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Disability Cover

Avoid the loss of income when you are no longer able to work with disability cover, access a lump sum payout of between R200,000 and up to R10 million with smaller monthly payment options with premiums starting from only R150.

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Cover That Will Provide for Your Family When You Can’t

Make proper provision with an affordable and flexible disability insurance cover, so that you and your family are taken care of in the event that you become temporarily or permanently disabled and medically unfit to work for an income.

These reliable disability insurance providers offer the best value-for-money disability cover options in South Africa.

Frequently Asked Questions

Be able to care for your family in any event

In an instant, your life can change, making you unable to financially provide for yourself and your family.

With the unpredictability of life being inevitable, you need to plan for those moments that can disrupt your life completely by ensuring that you are sufficiently covered for any type of disruption. Disability cover forms part of three very important insurances, that is, critical illness cover, dread disease and disability that you may be offered as part of your life insurance packages. These insurances guard you against the worst-case scenario when it comes to your health or an accident.

What is Disability cover in South Africa?

In South Africa, this kind of insurance ensures that you will continue to have an income, in the event that you are no longer able to work due to an unexpected illness or injury.

The payout you receive from your insurance provider can assist with contributing towards maintaining a sense of normality in your life by providing you with the funds to pay for medical bills or remodel your home should you be forced to use a wheelchair.

What does cover provide?

It provides cover for expenses that occur because of the disability suffered, for example, alterations to your vehicle or home to provide comfort. It is a type of insurance that protects you against loss of income due to temporary or permanent disability.

Why would I need insurance?

You need cover if you are unable to work due to illness or injury.

It is based on a percentage of your income and the more you earn, affects the number of benefits you will be able to collect if you become disabled.

What automatically qualifies you for insurance to be paid out?

  • Advanced stages of cancer.
  • Early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
  • Organ transplantation.
  • Parkinson's.
  • Serious heart conditions.
  • Spinal cord injuries.

What is occupational Disability cover?

Occupational disability insurance in South Africa will protect you against the risk of losing your ability to earn an income due to illness or injury.

If you are covered for occupational disability, you will receive payment should you become disabled to the extent that you are totally and permanently unable to do your job.

When does cover not payout?

It will not pay the claim if you injure yourself, if you are injured while breaking the law, or while intentionally exposing yourself to physically harmful activities.

Disability insurance will also not payout if the person insured is not totally and permanently unable to perform the normal duties within their occupation or place of work.

How much cover do I need?

Benefits can be structured according to your specific needs. It will be important to do a full cost analysis of your monthly expenses to make sure your household is covered in the event of you not being able to earn an income. It is estimated that you should cover yourself for about 60% of your take-home monthly salary.

The cover is offered as a lump sum pay-out and in the form of monthly payments through income protection products.

Lump-sum products pay a single amount if you are permanently unable to work. This amount must be sufficient to financially support your lifestyle for the rest of your life. While a monthly income will be paid to you if you choose an income protection product.

Will a lump sum payout be better than a monthly income?

A combination of lump sum and monthly income benefits is recommended and will depend on your particular situation and how much you can afford. You can use the lump sum to pay for your immediate medical expenses or any modifications that will need to be made to your home or vehicle in order for you to live as normal a life as possible. While the monthly payments can assist you in paying your bills and providing for your family.

Most cover payments are issued within two weeks once received and most companies will offer the members the option to complete a claim online or by email. By submitting your application completely and ensuring that all the information is correct, you help make sure your cover payment is issued quicker.

How much does Disability insurance cost?

Your premium will depend on your age, gender, smoker status, and health as well as the plan within your policy. If you are a low-risk member, you will pay much less than someone who is a higher-risk member.

The amount that you will require on the payout of the policy will also have an impact on the premiums that you pay, as will your occupation. If you have a high-risk occupation, for example, a delivery driver, then your premiums will also be higher.

How long will I be covered?

You can choose how long you would like to be covered, for example, up to age 65 or 70 years. You can also choose to be covered for a specific term, for example, 20 years.

What are the minimum and maximum covers that I can get?

The minimum and maximum disability insurance that you can get will depend on the insurance provider selected, but you could, for example, be covered for a minimum of R100 000 and a maximum of R25 000 000.

There are two basic types of insurance namely known as short-term and long-term disability cover.

Do I qualify for cover?

Terms and conditions may differ between insurance providers, but generally speaking, you have to be between the ages of 18 and 59 to purchase cover.

Your disability insurance level will generally speaking, decrease from your 60th birthday until five years before you turn 65 or at your selected retirement age.

A claim may be rejected if, for instance, you take part in dangerous sports or activities that could affect your health status.

Is insurance worth it?

Disability cover will provide you with the peace of mind that your family’s expenses, as well as your own, will be covered so that you can maintain your standard of living if you become injured or disabled, either temporarily or permanently, and are no longer able to provide for your family or yourself.


List of companies offering Disability Cover