These diseases and illnesses are costing South African insurers millions
Liberty has released its annual statistics on what has been paid out to risk policyholders to help financial advisers and clients to better plan for their futures and effectively manage life’s uncertainties.
According to the report, the vast majority of all Liberty claims payments, R3.24 billion, were for Life Protection following the death of a client.
R691 million was paid in respect of Lifestyle Protection to help claimants make the lifestyle adjustments required following a critical illness diagnosis or treatment, while just more than R525 million was paid for loss of income protection, including both lump sum R375 million and monthly income payments R151 million.
“Cancer remains the leading cause for claims at 24.3%, followed by cardiac and cardiovascular conditions at 19.8% of all claims,” said Henk Meintjes, head of Risk Product Development at Liberty.
Cancer affected all age and social groups; making up 16% of all claims for Young Achievers (also known as Millennials), 21% for Young Parents, 26% for Established Providers and 25% for Empty Nesters.
The top three cancers were female breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer.
“Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in our society. This is reflected in our Claim Statistics and has been a recurring trend for the past three years,” said Liberty Medical Officer, Dr Thabani Nkwanyana.
“The good news, however, is that cancer treatment is widely available and effective, but works best if the cancer is detected earlier rather than later, so regular check-ins with a GP are highly recommended.”
Cardiovascular causes were the second most common cause for claims in three segments at 13% for Young Parents, 20% for Established Providers and 22% for Empty Nesters. Overall, cardiovascular causes were also responsible for the majority of claims paid in respect of men last year.
Strokes or central nervous system disorders also contributed significantly to total claims paid and were responsible for 8% of Young Parents claims paid and 8% of Established Providers claims paid.
For Empty Nesters, who are generally older, respiratory diseases and disorders were responsible for 7% of paid claims.
Claims by Lifestyle Segments
A new inclusion in this year’s statistics report is a breakdown of the five most frequently stated occupations of claimants:
13% of claims came from business people, 10% from managers, 8% from directors, 3% from administrators and 3% from housewives.
The diversity of occupation from business people to housewives shows that everyone is at risk of untimely death, disability or critical illness, Liberty said.
“The low proportion of claims attributed to housewives and other semi-professional/part time roles may however also be an insight into the risk of underinsurance of these lives.
“Many working parents may benefit from group cover but not yet have effectively planned for the consequences of a severe injury or the passing of the stay at home parent,” it said.
In addition, Liberty’s Claim Statistics for 2017 breaks down the top claim causes for all nine provinces in the country.
At least 25% of claims from the Northern Cape came from farmers, and 80% of all claims within the Limpopo region were for life cover. Gauteng saw four times as many brain cancer claims when compared to KwaZulu-Natal and more suicide claims than road accident claims.
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