Old Mutual Life Cover: About the Company
Old Mutual Life Cover is provided by Old Mutual, one of the largest financial services providers in South Africa. Founded over a hundred and fifty years ago, Old Mutual partners with two sister companies (Nedbank and Mutual and Federal) to provide a wide range of financial services. Old Mutual Life Cover is available not only to clients in South Africa, but also to those in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Malawi and Namibia. The current CEO of Old Mutual South Africa is Ralph Mupita.
The Location of Old Mutual Life
The head office of Old Mutual is located at 93 Grayston Drive, corner of West Road South, Sandton, Johannesburg, Gauteng. Their Cape Town office can be found at Mutualpark, Jan Smuts Drive, Pinelands, Cape Town, Western Cape.
Old Mutual Life and Their Services
Old Mutual Life provide for a wide range of financial services, including investment and retirement planning. On the insurance front they offer car, household and householder's insurance under the name iWYZE, as well as their Old Mutual Life Cover life insurance options.
Old Mutual Life Cover Insurance Options
Old Mutual Life Cover is composed of two main life insurance policy options, called Greenlight Old Mutual and Life Plan. The company also offers an additional disability insurance plan.
Greenlight Old Mutual
The Old Mutual Life Cover Greenlight option pays out in a lump sum in the event of death, and there are three benefit options available:
-
Death Benefit, which pays out in a lump sum in the event of death, though Old Mutual's website doesn't specify presumably this is for natural death or natural death and accidental death as compared to the second benefit below;
-
Accidental Death Benefit, which pays out in a lump sum in the event of death by accident, as opposed to natural death;
-
Final Expenses Benefit, which provides money to pay funeral expenses, and debt that needs to be settled immediately such as credit card debt.
The Mutual Life Greenlight policy also offers additional options that you may want to add to your policy, these include:
-
Earning Ability Cover, which will pay your income should you become unable to work through illness or disability;
-
Lifestyle Adjustment Cover, which provides money to manage costs from life changing events, though the website does not give examples of what this may mean;
-
Future Needs Cover, which covers you in the case that you should become uninsurable in the future or unable to pay your premiums.
Obviously, this is not a lot of in depth information. For example, there is no information about the amount of coverage that you can expect, nor an example of what Lifestyle Adjustment Cover gives you as a policy holder. Unfortunately, we could not find this information on the Old Mutual website.
Old Mutual Life Plan
Old Mutual Life Plan has three different policies, called Pure Life Plan, Life and Disability Plan and Accidental Death and Disability Plan. The identical features of all three of these policies are:
-
No medical exam is necessary;
-
All offer a premium holiday meaning that you can miss up to six premium payments during the policy term without losing coverage;
-
Telephone access to health advisers for advice or support;
-
Access to trauma, assault and HIV exposure support and counselling;
-
Emergency medical response in case of accidents;
-
Telephone access to legal advice.
The notable differences between the three plans are as follows:
-
The maximum benefit for the Pure Life Plan and Life and Disability Plan is R500,000, whilst the maximum benefit for the Accidental Death and Disability Plan is R250,000;
-
The Accidental Death and Disability Plan has a cash back option, meaning that every five years you get the cash equivalent of five monthly premium payments back.
Old Mutual Accidental Death and Disability Cover
Additionally, you can opt for an Accidental Death and Disability plan from Old Mutual. The features of this plan are:
-
Coverage ranges from R50,000 to R250,000, with higher coverage meaning higher monthly premiums;
-
Pay out in the event of accidental death or permanent disability due to accident;
-
No waiting period, Old Mutual's website claims that pay out is immediate after an accident is reported;
-
If death or disability results from causes other than an accident all premiums paid will be refunded in full;
-
The Cash Back Benefit means that you receive a sum equivalent to five months of premium payments every five years as long as you own the policy;
-
The Premium Holiday Benefit means that you can skip up to six premium payments during the course of the policy and still have coverage;
-
Coverage is for as long as you are paying premiums, even after the age of retirement;
-
To qualify to apply for the policy you must be a permanent South African resident and between the ages of 18 and 60.
How are the Customer Reviews for Old Mutual Life Cover?
On Hellopeter, the consumer review website that allows customers to write reviews of companies, Old Mutual has received 1011 reports over the last twelve months, which is a lot compared to other life insurance companies reviewed here. Of these reports, 796 were negative, giving the company a 78% negative rating. The majority of complaints were about poor customer service and slow pay outs, which is surprising since in at least one policy description the Old Mutual website states immediate pay out as an advantage of the policy. Obviously customer service is something that the company needs to concentrate on. Having said that, many of the Hellopeter reviews did have feedback from an Old Mutual Life Cover representative, suggesting that Old Mutual takes interest in customer feedback.
Is the Old Mutual Website Customer Friendly?
We found the Old Mutual Life Cover website fairly user friendly. It's easy to navigate, and finding information was simple. Policies were
outlined in an easy to read way, making them informative but not loaded down with technical terms and definitions. However, there were occasions where we wanted more information but couldn't find it. This was particularly true for the Greenlight life insurance plan, where we got only a basic outline of the plan's features. Using the Old Mutual website was simple, but we'd like to see more information for certain policies since this would help consumers make better decisions.
Old Mutual Life Cover in a Nutshell
Old Mutual Life insurance comes in two different plans, and the company also offers an additional disability and accidental death policy. Whilst the company website was easy to use we did find it slightly lacking in detailed information about some of these life insurance policies. Plus, consumer reviews on Hellopeter weren't especially encouraging for potential clients. All in all we do recommend that you get life insurance quotes from two or three different insurance companies before making your final decision. Fill in the green form (scroll up) and an agent will get back to you with multiple life insurance quotes, giving you a good comparison and variety for you to chose from.
* Disclaimer: We do not represent any of the companies, products and/or services reviewed, published or advertised on this website. Nor are we financial, health or insurance professionals or services provider. If you request a quote or purchase a product/service, it will not necessarily be given by the company reviewed on any specific page. Any decisions you make based on the information presented is at your own discretion and we advise that before doing so, you consult with the relevant professional.
Main subject: Old Mutual Life Cover
