Credit life insurance is the most popular of long-term insurances, as it ensures that your debts will be paid off in the event of your death (and, depending on your plan, if you become disabled or are retrenched).
Credit life insurance or “customer protection insurance” is defined in the National Credit Act as the cover payable in the event of a consumer’s death, disability, terminal illness, unemployment, or other insurable risk that is likely to prevent the consumer from earning an income or meeting the obligations under a credit agreement.
Yes, absolutely. For more information, read our blog; "Is switching credit life insurance cover legal?"
No, the service is 100% free. You will continue to pay for credit life insurance, however, your monthly premium should be at a cheaper rate than what your credit provider charges, and the insurance premium payment will be made to Switch2 via debit order.
Your previous credit life insurance would most likely have been included in your instalment payment to your credit provider, but by providing independent insurance through Switch2 for all your credit products, there will be an additional debit order paid to Switch2.
Once we’ve switched your credit life insurance to Switch2 cover, your monthly instalment to the credit provider will decrease, as the insurance portion will no longer be paid directly to them. Instead, your more affordable premium will be paid to Switch2, in line with the savings estimate provided.
Yes.
Telephonic process:
Online process:
Your current lenders confirm with us whether you are paying for credit life insurance. In most cases, credit life insurance is mandatory – we’ll know when you have (or need) cover. For more information, read out blog; "Which loans usually include credit life insurance"
As an authorised financial services provider, we earn a 20% binder fee for intermediating between yourself and the insurer, Clientèle Life Assurance Company Limited. This is included in the premiums we quote you.
Only if you are currently in a waiting period with one of your lenders.
Cheaper credit life insurance, for benefits more suited to your needs of saving money on your credit life insurance premiums. By switching you can save an average of R7 000.00 a year.
If your current cover includes additional benefits, these will be transferred to your new cover.
Yes.
Switch2, a Division of Clientèle Life Assurance Company Limited, an authorised Financial Services Provider and registered insurer (FSP Number 15268)
There really isn’t one.
No, it definitely won’t. Our call to the credit bureau will leave a footprint, which will confirm that this was merely to check your current records, and that no new loan application is being made.
We take your current outstanding balance on a quarterly basis per lender – where we can save you – and calculate the new credit life insurance premium you will be paying. The premium will change monthly, as a result of loans being paid off, or new loans being taken.
Yes, they will, the premiums decrease on a sliding scale, as the loan amount decreases. We monitor the status of the loans on a quarterly basis, and these checks will confirm if the loan is settled, and we’ll stop the debit order.
You will receive a monthly newsletter, which will indicate the amount of money you have saved to date by switching.
Certainly. Any and all information pertaining to your premiums is available on request from the Switch2 team.
The lender will stop charging them to your account and Switch2’s debit order will start (at the lower rate). The benefits and cover remains exactly the same, making the switch seamless. Unfortunately, we cannot reclaim any amounts you were being charged previously.
A credit provider is entitled to require a consumer to maintain credit life insurance during the time of the agreement so that the loan will be paid if the creditor passes away, becomes disabled, is retrenched, or becomes unable to pay the debt. It is designed to protect and provide a measure of security for both the insured and the credit provider.
No. The NCA confirms that, while the credit provider may offer you this insurance, you have the right to obtain cover anywhere. If you’ve already taken cover with the credit provider and want to switch, the only requirements are that the new cover must offer the same or better benefits as the existing cover, and there can be no gap in cover (there can be no period of time where no credit life insurance is in place).
You qualify for a policy if you:
The customer protection insurance policy protects you in the case of an “insured event” taking place during your period of insurance. This includes, as a minimum, the following benefits:
The customer protection insurance policy is ceded to the credit provider. This means that, in the event of a claim, the sum insured will be paid to the credit provider directly to settle the outstanding balance on the loan.