Short-term insurance made easy
One of the objectives of the National Development Plan speaks to financial inclusion for all South Africans. It is with this in mind that the South African Insurance Association (SAIA) developed a mobile application aimed at promoting financial literacy around short-term insurance for consumers.
This mobile application, or app as it is commonly known, was launched to help consumers understand short-term insurance better. According to Leila Moonda, General Manager of Governance and Transformation at the SAIA, the architecture of the app has ensured it is simple to navigate, easy to access and widely available.
“We are excited about the value this app can add to consumers’ and believe that it will make short-term insurance easier to understand. One of our focus areas as the industry representative body is to educate and in doing so, to ensure that our initiatives are inclusive. With the ongoing evolution of mobile technology building, an app was an obvious step for us, and we believe it will assist people to make good financial choices when it comes to short-term insurance,” says Moonda.
“Many South Africans don’t completely understand the value of short-term insurance, this is clear when statistics indicate that only 35% of our motor vehicles are insured.” A benefit of the SAIA app is that it helps consumers to understand the intricacies of the short-term insurance space. It explains why your assets – such as your vehicle, home or cellphone, should be insured, and goes into detail about the necessity of sufficient cover and highlights where you may be vulnerable should you not have cover. Information about the claims process is also available should consumers incur a loss.
“We hope to see the uptake of consumers using this new app as an educational tool that provides product information and services to help you select the risk cover most suited to your individual requirements. It also seeks to offer wider peace of mind for existing policyholders,” explains Moonda.
Furthermore the app provides information on the most common types of policies available in the market, and includes contact information of the industry’s dispute resolution body – the Ombudsman for Short-term Insurance (OSTI), as well as the Financial Services Board (FSB) and list of SAIA members that should be considered when purchasing short-term insurance.
To download the app:
Visit https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appbuilder.u2031815p2395350
