WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2007-12-03 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
[S.African businessmen have been very cunning in their ability to survive and deal with the myriad of hideous problems that have come their way in the last 13 years. I must say, I am delighted at how the Medical Aids have managed to cope. And it is quite surprising to see the Life Insurance industry also surviving under basically IMPOSSIBLE CONDITIONS.
This proves once more the power of capitalism and its flexibility in dealing with and surviving literally anything you can throw at it. This move by Sanlam is extremely bold, and perhaps it might even backfire on them…. but… if the underlying MATHEMATICS is correct… you never know! Jan]
Life assurance companies have come a long way from the 1990s when they had all types of exclusions and requirements for regular testing so they did not have to pay out if a person died from any Aids-related illness.
Exclusions for contracting HIV/Aids after a policy has been taken out are no longer acceptable in the industry.
In other words, if you die of Aids-related causes after testing HIV negative when you took out a policy, it will be paid out.
South Africa is also one of the first countries to introduce life assurance for HIV-positive people.
Initially these policies were extremely expensive. The costs are coming down with a greater understanding in the life assurance industry of the pandemic and the introduction of antiretroviral treatment, which significantly extends the life-span of people living with HIV.
But the cover is limited to people who are HIV positive and do not have full-blown Aids.
Having access to life assurance has made it easier for people living with HIV to access other financial services, such as home loans, for which credit life assurance is required.
This week Sanlam introduced comprehensive personal life assurance cover to people living with HIV that will bring down costs of life cover for such people significantly.
The level of the premiums is determined by normal factors such as age and habits (like smoking), as well as their CD4 count. The higher the CD count, the lower the premium will be.
The CD4 count is only used once in determining the initial premium.
A CD4 count is used to measure the progression of HIV. A CD4 count of above 800 reflects someone free of HIV. A CD4 count of below 200 is considered to be full-blown Aids.
For someone with a CD4 count below 200, who opts for antiretroviral treatment, the count can rise above 200 and they can then qualify for cover.
The Sanlam LifePower product will consist of three options: term life cover for a pre-determined period for 10 or 20 years; whole life cover, which is valid until death or until the policyholder decides to stop paying premiums; and a loan protector option, which will cover outstanding debt at death.
The key to the product range and the costs for policyholders lies in a programme through which policyholders have to commit to following antiretroviral treatment guidelines.
Policyholders will be policed and assisted by financial services company AllLife, which designs and administers life insurance products on behalf of life assurance companies for people living with HIV.
Sanlam product actuary Petrie Marx says the LifePower range is ideal for people living with HIV who want to provide for those who depend on them in the event of their death or disability.
Marx says policyholders will need to follow antiretroviral treatment guidelines required for the LifePower product range. This means that people with HIV will receive cover at an affordable rate.
“The commitment is not just a promise – we will regularly monitor whether people are following the treatment guidelines given to them, and we will assist them when they have problems following these guidelines.
“Adherence means managing one’s HIV appropriately, which includes going for regular HIV-monitoring blood tests, starting appropriate antiretroviral treatment at the right time, remaining on the treatment and taking the drugs regularly, as prescribed.”
Sanlam has adopted the Adherence Monitoring Policy as defined by AllLife. This policy has been reviewed by the South African HIV Clinicians’ Society and is in accordance with the Department of Health’s treatment programme.
The definition of adherence is included with the assurance application form, and applicants will need to accept this definition and commit to adhere to the guidelines.
Marx says adherence to appropriate antiretroviral treatment is still the only proven way to maintain optimal health and thereby improve the quality of life of people living with HIV and extend their life expectancy.
Sanlam’s LifePower product provides cover in the event of the death of the policyholder, regardless of whether this was due to an accident or health-related issue.
There is no waiting period, which means that the person is covered immediately on inception of cover.
It is also possible to add permanent disability cover as an optional additional benefit.
Disability benefits are provided at 75 percent of the death benefit value when linked to a term life or whole life options.
When linked to the loan protector option, the disability benefit is 100 percent of the (declining) death benefit value.
The disability benefit is an acceleration of the death benefit, which means that once a permanent disability claim has been paid, the death benefit will also come to an end and no further benefits will be payable under the policy.
Permanent total disability is defined in terms of the life insured’s ability to perform activities of daily work, or in terms of defined HIV-specific disabling conditions.
n Bruce Cameron is the editor of Personal Finance.