Process steps in TE Manual

What is a beneficiary?

A beneficiary is the person on the policy who has the right to receive the payout in the event that a claim is admitted for a particular benefit.

At indie we have three categories of beneficiaries:

1. The policyholder who is the default beneficiary for the disability products (Income Protection & Disability cover), Critical Illness, Family Funeral Cover and Wealth Bonus.

2. A third party, usually a natural person, but can also be an organisation or trust, who is the beneficiary for the death benefits (Life Cover + Quick Payout, Death Income Protection & Funeral Cover).

3. A cessionary, usually a bank or a home loan provider, who becomes the new owner of the policy, and has rights to receive the payout on the benefits stipulated in the cessionary agreement between the policyholder and the bank. Head over to the Help Centre to read up on cessions

Things to consider for beneficiary nominations

A policyholder can nominate up to 20 beneficiaries, but if they don't, all death benefit payouts will go the client's estate.

We don't dictate who the client should nominate as a beneficiary, as long as the beneficiary has an active South African bank account, we're good to payout for an admitted claim. This includes foreigners and individuals living abroad (although overseas beneficiaries may need to follow a few additional steps to get the payout).

Many clients take out policies to protect their children from financial difficulties should the parent pass away. As a result children are often nominated as the beneficiary. By law, we cannot payout to a minor child and it would be to the client's disadvantage to nominate a person under 18 as their beneficiary. That said, we don't disallow policyholders from nominating children as beneficiaries. There is another great Help Centre article that gives more details on this topic.

Lastly, Sanlam Indie will payout only to the nominated beneficiary or cessionary, or the estate in the absence of a nominated beneficiary. Once the payout goes to the right hands, we no longer have any say on how that payout needs to be allocated. It's up to the recipient to settle any debts left behind by the policyholder, as well as any final expenses that come with the death of an individual.