South African insurance company Metropolitan Life has introduced a new service called Cover2go that offer insurance cover to those on lower incomes in South Africa.

The Cover2go service costs around R10 (approx €1), which is deducted from the phone’s airtime and provides instant life insurance for six days, paying out R60,000 (approx €6,300) in the case of accidental death. Cover2go has already been offered to the public at taxi ranks in Gauteng, South Africa, in a pilot campaign.

The customer purchases the policy by sending their name and identity number to a premium-rate number. The system, powered by Clickatell, replies with a confirmation and policy number, requests the name of a beneficiary, and reminds the policyholder to inform an associate about the life insurance. One policy is permitted per person and a renewal notification is sent on expiry.

“Every day, a large majority of South Africans have to board minibus taxis, many of which are notoriously unsafe. For people travelling over the most dangerous periods such as the Easter weekend, the risk to the wellbeing of their families is very real – 276 people died this past Easter holiday. Unfortunately, the common perception is that life assurance is a luxury that’s unaffordable and complicated to obtain. With Cover2go, people can get basic cover instantly, at very affordable prices, when they need it most,” says Derek Pead, CEO of Cover2go, a division of Metropolitan Life.

similar service in year 2005

http://www.slashphone.com/113/2154.html

via smstextnews