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At its heart, life insurance answers one question: what will happen to the people I love if I’m no longer around? A lump-sum payout, often tax-free, gives families the ability to cover daily living expenses, pay off debts, maintain children’s education or simply avoid financial distress during a time of grief.
But modern life insurance goes beyond just a death benefit. Many policies now offer living benefits, such as payouts in cases of disability, dread disease or severe illness. This ensures that cover is not only a safeguard for the future, but also a practical tool to provide support during unexpected challenges.
For many South Africans, life insurance has become an important part of broader financial planning. It is increasingly recognised as a way to build resilience against financial shocks, while also creating a base for longer-term stability.
Sanlam and Assupol’s evolving offerings
Life cover used to be straightforward: it was a fixed sum insured, payable on death. Companies like Sanlam and Assupol have reshaped the offering with innovative features including:
Dynamic cover which includes benefits that adapt as the policy holder’s life changes, from starting a family and buying a home to approaching retirement.
Comprehensive planning, embedding life insurance into broader wealth and retirement strategies, helping clients integrate risk cover with long-term goals.
Accessible solutions, such as affordable, easy-to-access products, ensuring that this type of protection is not a privilege only for the few.
Both companies have placed a strong emphasis on financial education, helping clients understand the role of life insurance in overall financial wellbeing. The focus is not only on products, but also on building trust and providing clear, simple explanations of what is often seen as a complex subject.
Funeral plans offer practical and immediate support
In South Africa, funeral plans are often viewed as essential as traditional life cover. They provide quick access to funds to cover funeral expenses, easing the immediate financial burden and allowing families to focus on arrangements without the added stress of finding money at short notice.
Assupol has built a strong reputation in this area, with products that pay out within 24 hours and can be customised for individuals or extended families. Sanlam also offers funeral cover, often bundled with broader life policies.
Funeral plans are especially valued in South Africa’s cultural context, where funerals are important community events. Having a plan in place not only removes financial strain, it also allows families to uphold traditions and provide a fitting farewell.
Choosing the right cover
The right life insurance is about matching cover to personal circumstances. Here are a few key considerations:
Affordability vs adequacy: Premiums must be manageable, but cover should realistically replace income or settle key debts.
Flexibility: Life stages change and policies that adapt are invaluable.
Additional benefits: Disability, income protection and critical illness cover provide crucial support if the policy holder is unable to work.
Funeral cover: Often overlooked, but vital in the South African context for immediate needs.
Sanlam Retail Mass Advances Retail Mass Growth Strategy
Sanlam Retail Mass is accelerating its growth in South Africa’s retail mass market by advancing the integration of Assupol, the insurer it acquired in 2024, into a single platform designed to drive scale and deeper market penetration.
The newly launched “Plan for Funeral, and for Life” campaign, a client-focused initiative that highlights the importance of planning for both life’s celebrations and its unexpected challenges, marks the first unified market-facing initiative post-acquisition.
For customers, integration brings dual servicing, making it easier for clients to access advice and products in one location, rather than having to travel between different offices. This shift takes the business to the customer, reinforcing accessibility and convenience. At the same time, digital platforms provide 24/7 access to policy details, claims processes and financial planning resources, enhancing the adviser-led model rather than replacing it.
The “Plan for Funeral, and for Life” campaign reflects Sanlam’s commitment to helping households navigate both immediate needs and long-term financial goals. With rising inflation pushing up funeral costs, this approach ensures that cover keeps pace with real-life needs; from transportation and catering to memorial services, while advisers work with families to plan with dignity and confidence.
While positioned as a client engagement drive, the campaign also signals Sanlam’s intent to consolidate its leadership in funeral cover, a cornerstone of the mass market, while deepening penetration into long-term savings and life solutions. By aligning immediate protection needs with broader financial planning, the campaign aims to shift client behaviour from single-product use to lifelong financial engagement.
The integration is reshaping Sanlam’s position in one of the country’s most competitive and resilient insurance segments, as the group seeks to diversify revenue streams and capture growth among millions of under-served households. The process combines Sanlam’s balance sheet strength, product range and digital innovation with Assupol’s long-standing community presence and distribution reach.
Bongani Madikiza, CEO of Sanlam Retail Mass
Bongani Madikiza, CEO of Sanlam Retail Mass says: “We are helping clients plan with clarity and confidence. By combining our strengths with Assupol’s trusted relationships, we are creating a sustainable model for inclusive financial growth.”
Progress is already visible across distribution, operations, and adviser support. Assupol’s extensive footprint is enabling cross-sell of Sanlam’s full suite of savings, insurance, retirement, and healthcare solutions. Operational work across IT systems, branch networks, and adviser tools is improving efficiency, while advisers benefit from expanded training and product portfolios.
The “Plan for Funeral, and for Life” campaign builds on this momentum. With funeral cover remaining one of the most in-demand products in South Africa, the group is positioning itself to transition clients into savings, retirement, and healthcare offerings; supporting both financial inclusion and long-term profitability.
“This is a growth strategy.” Madikiza adds. “We are combining trusted community reach with institutional scale to ensure more households can plan with clarity and confidence, while Sanlam strengthens its future earnings base.”