Life Insurance South Africa
South Africa is popularly known for its diverse cultures and friendly people. Unfortunately, with any type of lifestyle, there will always be health risks involved. Any type of health risk will always adversely affect your life insurance policy. There are certain health risks associated with living in South Africa, and therefore a South African will obtain a different life insurance quote to someone living in another country. Life insurance in South Africa is imperative, due to the health risks of the country. These risks include road accidents, AIDS and skin cancer.
South Africans are very concerned with the poor road conditions in some parts of the country. Road accidents and fatalities are sky rocketing. South African roads are also notorious for potholes and other negative traffic influences. All these factors contribute towards insurance companies fixing higher life insurance premiums on their clients. Recent statistics have shown that the number of car accident fatalities has risen from 11 514 in 2001 to 14 463 in 2008. In Australia the fatality statistics for road accidents were 1 603 in 2007. This makes the fatality numbers in South Africa seem staggering when compared with Australia, which is a much bigger country than South Africa.
Then the terminal illnesses in South Africa have to be taken into consideration. South Africa has one of the highest AIDS rates in the world. AIDS is most definitely a global problem, but it is clear that South Africa is in crisis mode. South African life insurance companies have to implement a terminal illness policy in their clauses. In most cases, life insurance cover will not be complete until the insured has taken an AIDS test. There is even a specialised division for AIDS insurance in South Africa.
Skin cancer is also a big problem in South Africa. It is particularly high seeing as South African people are not as cautious in the sun as other countries. The country is not dubbed "Sunny South Africa" for nothing, and it has largely an outdoor lifestyle. Unfortunately the dangers of sun exposure have not been drilled into the heads of the people enough, and therefore the incidences of skin cancer in the country are high.
Despite it being a lovely country, South Africa does come with higher health risks. Life insurance companies in South Africa have taken all these risks into consideration when preparing your life policy.