FNB Life has significantly increased its market share in the funeral insurance industry and has now surpassed the 1 million funeral policy milestone. FNB Life has over 3 million policies overall.
This makes the insurance distributor and administrator one of the fastest growing and biggest funeral insurance providers in South Africa.
Nthabiseng Sethabela-Makoeng, Product Manager at FNB Life, says being able to successfully carryout our strategy and still have good prospects for even further growth, at a time when the insurance industry and economy is severely under pressure, is an important and positive milestone in our journey.
“Our customer centric business model which leverages our existing banking infrastructure and expertise to provide consumers with the most innovative, accessible and affordable funeral insurance products in the market is what has led to our growth,” says Sethabela-Makoeng.
She says since entering the market a few years ago, a lot of work and effort has gone into simplifying and promoting product transparency to give customers value for money while also ensuring that cover is easily accessible to a wide range of consumers across the country, regardless of their geographical location.
“These product attributes, coupled with the credibility of being backed by a trusted and valued bank is what differentiates us from our competitors,” says Sethabela-Makoeng.
There has been a fundamental shift in the market with more consumers beginning to place emphasis on financial planning and having cover in place to cater for unforeseen events, like a funeral.
“We are confident that our funeral insurance product is well positioned to cater for the needs of this market, and will continue being relevant, not only due to its cost effectiveness, but the added value and rewards offered to customers,” says Sethabela-Makoeng.
FNB customers can conveniently take up funeral insurance through online banking, branch networks, call centres and over 6 000 FNB ATMs and Slimline devices across the country.
The bank also boasts one of the best and efficient funeral claims processes by having direct access to the National Populations Register.
“Following the submission of a notice of death form, FNB Life obtains or verifies death certificates through the National Population Register from the Department of Home Affairs and this improves the speed at which beneficiaries are paid out for valid funeral insurance claims. As a result, we currently pay out 11% immediately and over 80% of claims within 24 hours if all the relevant documents have been provided to us,” says Sethabela-Makoeng.
“FNB Life also routinely checks if any of the policy holders are deceased, even if a claim has not been submitted. As a result, we are currently following up on over R130m worth of claims (R54m for funeral insurance), which have not been submitted. This adds great value to beneficiaries who get to find out that they are getting paid on policies they never knew existed,” says Sethabela-Makoeng.
FNB Life has further integrated its leading multi-partner eBucks Rewards Programme into its funeral product, allowing policy holders to collect reward level points and receive up to 15% of their monthly premiums back in eBucks, provided they have met the qualifying criteria.
FNB Life offers funeral policies with cover options from R20 000 to R100 000 and up to 21 family members on a single plan.
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