FAQs

Simply put, life insurance pays out cash to a beneficiary you nominate in the event of your death from natural or accidental causes. It may also pay out for a disability or critical illness. Some insurance companies refer to life insurance as life assurance. This is really the same thing.

Whether or not you are eligible for life insurance will depend on factors such as your health, lifestyle and type of employment. If you do qualify, your monthly premium will be based on factors such as your age, gender, health and occupation.

You might be telling yourself that you are simply too young, too healthy, not interested or perhaps you view life insurance as a luxury. You may even think that it's something for older people to worry about.

In reality, insurance is something everyone should have! If you are in doubt, ask yourself these very important questions:

• What will become of me if my monthly salary suddenly comes to a halt? What if I am suddenly disabled or fall very ill and can no longer earn a living?
• What will happen to my dependants when I die? Will my family be able to maintain their standard of living? Will my family have to experience financial trauma after my death?

The following then becomes a reality:

• How will I afford daily living expenses and keep a roof over me and my family's heads?
• How will I put food on the table?
• What will happen if I can no longer afford my children's education?
• Will my family's and my lifestyle change drastically?
• Will the family have to settle for a lower standard of living after my disablement, illness or death?

These are all very real concerns. By taking out life cover, you can have peace of mind.

The amount of life insurance cover that you should buy depends on your age and your circumstances or life stages. 1Life offer a maximum amount of R10 million life cover. Use our life insurance calculator to find out how much life cover you need.

If you already have a life insurance policy, it's a good idea to review it every few years to make sure it still meets your needs, and that your beneficiary/ies and other information is up to date. If you say yes to any of the following scenarios, it might be time to sit down again and review your policy:

If you...

• were recently married or divorced
• have a child or grandchild who was recently born or adopted
• have a spouse whose health has deteriorated
• provide care or financial help to a child or parent
• want to ensure that financial resources are available to provide assistance or long-term care for a loved one
• purchased a new home recently
• have children or grandchildren who are about to enter school or college
• have a spouse who has retired or will retire early
• have a spouse who has been promoted recently
• refinanced your bond in the past six months
• have a spouse who has received an inheritance
• have started a business

Failing to pay a premium may mean that you will not be covered for the specific month. It is important to contact your life insurer to make alternative arrangements. The policy may lapse if more than one premium is not paid.

Life insurers calculate quotes by looking at risk factors, such as the age, health, lifestyle and occupation of the life assured.

Pure life cover is life cover that pays out a lump sum in the event of the death of the life assured and does not have a savings account attached to the policy like the old-style universal lifestyle policies.

You have the option between two types of pure life cover from 1Life, namely:

• 1Life Basic which pays out up to R200 000 to a beneficiary of your choice in the event of your death;
• 1Life Elevated which pays out R200 000 upwards to a beneficiary of your choice in the event of your death.

There are a few key differences between life insurance and funeral insurance.

If you need to lodge a claim with 1Life, the following procedure would need to be followed:

• Call the claims department on 0860 10 51 96, where one of our dedicated claim consultants will assist
• The claims consultant will provide you with the initial documentation required to process the claim
• Completed forms need to be faxed back to 1Life on 0860 10 51 97

When submitting a claim, 1Life will ask for documentation required to process the claim. This includes, but is not limited to:

1. A completed claim form;
2. A certified copy of the death certificate of the deceased;
3. A certified copy of the deceased's and the beneficiaries ID books; and
4. Medical reports, depending on the nature of the claim.

1Life may request additional documents to assess the claim properly.

It is important to take note of the following time limits regarding claims:

• We are to be notified of an event that may result in a claim for death within 6 (six) months of its occurrence
• An event that may result in a claim for dread disease or disablement must be reported to 1Life within 3 (three) months of its occurrence
• The initial claim documentation must be sent to us within 3 (three) months of the claim event
• Any additional documents required in order to process the claim need to be forwarded to us within 3 (three) months of us requesting them.

Additional documentation may be required specific to each claim. This will be communicated to the claimant(s) during the process of assessing the claim. Once 1Life have received all of the necessary documentation needed to assess the claim, a claim may be paid out within 10 (ten) working days.

Dealing directly with a life insurer, means that you do not pay any broker fees. This could mean a significant cost saving to you on your monthly premium. Direct insurers also offer quick and convenient service. There are no complicated processes or forms to fill in when you insure direct.

1Life offer a maximum sum assured of R10 million.

