Life insurance start-up hopes to change the market

Johannesburg - A South African fintech start-up is looking to change the life insurance industry with the sale of policies to employees with low incomes. 

The year-old company, Simply, was launched with a focus on a low cost combination of life, disability and funeral cover, with sign-ups which take place online for an industry estimated to be worth around R8bn annually. 

The company also offers group cover which provides a specific amount of cover, irrespective of the health status of the SME’s employees.  

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“We have seen that there is a huge need for well priced life insurance cover that also has a very good life or disability cover,” Simply CEO Anthony Miller told Fin24. 

Miller added that the insurance market at present did not offer people the cover that they needed. 

“If a breadwinner of a family dies or is no longer able to work, this can leave many families destitute. People are not getting value for money and the world is changing faster than corporates think. All someone needs to do is to go to a taxi rank or train station and watch people who are glued to their smartphones,” Miller said. 

He added that people who live within the LSM 6 and 7 bracket are now more tech savvy and are using the internet. 

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Miller said Simply is motivated by social impact, very aware that most South Africans can't afford life insurance premiums. 

“We believe that there is a space for Simply in the market and the service makes it easier for consumers to get life insurance and cover,” Miller said. 

Simply products are underwritten by Old Mutual Alternative Risk Transfer Limited (OMART), the insurance subsidiary of the Old Mutual Group.