Tough economic environment demands savvy personal financial management

It’s been a bruising first half of 2018 for consumer pockets.  The Vat increase in April to 15% has seen an increase in the cost of all vat-rated goods and services, a hefty increase in the fuel price at the beginning of June has already impacted the cost of food and transport, and SA’s dismal showing in the quarterly economic growth figures has left South Africans concerned about the increased costs of living in the months ahead.  The culmination of all these factors is likely to see a hike in inflation, which means the cost of everything is going up – except your salary! 

“In tough economic times, most South Africans are looking to reign in their spending and cut back on unnecessary costs as far as possible.  Luxury items, pay TV and data subscriptions, groceries, alcohol, clothing and entertainment are usually first to face the chop when budgets are taking strain. But an overlooked area of reigning in spending is to revisit the hidden costs associated with your personal loan.  Most people assume that these monthly repayments are fixed and that there’s little that can be done to trim costs, but an area where significant savings can be realised is on the cost of the credit life insurance which most banks make mandatory when taking out a personal loan,” explains Tlalane Ntuli, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Yalu, a digital insurer that offers credit life insurance.

If you currently have a personal loan, you will have credit life insurance which banks require as security for your debt should you become unable to service your loan repayments due primarily to death, disability or retrenchment.  Most people don’t even know they have this cover or how much its actually costing them – people simply accept the credit life insurance that’s offered at the point of signing their loan agreement to avoid the ‘hassle factor’, never giving it a second thought again.  In fact, most consumers don’t know that they are not obligated to take this cover with the bank and that there are more affordable options with better benefits available to them. Even on an existing loan, you can switch your credit life insurance to a provider that offers lower rates and benefits without any repercussions for your loan as long as there is no break in cover,” explains Tlalane.   

New credit life insurance regulations came into force in August 2017 which capped credit life insurance costs to R4.50 per R1000 loaned, and it allows consumers to select their own preferred credit life provider rather than the bank offering, and to switch their existing cover should they find a product offering that better meets their needs. What’s particularly important to note is that the capping of fees for credit life insurance premiums only applies to new loans and not retrospectively, and none of the loan providers have revised their existing credit life premiums downwards since August 2017.  This means that you could easily be paying more than double the new capped rate for your credit life insurance.   

Here’s a simple example to illustrate the potential monthly savings if you switch to Yalu: 

On a personal loan of R60 000 with a repayment period of three years.    

• Total credit life paid at R3.50 per 1000 over three years: R210/pm x 36 = R7 560
• Total credit life paid at pre-Aug 2017 rate of R8.50 per R1000 over three years: R510/pm x 36 = R18 360
• Difference:  R10 800 over 36 months or R300 per month

“If you’re looking to cut costs, take a good look at your current personal loan agreements and make sure you are paying the best possible rate for your credit life cover.  By switching your cover to more affordable rates and better benefits with Yalu, the money saved can rather go towards paying off your existing loan and reducing the impact of compound interest on your pocket, or can be redirected to paying for more essential household expenses” says Tlalane. 

Yalu’s monthly credit life premiums also decrease automatically as the outstanding loan amount reduces each month as you are not required to maintain a credit life policy in excess of your actual liability.  However most loan providers keep the monthly premium at a flat rate for the duration of the loan term.  Yalu is also the only credit life provider that offers 10% of premiums back in cash at the end of the loan term if you don’t claim.  

So, before you think that swopping your existing overpriced credit life cover isn’t worth the hassle, consider what it would mean for your pocket and finances if you could pay the savings on your credit life policy in on your loan repayments instead?  When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and that means being diligent about saving and enjoying the cumulative impact of all your cost-cutting measures.

For more information go to www.yalu.co.za

 

ABOUT YALU
Our name “Yalu” is short for the Zulu term isiyalu - the source of a river.  Yalu was born out of a passion to nourish and bring life to the world of credit life insurance. Our goal of delivering true value for money is evident in the transparency of our products, the simplicity of our process and the fairness of our pricing.  Simply put, we believe in doing right by our customers. By making credit life insurance easy to understand, ensuring that you pay what is fair and rewarding you when you settle your loan, we are changing the face of credit life insurance for your benefit.

For more information go to www.yalu.co.za