13 | Who we are and what makes us different PPS Integrated Report 2021 PPS Group, is operated according to the principles and ethos of mutuality. Since there are no external shareholders, any profits generated after paying expenses and honouring valid claims are shared with members who hold qualifying products. After paying for the costs of running the business, all money from premiums and investment returns is eventually returned to members, either in the form of claims payments or as additions to their ProfitShare Accounts. Paying an invalid claim means money that could have been added to the general Profit-Share pool is wrongly paid to a particular member, so it is the short-term insurance team’s role to ensure that all claims are valid. Our eligibility criteria for membership of PPS and how we underwrite risk enables us to ensure that the risk pool remains healthy. Professionals generally display certain behaviours, such as acting in accordance with certain codes of conduct and managing risks responsibly. This leads to lower claims and ultimately to lower premiums. It also means there are more profits to share between members: a virtuous cycle. Health Professions Indemnity Designed for South African healthcare professionals registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, PPS Health Professions Indemnity offers innovative features that provide peace of mind for professionals engaged in clinical practice. A contractbased insurance product, it was created in response to precipitous increases in professional indemnity costs and a progressively more aggressive legal environment. Developed in collaboration with a US partner that is highly experienced in medical malpractice litigation, it is specifically designed to provide the indemnity insurance needed by contemporary healthcare professionals and to help them manage the risk profiles of their practices. Its most important benefit is that it enables members who have this product to focus on their clinical practices, secure in the knowledge that they are indemnified by a brand they know and trust. Like all other PPS insurance products, PPS Health Professions Indemnity has an added mutuality benefit, which allows for members with qualifying life risk products to share in the profits generated by the PPS Group. Medical aid Via a PPS affiliate, PPS offers access to a closed medical aid scheme Profmed, which provides medical and healthcare benefits to members, their families and even eligible students. Profmed was launched by PPS more than 50 years ago and focuses on providing cover for major medical events. This scheme is administered by PPS Healthcare Administrators. Professionals appreciate access to an efficient scheme that supports them, especially if they require major procedures, expensive treatments and extended recovery periods. With five benefit options to choose from, the PPS ethos of mutuality is again applied by offering a profit allocation for members who use the scheme and who also hold certain qualifying life products. It provides exceptional service that respects the time constraints under which professionals operate and is renowned for its timeous, hassle-free payouts. Our members benefit from the scheme’s lower risk profile as all members of the scheme are either graduate professionals or eligible students. Wills and estates A life well-lived is one that leaves behind a meaningful legacy. With our focus on long-term benefits and protection, we aim to protect a lifetime of accumulated wealth from being eroded due to poor planning. Informed by an intimate understanding of the provisions that need to be made for beneficiaries when a member passes on, we offer a range of fiduciary services that encompass estate planning, Wills, trusts and estate administration. The estate planning service aims to ensure that members’ estates are well structured and distributed according to their wishes when they pass away. Effective estate planning can ensure that estate duty, taxes and other costs are minimised as far as possible and can make extending a legacy to multiple generations much easier. This service enables our members to provide for and protect beneficiaries with special needs. At the centre of all estate planning is a valid Will, which specifies exactly how a member’s estate is to be distributed. All people over the age of 16 should have a Will and this should be updated as necessary to accommodate important life stage events such as marriages, divorces, births and deaths. Equally important is making provision for the administration of our members’ estates. Estate administration – which is another of the fiduciary services we provide – is a process that needs to be handled with empathy, efficiency and professionalism in the shortest possible time after a member’s death. Specialist advisers are dedicated to informing our members about our fiduciary services and options, and to guide them through the process of planning for the final chapter of their life stories.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzI4MzY4