Your premium is based on your specific risk profile (each client is different) and this will have an impact on how much you will pay. The factors that will affect your risk profile are:

• Age – younger individuals will pay a lower premium, due to the decreased likelihood of dying from natural causes at a young age
• Gender – the premiums are slightly lower on average for women, as statistics have proven that there is an increased likelihood that they live at least 6 years longer than men
• Health – if you have a current health condition or a history of illness, the likelihood of death increases and the risk is much higher compared to someone who is healthy
• Lifestyle – if you participate in dangerous sports, such as regular sky diving, the risk of injury is higher and this would have an effect on your premium.

1Life provides individual insurance cover, which means that you take out cover to insure your own life, in order to provide financial protection for your loved ones in the event of your death or disablement.

Yes, as long as the life assured is aware that someone else is taking out life insurance on his or her life. We commonly refer to this relationship as insurable interest.

If you travel to another country for longer than 2 (two) months, 1Life requires written communication of this before you leave to determine if we are able to continue cover. If you fail to notify us and a claim arises, 1Life may reduce or reject a claim.

1Life has made it easy to get life insurance - no paperwork, no frills and no brokers, just straightforward life insurance on the phone, online or using your cell phone within minutes!

We won't waste your precious time with fancy presentations designed to confuse you, but 1Life will save you time and money - up to 22% on your monthly premiums.

1Life were the first to make life insurance accessible by phone and the first to let you buy life insurance online. And now we've introduced another first. You can buy your life insurance using your cell phone. Moreover, because you deal directly with us, you can save on broker fees.

You can also view or make changes to your policy using your cell phone, which means that you are always aware of your life insurance cover.

A beneficiary is the person nominated to receive the payout in the event of your death. 1Life allows you to nominate up to 6 (six) beneficiaries on your policy. You can allocate a percentage of the cover amount to each beneficiary. The percentages you allocate to each beneficiary must equal 100% of the total cover amount.

If you do not nominate a beneficiary, 1Life will pay the cover amount into your estate. It can take a long time to settle an estate, which could mean that the dependents left behind will not have access to this money until the estate is settled. It is important to ensure that a will is in place, which would assist with the settlement of the state.  This could speed up the process. You can download a free will from our website. 1Life always encourages our clients to nominate a beneficiary on their policies.

In the event of a claim being paid out to a minor beneficiary (under the age of 18 years) the following will apply:

• The claim will be paid into a trust, set up in the name of the minor beneficiary
• The responsibility for setting up the trust lies with the family of the beneficiary. (This process may take some time, thus it is advisable that the life assured sets up this trust when nominating minor beneficiaries)
• The trust will then specify how and when the money will be transferred to the beneficiary
• If a trust has not been set up, the unpaid benefits will remain in 1Life's bank account until the relevant trusts have been set up.

1Life will always aim to act in the best interest of the minor beneficiary while staying true to the life assureds' request.

Increasing my life cover

Cover may be increased to the maximum amount that you qualify for at any time once the policy has been issued. Further medical underwriting and a HIV test may be required. Your premium will be adjusted according to the new sum assured requested and the additional cover will start on receipt of the new premium.

Guaranteed Assurability benefit

On 1Life's Elevated pure life cover, the amount of life cover may be increased by 25% of the original insured amount, up to a maximum of 2 times (double) the amount originally insured or up to the 1Life maximum insurable amount at the time – whichever is the lower. This is without the need for any further medical underwriting, other than providing a new negative HIV test for the life assured.

This benefit option may only be exercised every 3 (three) years on the anniversary date of the policy or after a significant event has occurred as described below:

• The marriage of the life assured
• A child being born to or legally adopted by the life assured
• The life assureds' purchase of a home
• The life assured entering into a business or taking an increased interest in an existing business

Include extra benefits at another time

You may add dread disease cover and/or disablement cover to your Elevated pure life cover. No waiting period applies to adding these benefits. 1Life may request that you complete an additional HIV test when you add these benefits.

You may add Event-based disablement cover to your 1Life Basic pure life cover. No waiting period applies to adding this benefit.

1Life does not require you to undergo a medical examination. However, we will arrange for you to go for an HIV test. We have recently launched our new HIV saliva testing, which means that you do not have to go for a blood test.

1Life will give you the details of a Lancet laboratory or prescribed Link pharmacy in your area, where you can have the test done.  We have recently launched our new HIV saliva testing, which means that you don't have to go for a blood test. Visit our Find a Lab of Pharmacy page for more information.

There is no cost to you to complete this test.

There are two ways that you can do a HIV test:

• A blood test, which can be done at any Lancet laboratory
• A saliva test, which can be done at prescribed Link pharmacies.

1Life will help you to find the closest laboratory or pharmacy in your area, to enable you to complete the test. Visit our Find a Lab or Pharmacy page for more information.

No, the sum assured will not change if your premium increases by 5% annually. However, your premiums will not change for the first two years of cover.