October 2006 - According to a life insurance trend,
it seems that men are traditionally more diligent in
ensuring that they had adequate life insurance
coverage.
Internationally, statistics speak of 64% of American
women having no life insurance at all and those that
do have a life insurance policy, carry about half the
amount of coverage than men do.
According to 1Lifedirect, South Africa’s first fully
direct life insurer, it seems that South African women
are bucking this life insurance trend.
Said 1Lifedirect CEO, Lenerd Louw, "Since our
inception in March 2006 we have noticed that nearly
half of our client base is comprised of women. In
fact, we found that two-thirds as many women between
the ages of 18-25 are taking out life insurance,
compared to men in the same age group.
"We believe that the reason for this is because of the
strength of our value proposition and the fact that
women are less encumbered by broker-ties," he said.
Louw continues: Women have definitely cracked the
corporate glass ceiling and are now taking more
responsibility, at a younger age, for their overall
wellbeing compared to previous generations.
They are buying their own cars and properties and are
making investments to build nest eggs that will ensure
their financial independence into their old age.
With regards to life insurance, our experience
indicates that women are nowadays also concentrating
more on protecting the financial security of their
family and fulfilling the financial obligations they
leave behind. You are never too young or too old to
take out life insurance.”
In the past, many younger women, may have felt that
they could not afford life insurance and that it had
too many time implications.
With the introduction of 1Lifedirect however, a 30
year old woman can purchase a R1-million life
insurance policy for as little as R89 per month and
this can be done over the phone within 20 minutes.
Women need life insurance protection for the same
reasons men do, to ensure that whoever survives them
will be provided with financial protection. Now that
life insurance is so affordable, there is no excuse
for not having a policy in place,” said Louw.
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