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Financial support during serious illness
The last thing you should be worrying about if you’re diagnosed with a dread disease like cancer or suffer a severe illness event like a heart attack is surviving financially. Sanlam Severe Illness Cover makes sure that you’re able to cover the unexpected costs of a serious illness – including treatment expenses not covered by medical aid and gap cover as well as necessary adjustments to your lifestyle – even if you’re able to continue working through your illness. And because we’re committed to paying on our promise, we follow a consistent, fair and objective assessment approach that saw us paying out R496.9 million for severe illness and injury cover in 2022.
Taking out severe illness cover today ensures that if you’re diagnosed with a serious condition in the future, you and your family will be in a position to survive it financially. And given that this type of insurance looks after you as well as your loved ones, it makes financial sense whether you already have a family to support or you’re just looking after yourself right now. Ready to take the next step?
What’s the difference between Severe Illness Cover and Life Cover
Not sure whether you should opt for life insurance or severe illness cover or both? Here’s a look at what each one has to offer.
Life Insurance
Life insurance is designed to provide financial support for your family should you pass away unexpectedly by paying out a tax-free lump sum that can be used to cover immediate and future expenses.
Payout is fast because we understand that the loss of a loved one creates immediate expenses, we give you the option of separating your life insurance payment into two portions.
Severe illness cover
While severe illness cover also pays out a tax-free lump sum, it does so when you’re diagnosed with a specified serious illness. This payout can help to keep you and your family going financially if you need to take time off work to recover, for treatment costs not covered by medical aid, for other costs associated with a dread disease – home care, travel expenses for specialist treatment, childcare if you are hospitalised – or to improve your quality of life.
Take a closer look at our cover
Because we understand that claims are submitted under very difficult and distressing circumstances, we’ve kept the process as simple and straightforward as possible. All claims can be submitted online in a few easy steps, and we’re here to help you every step of the way.
Underwriting may sound complicated, but it is essentially the process your insurance provider uses to determine your risk status. This in turn affects your cover amount and monthly premiums, and establishes whether any special terms and conditions apply to your policy. To help our underwriters calculate your status, you’ll be asked to supply information relating to your health, medical history, occupation and financial situation as well as details about where plan to travel and any potentially dangerous activities you participate in. You may also be required to complete a medical test. Our underwriting process is designed to ensure that you pay a fair premium for the full term of your cover and that your beneficiaries are able to claim confidently when the time comes. As carrying more risk for our clients forms part of our underwriting philosophy, your policy will remain unaffected should you change your occupation or smoking habits or take up risky activities after it has been issued.
Your cover can be automatically adjusted every year for inflation. Doing so ensures that should you need to submit a claim against your policy several years from now, your cover will still carry the same relative value as it does the day you took it out.
It is important that you regularly pay your premium to keep your cover intact. Should you be unable to pay your premium, it may have an impact on you being covered. It is very important to contact us immediately should you skip premiums, to discuss options of how to keep your valuable cover in place, and stay protected.
We've created two valuable benefits that reward you for keeping your cover in place. As a Sanlam client with a qualifying product, you have the option of adding our Cashback benefit to any qualifying new or existing risk plan. It rewards you for keeping your cover intact, and pays out after 15 years of continued contributions to your policy. A set additional payment of 35% is charged for the Cashback benefit on a specific cover layer. This payment falls away after 15 years – even if the Cashback amount is left to further accumulate – ensuring great value for money. Put the payout towards your children’s education, home renovations, unexpected expenses or even your retirement. Alternatively, you can choose to leave your lump sum to grow until you need it. You can also look forward to benefiting from Wealth Bonus® – a portion of your contribution that’s invested in a Money Market fund until you turn 70, ensuring that your money keeps making money. Wealth Bonus unlocks every 5 years, a portion of your Wealth Bonus® is made available to you to withdraw or leave invested.
Need to talk to someone?
We are here to help you get the information your need. Fill out this form to get a call back or feel free to call us on Weekdays between the hours of 08:00 and 17:00
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Need anything else?
Funeral Cover
Is your family in a position to cover the costs of a funeral? Sanlam Funeral cover offers up to R100 000 cover for you and up to 21 beneficiaries, with most claims paid out within hours.
Disability Cover
Sanlam Disability over helps you manage the financial implications of a permanent disability with a lump-sum payout that can be used for day-to-day and disability-related expenses.
Income Protection
Sanlam Income protection protects you and your family against temporary and permanent illness or disability with a monthly payout that helps to support your current lifestyle.
Life Insurance
Protect those you care about. Eases the burden on your family should you die unexpectedly, by paying out a tax-free lump-sum amount that can be used to cover their expenses now and in years to come.
Cancer Cover
Protects you against the financial implications of living with cancer. The Sanlam Cancer benefit provides comprehensive cover for cancers, tumours, leukaemia and lymphomas with cash payout that can be used for out-of-pocket medical costs and the many hidden expenses associated with this disease.
Credit Life Cover
Helps you and your loved ones manage funeral-related expenses. Is your family in a position to cover the costs of a funeral?