What is the Best Life Insurance Company in South Africa

In the last couple of years, it has been shown through various surveys, that South Africans are not so charmed with the insurance companies in the country. Also, each year has shown a decline in their satisfaction with their chosen brands. So looking for the best life insurance company has been a hit-and-miss affair.

However, according to the latest South African Customer Satisfaction Index, in 2016 things appear to have turned around, and the general satisfaction score is now 77.3 out of a possible 100. Significantly, last year in 2015 the score was 75.8. Over 2,500 customers took part in this survey.

Best Life Insurance – What is the SACsi? (South African Consumer Satisfaction Index)

The SACsi is an independent national indicator of customer satisfaction, about the quality and services available to the consumers. The benchmark is set by the USA at 80 out of 100. In 2016, South Africa stands at 77.3.

But South Africa has a highly complex and competitive market when it comes to life insurance products:

Best Life Insurance

Best Life Insurance – How is your Favourite Brand Doing?

By market share, the top life insurers in South Africa are:

  • Sanlam
  • Old Mutual
  • Liberty Life
  • Discovery Life
  • Metropolitan Life
  • ‘Others” – made up of smaller insurers

 

Best Life Insurance – And the Winner Is

In 2016, Metropolitan jumped to the leadership position, and Sanlam moved from the leader in 2015, to below index average this year.

  • Metropolitan, from 74.0 in 2015 to 81.1 in 2016
  • Momentum, from 78.2 to 79.3
  • Old Mutual, from 77.5 to 78.0
  • ‘Other’, from 73.7 to 77.8
  • Discovery Life, from 74.8 to 75.0
  • Sanlam, from 78.4 to 74.9
  • Liberty Life, from 76.5 to 74.1

Discovery Life, Sanlam, and Liberty Life are therefore all below index average.

Metropolitan Life, Momentum, and Old Mutual then compare well with the best life insurance companies in the US, UK, and Singapore.

Discovery Life, Sanlam, and Liberty Life score well below their counterparts in the US and the UK.

Other interesting points concerning the insurance companies

  • Old Mutual has the most customers who will recommend them to others. They also have the least that say they wouldn’t support them.
  • The only company living up to its customers’ expectations is Metropolitan Life.  And over the past three years, the customers’ expectations have also increased, so this statistic is particularly noteworthy.
  • Customers also think that the products of Discovery Life and Liberty Life are expensive. That is basically because of what they get, though.
  • Metropolitan Life also scores highest in what customers perceive as value for money. And that is where Sanlam and Liberty Life dropped below the industry average.
  • Liberty had its lowest score in three years, which coincides with them stopping their loyalty programme on new products.

 

What Customers Want

  • Excellent sales staff who know a lot about the products and have a pleasant manner
  • Prompt, and hassle-free service
  • Personalised services

Client satisfaction and quality of service go hand in hand. Customers want to feel that their life insurance company values them. And in this regard, it would seem that in 2016, Metropolitan Life is ticking all the right boxes in their effort to become the best in South Africa.

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All info was correct at time of publishing