FNB takes life cover online

Yesterday, FNB announced its online life insurance. It is said to cost up to 50% less than other life insurance policies and customers can apply online or telephonically.

FNB yesterday announced what CEO Michael Jordaan calls their “last disriptive launch of the year””: online life insurance, at a cost up to 50% lower than equivalent life policy premiums. Customers will be able to apply online or telephonically and have their application approved within 24 hours.

‚Life Cover and its related offerings are one of the highest priorities in the minds of South African parents. We need only look at the enormous popularity of stokvels offering funeral cover to see how important this is. The fact there is such a wide insurance gap only indicates that affordability excludes large numbers. By offering cover at wholesale prices, I believe we can bring about a wide-spread improvement in the financial stability of families,‚ states Michael Jordaan, CEO of FNB.

On average, South Africans spend 4% of their after tax income on life insurance, equating to approximately R 4.4 billion per annum. ‚We are able to strip out the unnecessary costs resulting in up to 50% less on Life Cover premiums, potentially saving South African consumers up to R 2 billion rand in premiums per annum,‚ says Jordaan.

‚To ensure that our customers are getting the best possible value for money, we have stripped out all unnecessary distribution costs, such as advertising and broker fees, enabling us to pass the saving on to our customers,‚ says Johan Nagel, CEO of FNB Insurance.

Any FNB client who is a South African citizen, between 18 and 60, who holds an FNB credit, cheque or home loan account, may qualify for the FNB Life Cover Policy. FNB have done away with the need to complete application forms. Instead customers will only need to complete a telephonic application and answer a few medical questions, to get accepted for cover.

‚This process allows us to give customers a premium that is as affordable as possible and, it protects them from unfairly subsidising people with higher risk profiles,‚ says Nagel.

Nagel continues, ‚Our integrated system means that we have access to our customer’s profiles, simplifying the process and ensuring that customers do not have to transfer funds from one place to another in times of payment.‚

FNB Life Cover provides cover in the event of death, incapacity and retrenchment. Dependant on some initial criteria, such as an applicant’s age, income and gender FNB Insurance is able to offer R1m life cover for up to 50% less than its competitor market offering.

Life Cover is a national priority, with only 3.8million of a potential 12.4million South African income earners currently insured for life cover. Now, more than ever, people need to take care of their lives by securing themselves and their families for future uncertainties.

‚We have done our best to address this need and add value to our customers, creating a product that is simple, hassle-free and affordable,‚ Nagel concludes.

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