By Elmarie Samuel, Senior Technical Marketing Specialist at life insurer FMI (a Division of Bidvest Life Ltd) South Africa’s gig economy is booming. More people than ever before are earning a living as so-called ‘gig workers’ - working as...
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COVID-19: When would your income protection pay out?
If you get COVID-19, will your income protection or life insurance cover you? And what can you do if you can’t pay your premiums because the pandemic has affected your income? These questions are top of mind right now as the lockdown affects...
Make sure you’re covered for a power surge
Do you know whether you're covered if a power surge damages expensive electrical appliances? Identified by Google as South Africa’s most searched term in the past decade, loadshedding continues to cause a huge amount of frustration and...
Video: Car and handbag insurance for women
I always maintain that actuaries never lie, and women on average pay less for car insurance than men, so is it true that women are better drivers? In light of Women's Month, I am speaking to Christelle Colman of Elite Wealth Assets Insurance to...
When your credit shortfall insurance leaves you short
Despite having credit shortfall insurance, many policyholders find themselves out of pocket when it comes to claiming because they don't properly understand how the cover works. In its 2019 annual report the Ombud for Short-Term Insurance (OSTI)...
How new drunk-driving law will affect your car insurance
The days of having a beer after work and driving home will soon be over – and that’s not just because of the lockdown restrictions. Once South Africa’s strict new drunk-driving laws have been passed, drivers won’t be allowed to drink alcohol at...
Financial products leave self-employed in the cold
One of the things to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis is that the financial industry needs to innovate in order to keep up with a rapidly changing workforce that is increasingly comprised of self-employed people. Most financial products remain...
Premium relief on medical schemes unlikely
Don’t expect a blanket premium relief, but if you are struggling, contact your medical scheme for options. If you are struggling to meet your medical scheme contribution this month, don’t hold out for a blanket offering of a premium waiver. Medical...
Video: What does travel insurance cover?
This video was done when travel operator Thomas Cook collapsed last year, however it is just as relevant for holiday-makers facing COVID-19 cancellations. Travellers may not be aware of the limits around travel insurance which has exclusions...
Listen: Tips to cut that insurance bill
One of the ways to find that extra cash to start saving is to review your fixed costs, like short-term insurance. In this episode Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) discuss some of the new insurance players in the industry that are...
Previous Articles
Video: Joint life insurance
A recent survey found that middle-class households are cutting back on insurance and medical cover as their budgets come under pressure. However, if you have a family, life insurance is essential to provide for them if something happens to you. If you are a married...
The real cost of death
Funerals are big business in South Africa, with an estimated R10bn a year spent on funerals and related services. Insurance companies have found a lucrative product offering in funeral policies, with around 15 million such policies currently held in South Africa. A...
Find medical cover that fits your pocket and your needs
It is that time of year when you will receive a letter from your medical scheme confirming your benefits and premiums for next year. This year the average scheme increases were between 8% and 12%. According to Alexander Forbes Health, these price increases have been a...
Video: Understanding credit insurance
If you have taken out credit, you mostly likely have a credit life policy linked to that loan for which you are paying a monthly fee. While it has many names such as credit life, credit protection insurance or payment protection insurance, it is essentially an...
Does joint life cover make sense?
The recent Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor found that middle-class households are cutting back on insurance and medical cover. However, if you have a family, life cover is essential to provide for them if something happens to you. If you can only afford to...
Why motor insurance claims are disputed
When the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance (OSTI) released its annual report recently, it was unsurprising that complaints around motor vehicle insurance are the most common, at over 48%. Of these complaints, 18% of motor vehicle insurance disputes were resolved in...
Listen: Why a blood test could save you money
By having a blood test you can significantly reduce your life cover premium. So why are people so reluctant to do so? Maya Fisher-French (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo Makhu (@womanandfinance) chat to Liberty expert Lisa Gibbon to understand what risk factors are...
Listen: Why do insurers turn claims down?
Media coverage around disallowed claims by life insurers has tarnished the industry. In this podcast, Maya Fisher-French and Mapalo Makhu chat to Dr Thabani Nkwanyana, lead specialist medical officer at Liberty on why a claim would be turned down – your rights and...
How much are you paying for credit life insurance?
If you have any credit facility or a loan, there is a good change you have credit life insurance. This is an insurance which settles the loan should you die or become disabled, and in some cases covers your repayments for a period of time if you are retrenched....
Listen: Jargon busting life insurance
Life insurance is the easy part – you die, you get paid. But what about all those other insurances that we are told we need, like income protection, disability lump sum insurance and critical illness? What do they mean and when do we need them? Maya (@mayaonmoney) and...