in the fundamental operation of a society. It links people and businesses, facilitating communication and the flow of ideas and information and coordinating economic activities and development. The General Household Survey indicates that 64.7% of South African households had at least one member who had access to, or used the […]
COFI Bill – Aims to strengthen regulation customer treatment and general market conduct
The Conduct of Financial Institutions Bill (COFI) intends to regulate how the financial services industry treats its customers. The Bill was published by the Minister of Finance in December 2018 and was open for public comment until 1 April 2019. COFI Bill and the reform process The COFI Bill is part of the Twin Peaks reform process underway […]
Financial education – Customers need to be put at the heart of your business
Financial education champions from around the world gathered in Cape Town last week for the FSCA-OECD Conference. The conference aimed to find innovative ways to prepare financial customers for current and future changes in the sector. “The financial sector in South Africa is not coordinated well enough when it comes to financial education, we are […]
The Trust Dilemma – New date for facilitated training for CPD
The training, hosted by Stefan Lessing, will now be held in Pinelands, Cape Town on Thursday 11 July 2019. The purpose of the course is to equip delegates with all the necessary tools and skills to establish, develop and maintain levels of trust in their relationships. On completion of the course, as well as a successful pass […]
Insurer Claim Statistics 2018 – What data shows about claims
Last week, both Liberty and Momentum released their Claim Statistics for 2018. In 2018 Liberty paid claims to the value of R4.69 billion to 28,453 individuals and their beneficiaries. Momentum also paid out claims of just more than R4bn and disclosed that only 0.19% of the claims it received were rejected because of non-disclosure. Momentum was […]
Unclaimed policy benefits – ASISA members using tracing activities to honour claims
ASISA’s members united policyholders, beneficiaries, investors & heirs with unclaimed assets of R8.1bn last year. According to a recent ASISA news release, unclaimed assets of R17.1bn remain, but members will honour claims no matter how long it takes for the legal owners to come forward. Rosemary Lightbody, the senior policy adviser at ASISA, says despite […]
The post-retirement challenge – How to position your clients’ investments
by Patrick Cairns A man entering retirement can currently expect local insurance companies to offer starting annuities of roughly between R5 250 and R5 850 per month for every R1 million of capital he has. This includes an annual 5.0% increase. That represents a starting annual income of between 6.3% and 7.0% of his retirement capital, which is […]
Cyber-attack methods – Which are the most common ones?
“By exercising vigilance and following security best practices, users and organisations can take measurable steps in protecting themselves against some of the industries’ most common attacks.” Tweet by The Insurance Crime Bureau, May 21, 2019. The World Economic Forum rated cybersecurity as one of the top risks facing the world today. Independently, business leaders also prioritised […]
National Credit Amendment Bill – Clarity on what debt will be written off
One of the bills that are awaiting sign off, now that the election has passed, is the National Credit Amendment Bill. What are the aims of the bill? The bill aims to provide relief to over-indebted South Africans who have no other means of extracting themselves from over-indebtedness. It will allow certain applicants to have […]
CPD requirements – Extended CPD activity explained
The publication of the FSCA’s FAIS Notice 35 of 2019 triggered a few questions in the industry. The FAIS Notice states that “FSPs, key individuals and representatives who are members of foreign professional bodies, are exempted from the CPD requirements to the extent that all reference to “CPD activity” in the Fit and Proper requirements […]