Telkom and Old Mutual today announced a co-operation agreement to offer innovative new solutions to their customers.  The first of these will see Telkom’s prepaid customers receive loyalty funeral cover – underwritten by Old Mutual – valued at R10 000 at no additional cost.
Telkom customers on the Sim-Sonke and Telkom More prepaid plans will qualify for the R10 000 funeral cover by simply recharging with R100 or more airtime, through single or multiple recharges amounting to R100 in one calendar month, opting in and nominating a beneficiary. The loyalty funeral cover will start at the beginning of the following month and will be valid until the end of that particular month.
Old Mutual has developed an innovative micro-insurance voucher system that will underpin this solution, enabling customers to opt-in, nominate and manage a beneficiary, track their loyalty funeral cover and even submit a death claim using the Old Mutual App or USSD.
“This innovative offer is a South African first. While competitors may offer paid premium insurance to their customers, Telkom will be rewarding customers for their airtime spend with funeral cover at no additional cost from one of the leading insurers in the country, Old Mutual,” explains Telkom CEO, Sipho Maseko.
The CEO of Old Mutual South Africa, Dave Macready, says, “I am excited about this partnership which is a great example of the effective digitalisation of financial services. Giving South Africans easy access to insurance products through their mobile devices not only reduces cost, it accelerates financial inclusion, which is critical to reducing poverty and inequality which contributes to boosting our nation’s development and future financial wellbeing.”
Qualifying customers will be required to opt-in for the funeral cover. Their personal details, as well as a nominated beneficiary will be captured, and the customer will then be eligible for the cover for as long as they maintain a monthly airtime spend of R100. In the event that customers fall short of the R100 airtime spend for a particular calendar month, they will not be eligible for the funeral cover during the following month.  Once the required spend is met again, cover will be reinstated for the subsequent calendar month.
Maseko and Macready added that while this partnership is currently focused on funeral cover, the two companies will continue to explore additional innovative options to diversify and deliver new value added services to the market.