Last week I attended an Investment Solutions presentation where Daniel Silke shared his views. Silke is a political analyst, author, futurist, and an excellent speaker. Silke covered many topics and subjects – but his views on BRICS bear second and third thought. At the end of last year I was not overly favourable of the [...]
Read moreProtection for the business owner
Without giving it too much thought, we have learnt to protect our assets such as motorcars and households, however we forget about protecting our most important asset – our ability to earn an income. If you were disabled for any length of time and consequently unable to earn an income, how would your day to [...]
Lump sum or income benefits – what’s right for the client?
While lump sum benefits are popular, the best protection against a potential income loss is an income replacement product. This is because these products provide cover for both temporary and permanent income losses and take inflation into account. That’s the view of Craig Harding, managing director of specialist long-term risk cover provider Altrisk, who believes [...]
Life industry gets go-ahead to standardise critical illness disclosure
South African life insurers have been given the go-ahead by the Financial Services Board as well as the Competition Commission to standardise their disclosure to consumers of when critical illness products will pay out. Peter Dempsey, deputy CEO of the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA), says this is significant since standardised disclosure [...]
The plan comes first
Much as we love and prize flexibility and choice, there is no easy way to find and take the best risk product. Each decision a potential client is faced with needs to be analysed, data needs to be compared, and each potential product’s benefits and features need to be understood. Along with the flexibility and [...]
Flexible product offerings and sound advice are vital in meeting income protection needs
While research has shown that there is a significant disability cover gap in the South African market, clients who apply for income protection products should ensure that the cover they purchase match their financial needs. This is the view of Ryan Chegwidden, actuary at specialist long-term risk cover provider Altrisk, who says that flexible product [...]
Long-term sustainability versus initial affordability
New generation products have revolutionised the local long-term insurance industry and they offer policyholders excellent benefits and value. Part of their innovative flexibility has been accurate pricing and different premium patterns to pay for your policy. Momentum highlights price as an important consideration especially in the current economic environment, and offers flexible premium patterns on [...]
Double dip risk
From the PSG Konsult Online Media Market Update Stephen Roach from Morgan Stanley Asia recently wrote a column for Bloomberg Markets in which he explored the risk and likelihood of double-dip for the global economy. Policy makers have been successful at putting in a bottom to the most wrenching crisis and recession of the post-World [...]
Disabled and disappointed
Better education and disclosure during the application process would reduce dissatisfaction with disability benefit pay outs. The key is to be certain that clients understand what they are buying and select policies that match their needs. In addition, the importance of providing accurate information, particularly in relation to occupation and current cover in force, cannot [...]
Controlled diabetics given access to fully comprehensive life cover and benefits
In a major step in the right direction for diabetics, fully comprehensive life cover is now available for well controlled diabetics with type 1, 1.5 and 2 diabetes. The paradigm-shifting move means well-controlled diabetics are now offered fully comprehensive life cover, as well as disability and critical illness benefits. According to the World Diabetes Foundation, [...]
Tax Guide 2012
Latest Issue - 30 April 2012
In This Issue:
- Local and offshore ETFs
- Why stock selection is key
- Medical Survey - the cost of healthcare
- New player in life insurance market
Newsletters
Newsletter 17 May 2012: Lump sum versus debit order, 3 essentials for a confident investor
In today’s newsletter we look at investing with a lump sum or regular contributions – how do they stack up against each other? We also share three investment tips to cope with uncertainty. Being right about muddle-through hasn’t made investing any easier Most predicted that politically and often economically the year 2012 would be a [...]
