The last two years have been challenging for most people across the world. We’ve seen unprecedented change, and we’ve all had to adapt to those changes and find new ways of doing things. The insurance industry has seen some of the biggest changes, with many insurers experiencing a sharp increase in claims. According to ASISA, over the 12 months ending in April 2021, the South African life insurance industry paid a total of R29,1 billion in death claims alone. This represents an increase of 70% compared to the previous 12-month period. BrightRock too saw a substantial increase in death claims during the period.
This period has highlighted the importance of life insurance and has also given us the chance to live up to our promise to our clients when they need it most – when they claim. This experience has also highlighted the need for life insurance. According to ReMark’s 2021 Global Consumer Study (brought to us by SCOR), 56% of South Africans surveyed had a more positive view of life insurance as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This same study also found that 38% of the South Africans surveyed increased the value of their life insurance cover in 2021. The study included responses from 12 807 consumers across 22 insurance markets in the world.
A closer look at how BrightRock’s group risk death cover works and what sets it apart from competitors
Our market-leading features and options
At BrightRock, we offer the following features and options as part of our standard death cover.
The BrightRock difference
Because of BrightRock’s unique needs-matched approach to group risk cover, members have added certainty. We also pay claims that other product providers wouldn’t be able to pay, and where they can pay out, we often pay out more than they would pay. The table below illustrates some of these differentiators.
A practical example of premium efficiency
The example below shows how our needs-matched product would work in this scenario – this isn’t a real client.
A member of a BrightRock scheme, aged 39, was badly injured in a vehicle accident and passed away as a result of her injuries a week later. The scheme has group risk cover with BrightRock and opted for death cover for household needs, which included Trauma IQ cover. She qualified for a Trauma IQ payment of R250 000 as a result of her injuries, and we paid R692 793 from her death cover. In total, we paid R942 793 to her family. Had the scheme stayed where it was, her beneficiaries would only have received three times the value of her annual salary, which would have been R538 338. For the same premium spend, her family received almost double the payment they would have received had the company not upgraded to BrightRock.
Needs-matched, efficient life insurance is more important than ever before
Although more people recognise just how important life insurance is, many of them are also earning less money than they did before the pandemic, with close to one in three people surveyed by ReMark worldwide experiencing a significant reduction in their income since the start of the pandemic. This further highlights the need for efficient life insurance, which allows clients to cover as much of their needs as possible for an affordable premium. By introducing needs-matched group risk cover to the market, BrightRock has brought much-needed certainty to employee benefits. This is particularly important in these uncertain times, as clients look for products that truly live up to their promise when it matters most.
ENDS
