Do You Really Need Critical Illness Cover if You Already Have Medical Aid? You might think that having medical aid is enough, but let’s talk about critical illness cover and why it could still be essential for you. What is Critical Illness Cover? Critical illness cover, also known as severe illness or trauma cover, provides a tax-free lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness covered by your insurer. Thanks to medical advancements, more people […]
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Ensuring Your Legacy: Understanding Estate Liquidity and Securing Your Future
Estate liquidity is vital for ensuring that your estate can cover all financial obligations upon your passing. This includes debts, estate duties, taxes, and executor’s fees. Without adequate liquidity, the executor may be forced to sell assets at less-than-optimal prices, which could negatively impact your heirs. The best method to address a liquidity shortfall is life insurance payable to the estate. It is considered one of the most effective tools due to its ability to provide […]
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Understanding credit reports
WHAT THEY ARE AND WHY THEY MATTER A credit report provides a detailed overview of an individual’s credit history, encompassing their payment history, credit limits, and types of credit accounts. This document is crucial because it is used by lenders, landlords, and various other entities to assess creditworthiness and make decisions about extending credit or approving applications. For lenders, typically banks: Lenders rely on credit reports to gauge the likelihood of an individual repaying debt. This […]
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Life cover: How much is enough?
Life cover pays out tax-free in the event of the life insured’s death. At EFS we calculate how much life cover you need, considering the following factors: Your debt. We also recommend settling your spouse’s or partner’s debt. Master’s fees. Taxes such as capital gains tax, income tax and estate duty. Executor’s fees (currently a maximum of 3.5% plus VAT, 4.025% including VAT. Administration fees such as transfer costs on fixed property, bond cancellation costs, advertising, […]
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Lump sum disability cover
Lump sum disability insurance is a type of cover that provides a once-off payment if you become permanently disabled due to an accident, injury, or illness. Here’s how it works in simpler terms: Types of lump sum disability benefits Accelerated benefits: If you claim this benefit, it will reduce the life insurance cover you have on your policy. These are usually less expensive. Non-accelerated benefits: Claiming this benefit does not affect your life insurance cover. These […]
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The importance of a Life File
What is a life file and why does everybody need one? Our world is fast changing especially because of the COVID-19 epidemic of the past number of years. We have become a lot more aware of our mortality – more so than most could have ever imagined before this pandemic. We face an uncertain future. Political upheaval and financial uncertainty are adding to our stress. At EFS we believe these factors present an even more compelling […]
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A living will
A living will is a legal document that sets out your wishes for your healthcare when you cannot share them yourself. It guides your family and healthcare providers when you are not in a condition to make decisions or express your wishes. The document gives instructions for not being kept alive through expensive life-support or other artificial medical interventions when there is no hope of recovery and death is inevitable – for example, if someone is […]
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Cyber fraud is increasing massively!
There have been increasing instances of fraudsters impersonating financial services providers to get hold of their clients’ personal information via SMSs, fake websites, emails, and phone calls. In this vein, phishing SMSs and emails are being sent by fraudulent third parties to a random recipient list. The SMS attempts to trick clients into believing that they have a claim, or that their security has been compromised, and requests the recipient to contact a specific number (that […]
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Short-term Insurance
Is your short-term insurance cover adequate and up to date? Short-term insurance is for a time when you need protection against the financial risks that you have with your possessions (your things). Essentially, a short-term insurance policy is an agreement between a policyholder and an insurer that is in place for a limited time. Your insurance needs for these possessions will change over time, too. The policy can be flexible to provide enough cover for different […]
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The importance of an emergency fund
As the name indicates, an emergency fund is an investment or bank account that provides funds in the event of an emergency, such as car repairs, temporary unemployment, medical expenses not covered by medical aid, etc. During COVID many people realised just how crucial an emergency fund can be. It is recommended that you have between 3 and 6 months’ net income in the fund. In other words, if your net (after tax) income is R20 […]
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