Finance

S. Africa: Insurers to impose higher fees on the non-vaccinated

S. Africa: Insurers to impose higher fees on the non-vaccinated
Thursday, 09 December 2021 16:32

Several insurance companies in South Africa reported they will charge higher premiums to customers seeking life insurance coverage if they do not provide proof of vaccination.  George Kolbe, Head of Life Insurance Marketing at Momentum, told Moneyweb that his company already requires new customers seeking life coverage to do so.

“Old Mutual will consider new customers’ vaccination status to offer differentiated pricing for underwritten life and funeral cover products,” said Kavir Ramjee, MD of protection solutions at Old Mutual. Meanwhile, Discovery has taken a clear position on mandatory vaccination in recent months. The company’s management team says new customers who refuse to be vaccinated will be subject to a premium based on the increased risk.

Sanlam, Africa's largest insurer in terms of geographic presence and market value, has its own strategy. “We are not taking a view that we are going to divide you like smokers and non-smokers into two categories with different premium rates,” Sanlam group CEO Paul Hanratty tells Moneyweb.

In many African countries, vaccination is not compulsory per se but it is required to travel, to European countries for example. Although based in South Africa, largest insurance companies operating in the country are owned by investors who are subject to their home countries’ compliance rules, and very often they are in the West. In countries covered by the Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets, in particular, this is not an issue since insurers are not obliged to compensate or cover covid-19 patients.

On the same topic
DRC launches campaign to diversify investors in government securities 98% of bonds now held by banks; aim is to reduce risk and broaden...
Verdant Capital has invested $3 million in Nigerian fintech Bfree to help recover distressed loans in Africa. The deal will allow Bfree to...
Côte d’Ivoire will receive $234 million for a sustainable urban mobility project in Abidjan. Gambia will receive $32.2 million to build...
Stanbic IBTC and Zenith Bank cut monthly card spending abroad to $500 and $200 Foreign reserves fall by $3.5 billion in six...
Most Read
01

• Inflation within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) fell to a two-year low of 0....

UEMOA: Inflation Drops to 0.6% in May, Driven by Lower Food Prices
02

• Qatar Airways and Kenya Airways establish strategic agreement, introducing a third daily flight be...

Qatar Airways Expands its Network in Africa, Building Presence in Kigali, Johannesburg, and Nairobi
03

• Interbank volumes rose 18.7% in May, while rates declined across the market• The BCEAO cut its mai...

WAEMU Sees Easing Conditions on Regional Interbank Market
04

• EY is preparing to leave Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa by 2026• The exit could unlock $500 m...

EY’s Exit Creates $1bn Opportunity in Francophone Africa Consulting Market
05

As cybersecurity asserts itself as a pillar of digital sovereignty in West Africa, technology-free z...

Cybersecurity Key to Côte d'Ivoire's Tech Future– VITIB's N'ZI
Enter your email to receive our newsletter

Ecofin Agency provides daily coverage of nine key African economic sectors: public management, finance, telecoms, agribusiness, mining, energy, transport, communication, and education.
It also designs and manages specialized media, both online and print, for African institutions and publishers.

SALES & ADVERTISING

regie@agenceecofin.com 
Tél: +41 22 301 96 11 
Mob: +41 78 699 13 72
Média kit : Download

EDITORIAL
redaction@agenceecofin.com

More information
Team
Publisher

ECOFIN AGENCY

Mediamania Sarl
Rue du Léman, 6
1201 Geneva
Switzerland

 

Ecofin Agency is a sector-focused economic news agency, founded in December 2010. Its web platform was launched in June 2011. ©Mediamania.

 
 

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.