May 8, 2007
Instant Life Insurance by SMS
South African insurance company Metropolitan Life has introduced a new service called Cover2Go, using -- Clickatell mobile messaging technology, to offer insurance cover to those on lower incomes in South Africa. [via
Insurance News.net]
The 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.
"Every day, a large majority of South Africans have to board minibus taxis, many of which are notoriously unsafe. ...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.
As a side note and from first hand experience, Clickatell who is a sponsor on textually.org, is the nicest company in the world to work with.
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