Higher death rate among younger, upper-income earners – Discovery data
Another trend is the marked increase in death claims due to heart conditions and cancer.
claims
FAIS Ombud’s report identifies FSP ‘problem areas’
These include delays with funeral policy claims, advice to clients who buy living annuities, and insurance policy disclosures.
Funeral insurance – a product for the poor, or is it?
Statistics indicate that 42% of South Africans had funeral cover in 2021, down from 53% in 2019. This is surprising considering that the pandemic increased claims, as well as people’s fear of death, the world over and significantly impacted the funeral insurance market and the claims environment.
Why insurance premium increases are unavoidable
Santam’s executive head of commercial and personal intermediated business, Andrew Coutts, has issued a communication to intermediaries setting out the factors that have made premium increases unavoidable. Coutts said households and businesses have […]
Open medical schemes yet to regain beneficiaries lost during lockdown
Lives covered by open schemes declined in 2021 despite the increase in the number of principal members.
Preventing a disconnect between client expectations and policy conditions
In a recent article, I quoted from a review conducted by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) that examined developments in corporate insurance claims and highlighted the top causes of loss for companies, […]
Update from Health Squared’s provisional curator
Members who migrated to other medical schemes can only ask for waiting periods to be waived.
FAQ document for Constantia Insurance policyholders looking for answers
Unfortunately, the answers, including those where vehicles are at repair shops, will probably not bring them much cheer.
Momentum Metropolitan’s 2022 earnings surpass those in pre-pandemic 2019
Momentum Metropolitan Holdings (MMH) delivered normalised headline earnings of R4.383 billion in the year to 30 June, significantly higher than the R1.007bn in the previous financial year, following the less severe impact of […]
Santam repricing its book to take account of inflation and other cost pressures
A “concerted set of underwriting actions” were under way to reprice Santam’s book, to take account of the inflationary and other pressures that were pushing up the cost of claims, Sanlam’s chief executive, […]
Vastly different financial results from Discovery’s insurance arms
Discovery’s long-term and short-term insurance arms delivered contrasting performances in the group’s 2022 financial year, with Discovery Life’s normalised operating profit surging by 200% and Discovery Insure’s tanking 165%, driven mainly by the […]
Bidvest Life’s claim volumes jump 44% in 2021
Bidvest Life recorded the highest number of claims in its 27-year history last year, with claim volumes increasing by 44% compared to 2020. The spike was largely driven by an increase in Covid-19 […]
Constantia’s policyholders with claims will have to join the queue of creditors if the insurer is liquidated
Policyholders of Constantia Insurance Company Limited (CICL) who have outstanding claims will have to join the queue of creditors if the application to have the insurer liquidated is granted. Last week, the provisional […]
CMS to oppose Health Squared’s bid for voluntary liquidation
The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) was engaged in discussions with seven schemes to consider options for members of Health Squared, which intends to apply for voluntary liquidation on 1 September. In a […]
Few women have enough income protection, says Discovery Life
Women hold 47% of life policies, but the value of their cover is much lower than that of men, and few women have sufficient income protection, according to Discovery Life’s analysis of its […]
Global warming warnings: insurers must heed the KZN floods
The extensive flooding and landslides experienced on stretches of the KwaZulu-Natal coastline on 11 and 12 April should serve as a warning to the general population, and more pertinently, to South Africa’s non-life […]
Top causes of business insurance claims in South Africa
Fires or explosions generated the most expensive losses for South African businesses over the past five years, accounting for 65% of the value of all claims, according to a study by Allianz Global […]
