Lion of Africa Life Assurance, the wholly owned subsidiary of Commlife Holdings, has launched one of the first Zimele-approved products — the Lion of Africa funeral plan.
The Zimele initiative, which was launched by the Life Offices Association (LOA) last week, aims to ensure that South Africa’s estimated 17,5-million low-income earners are given access to appropriate life-insurance products.
The Lion of Africa funeral plan complies with all the Zimele product standards, which guarantee fair charges, easy access and decent terms.
The 100% black-owned company has been selling funeral cover to South Africans for more than 80 years. “Besides the wealth of experience among our staff, we also have existing relationships with funeral administrators that have been in the market for 40 years,” says Lion of Africa life assurance chairperson Fred Robertson. “This gives us huge insight into the needs of our clients.”
According to Robertson, the product meets all the protection measures as laid out by the LOA for funeral policies carrying the Zimele stamp of approval.
One of these measures is that policyholders be given grace periods should they skip a premium. If a premium is not paid, the policyholder is given one month to pay the premium. However, if the premium is not paid within that month, the cover will cease.
On policies older than a year, the grace period will be extended by one month for each year that the policy has been in existence, with a maximum grace period of six months. “The Lion of Africa funeral plan complies fully with this standard,” says Robertson.
The standards also require that low-income earners must be able to buy a policy, pay the premium or amend the policy at least once a month within 40km of their residence or work.
According to Robertson, all premium payments to the Lion of Africa funeral plan can be made via Easy-Pay. “This is an easy payment programme that facilitates the payment of accounts at some of South Africa’s major retailers. So you will be able to make payments at any Pick ‘n Pay, Shoprite, Checkers or Spar outlet. Payments can also be made via bank accounts and employee salary deductions.”
Zimele is a Zulu word meaning “to stand on your own two feet”.
“That is exactly what the Lion of Africa funeral plan aims to help people achieve,” says Robertson. “A funeral can be a very expensive concern. It can cripple the immediate family both financially and emotionally.
“A good funeral plan is essential to help the family of the deceased through the painful process of mourning. It is also one of the first building blocks of financial planning for families living in the townships.”
He says the funeral plan is aimed at helping the loved ones who are left behind. “The dependants will receive a cash payout to assist with the immediate and increasingly high cost of the funeral service.”