Tag: insurance policy

In previous years, insurance advisers may have been seen as the ‘middleman’. Often, they were regarded as a form of salesman, primarily selling clients insurance policies on their properties and possessions, as well as assisting them with the claims process.

Load shedding – a measure implemented by Eskom to address mounting pressures on the national electricity grid, has been a South African reality since 2007. The past few years have, however, seen a dramatic upsurge in the severity of scheduled blackouts as Eskom attempts to deal with multiple infrastructural problems as well as theft and vandalism.

Insurance policies often contain a standard clause requiring policyholders to comply with the laws of the country where the policy is issued. The intention behind the clause is to ensure that policyholders act in a lawful manner. Failure to comply may lead to policy exclusions or the denial of claims.

By now you would be hard-pressed to find a South African who is not familiar with the terms Stage 1-6 of load shedding, or even the tongue-in-cheek, Eish-kom. All of these are used to describe the instability of the national power grid.

Both the role and value proposition of insurance advisers is changing as the insurance industry becomes more complex. Understanding the client’s risks and offering the most appropriate solution requires that insurance advisers are experts in their field.

Given the current high cost of living and uncertain economic environment, being caught off guard by an unforeseen life event may place one in a far worse financial position if no insurance policies are in place to safeguard themselves and their assets.

Insurance policies shouldn’t be seen as static agreements that are concluded as once-off arrangements. Instead, short-term insurance products are designed to evolve along with you and your family as your life takes shape, adapting to your changing needs.

The pandemic has put a significant strain on all industry sectors none more so than in healthcare where there was a need to adopt more data-driven planning and decision-making at lightning speed. At a time when expanding remote care, telemedicine, and m-health initiatives have become the order of the day, the spotlight has turned to the safeguarding of sensitive information at a scale comparable to the financial services sector.

Despite being in the business of risk mitigation, insurance firms themselves are often subject to risk in the form of insurance crime. Last year, the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) found that South African life insurers detected 4,287 fraudulent and dishonest claims worth R787.6 million across the board.

The insurance industry was once a bastion for slow, conservative business practices. But as other industries have either embraced digital transformation or have been radically upended by technology-driven startups, most insurers have realised that they have to follow suit.