Tag archives: life insurance

Tribunal decides whether significant owner of life insurer is financially fit and proper

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on April 11, 2024 Posted in Insurance

The Financial Services Tribunal reconsidered the dismissal of an application for a life insurance business licence and found that one of the significant owners was not fit and proper in the sense of having the necessary financial standing required to support the business of the insurer. A family investment trust owned 30% of the issued … Continue reading

Events, conditions and benefit groups in a life policy lead to multiple claims

By Donald Dinnie on July 28, 2023 Posted in Insurance

This blog was co-authored by Maano Manavhela, Candidate Attorney. A life insured, who suffered heart and arterial disease in April 2012 requiring a coronary stent and was paid 10% of a benefit amount, a bi-femoral bypass and paid 90% of the benefit amount in July 2012, was awarded another 100% of the benefit amount following … Continue reading

Life Insurance: “Totally and permanently unable” to work

By Donald Dinnie on April 5, 2023 Posted in Insurance

In this judgment the life insurer had rejected the life insured’s claim for an indemnity both on the basis that the insurance cover had expired on 30 November 2015 and that there was no evidence that the insured had become totally and permanently unable to perform his work as at that date, alternatively if the … Continue reading

Life insurance and fraud

By Donald Dinnie on February 24, 2023 Posted in Insurance

In this judgment (dealt with here on material non-disclosure) the second material issue dealt with by the court was whether the insured truthfully represented his medical conditions in relation to his continued ability to work. The insurer alleged that the insured did not tell either the insurer or the examining doctor that he could perform … Continue reading

Life insurance and material non-disclosure

By Donald Dinnie on February 23, 2023 Posted in Insurance

In this judgment, the insured had two life policies with the insurer, which included life cover, severe illness benefits, and income continuation benefits. The insured amended the policies a number of times, but on none of these occasions did the insured disclose that he had been diagnosed with and treated for clinical depression. The court … Continue reading

Review of a decision by the Life Insurance Ombudsman

By Donald Dinnie on February 23, 2022 Posted in Insurance

In this recent judgment the insurer rejected the life policy claim of the executor of the deceased estate relying on an exclusion in the policy that liability would not arise where death resulted from a condition that pre-existed the existence of the policy if that death occurred before the expiration of twelve months from the date … Continue reading

Life insurance: keeping up to date with the changing market

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on June 8, 2016 Posted in Insurance

According to a recent report, growth in the life insurance market globally has lagged behind the banking and manufacturing sectors and insurers are losing share to industry players not traditionally involved in life insurance. For example, asset management is being done by third party capital providers, marketing is being taken over by search engines like … Continue reading

Insurers proving material non-disclosure

By Donald Dinnie on September 4, 2015 Posted in Insurance

An insurer who wants to avoid a policy must prove a material non-disclosure by the insured on a balance of probabilities. That is normally done by way of leading oral evidence and the process of cross-examination. It is unusual, although not unheard of, for oral evidence to be dispensed with and questions of non-disclosure to … Continue reading