<strong>By: Felix Kamenga, MTN SA Chief Officer of MTN Mobile Financial Services and <span lang="EN-GB">Jan Steenkamp, Chief Executive of Strategic Business Development at Sanlam Personal Finance (SPF).</span></strong>

<h3><strong><i><span lang="EN-GB">MTN South Africa and Sanlam Personal Finance announce that Sanlam Indie’s InsurTech offering is now available to MTN’s digitally-savvy customers.</span></i></strong></h3>

<span lang="EN-GB">Following the recent announcement of MTN SA and Sanlam’s joint initiative aimed at bringing affordable and convenient InsureTech offerings to a wider range of consumers, the companies have announced the first joint offering that forms as part of this collaboration. This sees Sanlam Indie, a range of innovative and inclusive financial services, now being made available to MTN’s digitally-savvy customers.</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">This initiative is one of the first steps being taken to cement MTN’s foothold in Fintech in South Africa.</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">“By harnessing the power of technology, we have made a range of financial services available to our customers anytime and anywhere. This was the obvious next step for MTN SA in line with MTN Group’s strategy of driving financial inclusion across the 21 markets it operates in, including South Africa,” says Felix Kamenga, MTN SA Chief Officer of MTN Mobile Financial Services.</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">“For Sanlam, this initiative represents a meaningful step in introducing smarter ways to create and protect customers’ wealth through new technologies that create game-changing value for the increasing number of digital-savvy customers.</span><span lang="EN-GB">  </span><span lang="EN-GB">They need easy, trusted platforms that enable them to meet their insurance needs,” says Jan Steenkamp, Chief Executive of Strategic Business Development at Sanlam Personal Finance (SPF).</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">Over the last number of years, Sanlam has invested in creating a new ‘digital first’ set of insurance solutions, called Sanlam Indie. Through this partnership, MTN will be making this set of solutions available via its digital platforms.</span><span lang="EN-GB">  </span><span lang="EN-GB">The offering includes funeral cover, which automatically doubles its cover after two years at no extra cost, for example if you are covered for R50,000 per annum, Sanlam Indie will automatically double your cover to R100 000 after two years of your policy.</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">The InsurTech also offers various life insurance products such as life cover, income protection, critical illness cover, disability cover and death income protection. MTN customers can get quotes and complete the purchase of all these products through their mobile devices connected to the network.</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">What sets this apart, however, is that every policy includes a free, built-in investment, called Wealth Bonus, where Sanlam matches up to 100 % of the customer’s monthly premium with an additional 10% Wealth Bonus for MTN customers. This extra 10% contribution has a material impact on the wealth builder value over time due to the compounding effect in the investment.</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">For example, a 24-year-old female MTN customer paying R150 per month would enjoy R1.6 million life cover (based on her profile) and a premium match of 110% (based on her age). Every five years, she’ll be able to access 10% of her growing investment, which can either be withdrawn or left to grow until her full Wealth Bonus unlocks at age 70. Ordinarily, her Wealth Bonus would be R2.3 million at this stage, but as an MTN client, she’ll receive a Wealth Bonus of R2.8 million at age 70. Essentially, if she passes away, her life cover will pay out, and if she doesn’t, she’ll receive a sizeable investment payout.</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">“The best thing about having the Wealth Bonus is that it’s a built-in investment tool that does not come at an additional cost to the customer. All that customers need to focus on is paying their premiums while they see their Wealth Bonus grow,” says Steenkamp.</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">Optimised for digital platforms, the sign-up process takes just 10 minutes and eliminates the need for paperwork, promoting financial inclusion by turning what is ordinarily an onerous task into one that can be completed by virtually anyone, anywhere with ease.</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">Premium payments have also been redesigned with modern customers in mind. Every client will enjoy up to five consecutive premium skips every year. Unlike traditional models, clients won’t lose their cover completely when missing a payment. Instead, their cover will be proportionally adjusted until their premium payments are back on track, without any effect on their existing Wealth Bonus.</span>

<span lang="EN-GB">“By collaborating with MTN, we believe that we will be able to reach more customers via the platforms that they are comfortable with, and can tap into the growing digital generation,” says Steenkamp. </span>

<span lang="EN-GB">The partnership represents a significant collaboration in that both companies share similar objectives of fostering financial inclusion and making financial services available to all. </span>

<span lang="EN-GB">“By doing away with paperwork, we are once again demonstrating our commitment to brighten our customer’s lives by offering solutions that are hassle-free and add real value to their lives. We believe that this initiative will redefine how customers access financial services in the future,” concludes Kamenga.</span>

<strong><span lang="EN-GB">MTN customers can access these insurance products online:</span></strong>

<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://www.mtn.co.za/Pages/Insurance.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.mtn.co.za/Pages/Insurance.aspx&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1572514931302000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEGobECgwVIiyMh77HeN0mq4fRbCg">https://www.mtn.co.za/Pages/<wbr></wbr>Insurance.aspx</a></span>