FAIS Ombud rep levy pushes up an FSP’s total levy bill
As we reported last week, National Treasury has revised some of the levies that FSPs will have to pay to the FSCA in terms of the Financial Sector and Deposit Insurance Levies Bill. […]
Treasury’s proposed unclaimed-assets model revives central fund debate
The framework separates administration from custody and investment and introduces a possible time limit on owners’ and beneficiaries’ claims.
Complaints data for short-term insurers
This link will open the complaints data from the Ombudsman for Short-term Insurance’s 2021 annual report. The insurers are sorted by number of complaints per thousand claims (column 5). As the Osti points […]
CMS to take action against actuary over comments about low-cost benefit options
The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) says it will be taking action against Insight Actuaries & Consultants joint-chief executive Christoff Raath following his comments about low-cost benefit options (LCBOs) on 19 May. The […]
BHF criticises CMS for not updating PMBs and lack of movement on low-cost benefits
The failure by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) to review the prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs) regularly is making private healthcare unaffordable for millions of people, according to the Board of Healthcare Funders […]
Tribunal doesn’t accept debarred rep’s attempt to walk back admission
The Financial Services Tribunal (FST) as upheld the FSCA’s decision to debar a life insurance representative who admitted that she submitted unauthorised policy applications but subsequently sought to qualify her admission. What is […]
Regulating insurance commission has failed dismally since 1977
The fallacy that insurance commission is the root of all evil has led to numerous failed attempts to regulate it. Dr Brian Benfield, a retired professor from Wits’ Department of Economics, holds nothing […]
10 take-aways from the long-term insurance ombudsman’s annual report
The Ombudsman for Long-term Insurance (Olti) released its annual report for 2021 last week. Here are 10 key take-aways from the report: 1. R200m recovered for complainants The Olti recovered R200 689 324 […]
Life insurers that attracted the most and least complaints in 2021
This link will open a table of the 2021 complaints data of the 51 life insurers that subscribe to the Ombudsman for Long-term Insurance. The table lists the insurers by each insurer’s complaints […]
Ambiguous wording results in dispute over funeral claims
Poorly worded policies don’t only result in disputes over multi-million-rand commercial claims. The Ombudsman for Long-term Insurance (Olti) last year dealt with a number of complaints about rejected or limited funeral benefit claims […]
A financial planner’s take on landmark Divorce Act judgment
Last week, we reported on the landmark judgment by the Pretoria High Court that declared parts of the Divorce Act unconstitutional and invalid. The ruling means that individuals married out of community of […]
‘Low-cost benefit framework could give a third of South Africans access to basic private health care’
Up to 20 million low-income South Africans could afford basic private healthcare services if the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) developed a framework for low-cost benefit options (LCBO), according to Business Day. The […]
Security guard who lost the use of his right arm doesn’t qualify for disability benefits
The Financial Services Tribunal (FST) has upheld a determination by the Pension Funds Adjudicator that a security guard who lost the use of his right arm following a shooting did not qualify for […]
No severance pay for employee who refused Covid vaccination
A long-term employee who was retrenched because she refused to get a Covid vaccination was not entitled to a severance package, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has ruled. Commissioner Piet […]
The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on SA business insurance
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has set in motion a domino effect that continues to have widespread consequences for several sectors, including the local insurance industry. All insurers have war clause exclusions for acts of […]
Business interruption-related complaints account for nearly half of Osti settlements
Only 259 of the new complaints registered by the Ombudsman for Short-term Insurance (Osti) last year were related to Covid-19. But settlements in Covid-related business interruption (BI) complaints accounted for 49.5% of the […]
Osti flags increase in disputes due to ‘reasonable precaution’ clause
The Ombudsman for Short-term Insurance (Osti) has once again flagged the increase in the number of complaints from consumers whose claims are rejected because insurers allege the driver failed to exercise reasonable precaution […]
FSCA wants info on commissions paid by credit providers to motor dealers
The FSCA has given motor dealers and financial institutions operating in the vehicle asset finance (VAF) space until the end of June to complete a questionnaire about dealer introductory commissions (DIC). In a […]
