In this episode of the My Money, My Lifestyle podcast, I facilitated a spirited debate between financial planners Henri le Grange and Ben Nel about the complexities of choosing the right insurance cover. What I learnt from the discussion is that...
Listen: Understanding life cover
Maya Fisher-FrenchAug 23, 2024
My biggest debit order after my mortgage, is for life cover. It’s a crucial part of my financial plan. In this sixth episode of the Santam Insure your Future Money Bootcamp, I’m joined by Mapalo Makhu and Johann Steyn, a certified financial planner...
Getting a life cover payout in 48 hours
Maya Fisher-FrenchSep 14, 2023
Ensuring that your life cover includes an immediate payment benefit is the key to getting a partial payout in only 48 hours. One of the main reasons for taking out life cover is to provide for your dependants after your death. If you have family...
Choose the right level of life insurance
Maya Fisher-FrenchJun 22, 2023
When it comes to my investments and life insurance, I often do thought experiments. I ask myself the question: “What would happen if…”. Asking these questions is important to help you understand whether you have a financial plan that meets your...
How much life cover do I really need?
Maya Fisher-FrenchMay 17, 2023
When you have people who depend on you financially, life cover becomes a crucial part of your overall financial plan. But thinking about these issues at a young age can be a little overwhelming, and it's difficult to figure out the right level of...
Video: An underwritten life policy is cheaper
Maya Fisher-FrenchNov 17, 2022
If you are a generally healthy person, one of the ways to reduce the cost of life cover is to ensure that your policy is underwritten. You will know if your policy is underwritten if you were required to answer lengthy questions about your health...
Why your beneficiary nomination form is so important
Maya Fisher-FrenchSep 13, 2022
Most people have some form of insurance or death benefits. This could be a policy taken out for a specific reason, or simply because they are employed or a member of a retirement fund. How these death benefits are paid and to whom, all depends on...
Listen: Cancelling out cancer
Maya Fisher-FrenchSep 5, 2022
In this third podcast of our four-part series “Life behind the numbers”, in partnership with Discovery Life, we look at the importance of protecting ourselves against the risk of cancer. Cancer can affect anyone, at any age. The number of insurance...
Listen: Protect your child’s education
Maya Fisher-FrenchAug 26, 2022
In this second podcast of our four-part series "Life behind the numbers", in partnership with Discovery Life, we look at how you can use life cover not only to provide for the unexpected, but also to save towards your child’s education. I have two...
Listen: How your lifestyle choices can reward you for life
Maya Fisher-FrenchAug 19, 2022
In this first podcast of our four-part series “Life behind the numbers”, in partnership with Discovery Life, we look at the data to understand how our lifestyle choices influence the outcomes of disease and mortality risk. What can we all do today...

Previous Articles
Surge in death claims during Covid third wave
Apr 14, 2022
The Association of Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) recently released death claims figures which left no doubt as to the true impact of Covid-19 when it comes to mortality rates. Industry-wide figures from South African life insurers show that there was a...
Life insurers see a 44% jump in death claims
Sep 3, 2021
Death claims statistics released recently by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) have shown a massive 44% jump in lives lost with an overall increase of 64% in the value of claims paid compared to the previous year. Between 1 April 2020 and...
Listen: Why insurers want us to be vaccinated
Aug 6, 2021
When it comes to understanding the risks in a society, insurers generally offer the best insights. Insurance companies do not have to pay out for deaths that did not happen, and they will apply a risk rating to a behaviour or health status that they believe would...
E-cigarettes and your life insurance policy
Jul 26, 2021
Clyde Parsons, Actuarial Executive at BrightRock, explains why regular users of e-cigarettes are charged smoker rates by life insurers, and what you can do about it. For decades now, we’ve known that smoking is bad for our health – the research has conclusively shown...
Don’t let your life policy lapse
Oct 20, 2020
It is important to understand how your life policy works and what your options are if you find that you are no longer able to afford your premiums. While the outbreak of COVID-19 raised awareness around the need for life cover, especially for those with financial...
Video: Joint life insurance
Jan 21, 2020
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...
Does joint life cover make sense?
Sep 2, 2019
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...
Listen: Why a blood test could save you money
Jun 21, 2019
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...
Video: Shopping around for mortgage insurance
Nov 23, 2018
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 cover. What you...
Cost effective cover for your domestic worker
Feb 28, 2018
*This content is brought to you by Simply Financial Services. There are approximately 1 million people employed as domestic workers in South Africa. And yet, according to Namhla Duma, Director at Premium Domestic Services, insufficient salary was the biggest challenge...










