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PPS LIFE INSURANCE
Since inception PPS has catered only to post-graduate
professionals, which is a niche market with a distinct
risk profile. Our 77 years of unwavering focus on this
group has unlocked the deep insights that enable PPS
to design and offer superior products that remain
cost competitive.
What we do
The PPS Sickness and Permanent Incapacity product –
our flagship product – offers more than the traditional
income protector package of most other insurers.
PPS sickness cover pays out if a member falls ill for a
period of time, without having to prove loss of earnings.
Unlike certain competitors, we do not deduct from the
payment should the member receive any remuneration
during the period of disability.
PPS also offers Life Cover, Lump Sum Disability,
Accidental Death, Critical Illness and Education Cover
products that are all intrinsically superior, due to PPS’s
built-in profit-share benefit.
Besides profit-sharing, other main differentiators are:
• International cover without loading or exclusions
• No discounting on disability payments or limits to
number of claims
• Automatic cover for potentially hazardous pursuits
such as scuba diving, flying private airplanes and
motorcycle racing. We have made allowances for the
fact that many graduates enjoy energetic pursuits
outside of their professions
As PPS membership has always been based on
educational levels, we reviewed our entry criteria
against education systems and standards. Our updated
criteria provides more clarity and transparency.
Performance
Membership numbers, market share and adviser
support all improved in the year of review. Gross
premiums from long-term insurance products grew
by 10%, while PPS policy lapse rates remain the lowest
in the industry.
Risks, challenges and opportunities
Our biggest challenge over the near future remains
the prevailing weak economic conditions over which
we have little control. The market environment during
2018 was comparable to the 2008 recession. The advent
of a new regulatory distribution environment (RDR) also
presented its challenges to PPS and our independent
advisers alike, in aligning procedures and practices to
new requirements. However, it also presented many
opportunities. One of these was to start a wholly owned
independent advisory practice, FS4P.
Prospects
In 2019 PPS will be introducing new interfaces to our
members to make engagement more seamless and
intuitive. These will include an automated membership
eligibility tool to speed up the process of adding
new members and a projection calculator to enable
members to calculate future values of their profit share,
including variations from buying more products or
cancelling existing products.
In the broader macro-economic context, South Africa’s
troubled political and economic environment adversely
affected consumer confidence levels which was
detrimental to new business volumes in the life insurance
industry during the year. While PPS was not immune to
this trend in 2018, we performed well, especially during
the second half of the year, and ended the year more or
less on par with 2017 in terms of new business inflow.
In economic challenging times one typically sees an
increase in claims. However, these have remained
within actuarially determined limits and we have made
appropriate provision for possible future claims.
GROUP OVERVIEW
PPS
INTEGRATED REPORT 2018
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