Sanlam ramps up drive to integrate health into financial planning

In the healthcare sector, South Africans have to contend with the significant challenges of affordability and access to quality health services. Beyond the medical scheme membership of some 9.6-million people, insurers and other players offer a variety of gap cover and medical insurance products.

However, there is considerable fragmentation across the different health offerings. In this context, Sanlam’s healthcare strategy is focused on making better sense of this situation for both individual and corporate clients.

Sanlam is therefore enabling its financial advisors and distribution force to present their customers with a full range of options tailored to their needs and circumstances as these change over the course of their lives.

There have been several developments that represent the core work required to operationalise Sanlam’s healthcare strategy.

Among the foundational elements was Sanlam’s earlier acquisition of a majority holding in AfroCentric which in turn owns Medscheme, South Africa’s leading administrator of both open and closed schemes.

Sanlam now seeks to leverage the considerable Medscheme capabilities to embed healthcare into its wider ecosystem and client base.

Sanlam and AfroCentric are working together to build a healthcare platform that encompasses like-minded schemes and health insurers. This healthcare platform is being built into Sanlam’s distribution capabilities and will represent Sanlam’s best advice for healthcare needs across employers, advisers and individuals.

Further, where appropriate and in collaboration with Medscheme’s medical scheme clients, Sanlam can provide access to its financial services offering and rewards capability. This will provide schemes with an opportunity to enhance their value propositions to their members and in the markets in which they operate.

The approach is for Medscheme, as a member of the AfroCentric Group, to remain as a multi-scheme administrator committed to delivering exceptional service to each scheme it supports. Medical aid schemes will be able to partner with Medscheme and adopt service and value-added options that can further enhance their value propositions to members.

Sanlam’s “wealth and health” strategy will engage customers’ needs throughout their lives. The Sanlam approach is rooted in a deep commitment not only to help customers live with confidence through savings and investment products, but also to ensure they are sufficiently healthy to enjoy the rewards of their efforts.

Central to this vision is the belief that quality healthcare should be accessible and affordable for more South Africans. By broadening access and offering innovative, integrated solutions Sanlam strives to remove barriers that have traditionally limited healthcare options.

In doing so, Sanlam aims to provide a strong credible alternative to the industry. The north star remains clear: to create a healthcare ecosystem where more people can benefit from comprehensive, high-quality care as part of their journey to financial wellbeing and peace of mind.