By Sumarie Greybe, co-founder at short-term insurer Naked It’s the time of year for festive-season parties and holiday travel and, along with them, headlines and awareness campaigns about carnage on South Africa’s roads. The average driver in South...
Unpacking the recent controversy over Momentum’s refusal to pay a claim due to non-disclosure. Insurance group Momentum came under fire recently after it rejected a claim when a Durban man was shot and killed. The insurer rejected paying out R2.4...
With above-inflation price increases announced by medical schemes, many members may be looking for more cost-effective options when it comes to healthcare. But before making a change, ensure you understand what you are ‒and are not ‒ covered for....
When you take out a mortgage or bond, you will be required to take out life insurance. This is so that if something happens to you, the insurance will cover your mortgage repayments. This usually includes death, disability and possibly retrenchment...
If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, you may qualify for a higher income in retirement. When it comes to taking out life insurance, underwriting for the cover usually means that a prior illness results in a higher premium. However, when...
With third-party insurance available for only R38 per month, not being insured could be the most expensive decision you ever make. A reader wrote recently to complain that a driver had stopped in front of him unexpectedly, causing him to crash into...
Don’t rush off to the emergency room too quickly – it may cost you more than you realise. A recent twitter rant by a Discovery Health Medical Scheme member highlighted an often-misunderstood fact about hospital plans: they don’t cover visits to the...
New short-term insurer Naked challenges the insurance status quo. When it comes to car insurance, ideally you want to be fully insured so that your own car is covered in an accident or theft, but that doesn’t mean you have to pay the highest...
The biggest risk for the self-employed is being unable to work due to illness or trauma. The growth in the so-called “gig economy” is one of the biggest labour trends globally. This is where individuals with a specific skill set leave mainstream...
GTC launches inaugural Gap Cover Survey to rank and categorise all providers in South Africa Sanlam and Absa have emerged as the top-ranked medical top-up ‒ often referred to as ‘gap cover’‒ providers in South Africa, according to the first ever...
Please note that this website cannot answer your questions about your UIF application. You must apply and submit your continuation forms via the UIF website. If you are struggling with the online application process, you can email Ms Ditoro Makgato, Mr Deon van...
Cancer, car accidents and retrenchment are major risks for younger people. Both Momentum and Liberty recently released their claim statistics, revealing some concerning trends especially relating to cancer and claims among younger clients. Momentum statistics show...
By Lee Bromfield, CEO of FNB Life Many consumers who are eager to finalise the house-buying process often rush into taking out and ceding life insurance without first doing their homework. The ceding of a life policy involves legally transferring a portion of the...
Car jamming is by no means a new trick – the tactic has been reported on for a number of years now and it’s still being used. Essentially, car jamming is a practice whereby thieves use a signal-jamming device to interfere with your car remote. “Criminals gain access...
Discovery Life has launched a Global Education Protector policy which could help fund your children’s education costs. Education is expensive. Currently, average tuition fees across public primary schools sits at around R20,000 per annum while the private schooling...
A sobering thought before we all climb behind the wheel of our cars this holiday: South Africa’s roads are among the most dangerous in the world! According to the World Health Organisation, the number of road deaths in South Africa per 100 000 people is 31.9. In...
New financial services companies are starting to challenge the status quo through technology that enables them to engage with customers directly and use data collected through the use of smartphones, rewards programmes and social media to improve the application and...
Anything you post on social media can be used by insurers, within reason. Can an insurer use information collected from your social media posts to assess your risk profile and verify claims? This was the question posed by Maria Philippides, director at law firm Norton...
Annual medical aid premium increases for 2018 are once again measuring in excess of inflation, and this often comes with a decrease in benefit levels. This means consumers will have to make increasingly tough choices if they don't want to be caught on the wrong side...
Car insurance for a person under the age of 25 can be extremely high as they have a much higher risk rating than someone who has been driving for many years. They are also at that age where they are more likely to undertake risky driving behaviour. To reduce these...