FAQ

The Shackleton Life Bond Protection Endurance policy is an insurance policy that covers your life so that your bond and home loan obligation are taken care of in the event of your Death, Temporary and Permanent Disability, Dreaded Disease and Retrenchment. The Insurance cover pays out a lump sum amount in the event of Death, Permanent Disability and Dreaded Disease within 48 hours on acceptance of a valid claim. The policy also covers your monthly instalment in the event of Temporary Disability and Retrenchment.

Bond Protection Insurance cover is similar to Life Insurance, however is more suited to the requirements in relation to your home loan. A Bond Protection Insurance takes into consideration the Instalments of the home loan and will cover these instalments in the event of retrenchment, temporary disability, permanent disability, illness or injury. The policy is also automatically ceded to the Financial Institution ensuring that the proceeds of the policy gets paid directly to the Bank in the event of a valid claim. Your life cover on the other hand pays out to your beneficiary, and is usually put in place for certain life events such as paying for school fees or loss of the breadwinner’s income ensuring that their lifestyle is not compromised in any way. Often using your life insurance to pay for the home loan would mean that the original need that the life insurance was taken out for has now been used to pay for debt. Keeping these insurances separate identifies these needs and ensures that they get used for the reason they were intended and taken out. The Shackleton Life Bond Protection Endurance Policy is non-underwritten and therefore does not require any medicals or blood tests and acceptance is guaranteed, however pre-existing conditions are excluded for 24 months on death and for the term of the policy with regards to disability as well as there are other exclusions that are applicable, where as your Life insurance cover requires medical tests to determine if you can be granted cover upfront. In the case of Life cover, suppose you are declined due to medical reasons, you may risk being left without any cover to meet your financial obligations.

In certain instances it may be a condition on your bond being granted by a financial institution and certain requirements in terms of benefits will be stipulated upfront by your financial institution prior to the registration of your home loan. The Shackleton Life Bond Protection Endurance Policy caters for these requirements. Should it not be a condition it is still important to consider a Bond protection policy to ensure your family is protected from having your home repossessed or losing your home entirely in the event of Death, Disability, Dread disease etc. with all its wonderful memories.

Should you meet the following listed criteria you would be eligible:

– Have a newly approved home loan or an existing home loan that has been registered at the Deeds Office
– Minimum Entry Age of 18 Next Birthday
– Maximum Entry Age of 60 Next Birthday
– Valid RSA citizen or permanent resident with a valid RSA bank account

The maximum amount of cover cannot exceed the registered bond amount to a maximum of R2 000 000 worth of cover.

The Shackleton Life Bond Protection Endurance Policy premiums are not linked to inflation and are calculated based on your age and socio-economic risk factors. There is no set percentage by which your premium will increase year to year – each year as you get older your premiums will increase. The premiums may also be reviewed annually and changed based on the advice of the actuary of Old Mutual Alternative Risk Transfer Limited (OMART) a registered Long Term Insurer.

Premiums are paid monthly or annually in advance to enjoy cover, if you are unable to afford the premium then reducing or removing benefits is the only mechanism of making the cover cheaper.

A period of grace of one calendar month (calculated from the debit date you choose) shall be allowed for the payment of each premium however this grace period does not apply to the payment of the first premium on the commencement of insurance. If the first premium is not paid as required, the policy will lapse. Non-payment of the premiums on our policy will lead to the policy lapsing and benefits being lost.

Should a claim event arise immediate notification must be provided to Shackleton Life- Claims either telephonically 087 232 7014 or via email claims@shackletonlife.co.za within a period of 180 days. One of our trained and dedicated claim consultants will immediately contact you to assist you in the submission and assessment of your claim during this trying and difficult time.

You can choose to start your policy immediately or a future date, however it is important to note that you will not enjoy cover until the policy commences and furthermore your policy will only commence on condition that your first premium is successfully collected.

Our policy is underwritten by Old Mutual Alternative Risk Transfer Limited (OMART), a registered long term insurer.

No. Unlike conventional Credit life insurance, our Shackleton Life Bond Protection Endurance Policy continues as a ‘whole of life cover’, so that you never lose that protection as long as you continue to pay premiums. In the event that you pay-off your property or sell the house you may keep the policy as Life Cover and nominate a beneficiary.

It’s really up to you! You can request that your bond protection insurance policy kicks in when your bond is registered, or you can start sooner. But we always recommend that you start your policy sooner. Why? Well, to be honest, if anything should happen to you before the registration of your dream home, at least your family will still have the opportunity to continue with that dream. At Shackleton Life, we want to make sure your insurance policy protects your loved ones for the better, when life takes a turn for the worse.

HOC is the home owner’s “brick and mortar” comprehensive insurance cover which the bank requires the purchaser to take out. This cover protects the bond holder and the bank against accidental damage to the property. Shackleton Life offers comprehensive HOC cover that is underwritten by Discovery Insure and Alexander Forbes.

