Serious illness cover: FAQs

1. What is serious illness cover?
Serious illness cover is a long-term insurance policy designed to pay you a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a specific serious illness.

2. Why do I need serious illness cover?

• The cost to treat serious illnesses like cancer can be very expensive and can run into hundreds of thousands of rand (or millions in some cases).
• Most medical aid schemes don’t cover the entire cost of treating serious illnesses. They don’t cover costs like professional homecare or travel expenses if you need to see a specialist.
• Serious illness cover can help pay your monthly expenses while you’re laid-off or if you can’t work. You can cover the cost of medical treatments or procedures and ensure that your family can maintain the same standard of living.

3. How much cover will I qualify for?
Standard Bank's Direct Life Insurance Services’ Serious Illness Cover give you a tax-free pay-out of R100 000 to R2 000 000. The amount of cover you qualify for depends on several factors, including your risk profile (determined by factors like gender, age, lifestyle habits, income, and health status).

4. How long does my cover last?
Your cover starts when you pay your first premium and will last for as long as you make your monthly premiums – until you claim, turn 65, or pass away, whichever happens first.

5. Do I have to undergo a full medical assessment?
You don't have to undergo a full medical check when you take out Serious Illness Cover through Standard Bank’s Direct Insurance Services, but you need to take an HIV test within the first 90 days of your policy’s start date. We will arrange this through our Nurses on Wheels service (at no cost to you) or one of our laboratory partners. If you don’t test for HIV or take the HIV test and the result is reactive, your cover will be converted to a ‘Serious Illness: Cancer Cover’ only agreement. If cancer is listed as an exclusion on your policy, we’ll have to cancel your cover.

6. How do I submit a claim?
If you need to submit a claim, call our contact centre on 0860 225 535. A claims agent will tell you which documents you need to submit and will guide you through the claims process. After that, we’ll verify your information on record and the information you give us during the claims stage. Important notice: You should inform Standard Bank's Direct Life Insurance Services within 90 days (or a person with the legal capacity to represent you) about the event that led to your claim. If you don’t, your claim may be declined.

7. When will my claim be paid out?
We will pay you a tax-free lump sum if you suffer a stroke, heart attack, you’re diagnosed with cancer, or need to undergo open-heart surgery, and the condition is not an exclusion on your policy. Your policy ends after we’ve made the payment. Please note we won’t pay the claim if:

• your illness leads to your death within two weeks after diagnosis,
• you harm yourself intentionally, or
• you took part in illegal activities (refer to exclusions on your policy).

8. Are there any restrictions on how I can spend my lump sum pay-out?
No, there are no restrictions on how you can spend your money. Once we’ve paid your claim, you can spend the money as you please. You can pay off your bond or car, take your family on holiday while you recuperate, pay for outstanding medical bills that aren’t covered by your medical aid scheme, cover expenses to see a specialist, or hire a home nurse.

9. What happens if my lifestyle changes?
Any material changes to your lifestyle could affect your serious illness cover or future claims. Therefore, you must inform us immediately of any of the following changes:

• your smoking habits,
• your participation in any risky sports or activities,
• your job, or
• if you intend to spend more than 30 consecutive days outside of South Africa in one of the following regions: The Middle East, Asia, South or Central America or in the rest of Africa.

10. Why should I consider Serious Illness Cover from Standard Bank?
Getting insurance for serious illness is one of the most important financial decisions you can make. It makes sense to take out life and health insurance with a bank trusted by millions of South Africans for over 150 years.

Get cover now
If you'd like to find out more about Standard Bank's Direct Life Insurance Services’ Serious Illness Cover, get a quote or request a Customer Service agent call you back.