If your property is financed with a Bank then HOC is compulsory as the bank who finances the property wants to ensure that the asset that they have financed is protected against accidental damage, and the property can be restored to its original state so that the asset value is retained. When you take out a bond for the purchase of your home, the banks will insist that whilst you have a bond in place you insure your home against any unforeseen catastrophe or accidental damage. This insurance is commonly called “HOC Insurance”.
HOC cover ensures you are protected as a result of storms, fire damage, vandalism or any other incidentals that may occur. Even if you have paid off your bond, it is important that you keep your HOC Cover in place in case of any unforeseen circumstances. By insuring your home with HOC cover you have peace of mind, should an unforeseen catastrophe occur.

• All buildings on site which are approved by the local authority and show on your approved plans e.g. house, garages, out buildings
• All site improvements such as boundary walls, fences, gates, driveways, swimming pools, gazebos etc.
• All fittings and fixtures which are of a permanent nature such as built in cupboards, eye level ovens, hobs, light fittings, ceiling fans air-conditioning units, carpets wooden flooring etc. .
• The HOC policy also provides you with alternative accommodation if your home is uninhabitable due to an unforeseen insurable event.
• Full details of what is covered will be provided in your policy document.

• Storm, hail, snow, floods, wind, earthquake
• Fire Lightning or explosion
• Malicious damage, Theft, Impact
• Accidental breakage of fixed glass, mirrors or sanitary ware
• Accidental damage to sewerage, water, gas, electricity.
• Riot and strike insurance (Sasria)
• Public liability.

The replacement value is what it will cost to replace the asset (property) should it be totally destroyed e.g. in a fire.

It is not only the cost of rebuilding the house that should be considered, however all costs to rebuild the house including demolishing and removal of rubble in the event of a fire or complete loss of the house. It is important to ensure that the property is adequately covered at the correct replacement value for all these instances. The cover will also automatically escalate with inflation annually, however it is up to the insured to make sure that the replacement value is correct at all times; If the property is underinsured then the average principle will apply. So if the Replacement value of the house is R2 million and you insured the value at R1 million, then you would have underinsured by 50% and in the event of a claim the insurer will pay out at 50%.

Shackleton Life has contracts with Discovery Insure and Alexander Forbes as our partners who will ensure that you will get the best cover with an affordable premium. Shackleton Life will take care of the application process and make sure that all your needs are met and most importantly protecting your most valuable asset, your home!
We constantly strive to provide the best service possible and make our clients’ insurance experience a pleasant one.

You have the freedom of choice to choose where you would like to take your insurance. When you apply for a home loan, the bank will request that you take out a comprehensive insurance policy, this is to protect you and the bank from the risk of structural damage to your property. You as the client have freedom of choice to decide who you take cover with as long as it meets the Bank’s requirements – and our insurance always matches the requirements requested from the banks.

You cannot have the Bank’s policy and our policy at the same time as you will be dually insured which would mean you are over insured. Remember an asset can only be replaced once, and insured once, which means that you will be paying for Insurance you already have. This is why Shackleton Life holds your hand through the process ensuring you do not have double insurance.

Yes as the replacement value increases – This is to insure you are not underinsured. The price of material increases along with inflation so we have to ensure you are significantly covered but remember your Replacement Value is also increasing.

As soon as your bond is registered.
A Bond normally takes six – eight weeks to register. A Shackleton Life consultant will contact you to confirm the registration of the bond, but it is a good idea to inform us once the bond is registered as sometimes the bond can take much quicker to register.

The following list of events provides an idea of the cover:

• Fire, lightning or explosion
• Storm, wind, water, hail or snow ()
• Earthquake or earth tremor
• Theft, attempted theft and malicious damage
• Bursting or overflowing of geysers, fixed tanks, water or oil apparatus and pipes
• Impact by an animal, vehicle, falling trees
• Impact by aircraft and other aerial devices or articles dropped from them
• Limited subsidence cover – similar to optional Comprehensive Subsidence cover but does not cover damage caused by heave or the expansion and contraction of active spoils like clay

We purchase cover for you from Sasria SOC Limited (Sasria).

Sasria cover provides insurance against certain risks specifically excluded by this Policy E.g. riots, strikes, lock-outs or civil commotions which have a political, social or economic aim.

Our benefits include:

• Fire Brigade costs
• Your Temporary accommodation cost
• Accidental loss or damage to other’s property
• Accidental death or bodily injury to other people

Our excess range from R750 – R1000 depending on the plan you have chosen. Unlike other insurers our excess is per event and not per claim for e.g. should there be a heavy storm and that damages your roof which causes a rook leaf and that damages your wall. You will not pay a different excess for each claim as it will be considered as one event so you will only pay one excess.