Will my medical scheme benefit pay for everything if I get sick and need to go hospital?  What is gap cover?  Why do I need it?  Why is there a difference between what doctors charge and what my medical scheme pays? What is a hospital co-payment and will my gap cover pay for this?

These are just some of the many questions that Hykie Berg, award-winning actor, speaker and entrepreneur had when he was approached by Sirago Underwriting Managers to work with them on a consumer education series on gap cover, and what goes into building a resilient healthcare financial plan.

“I consider myself a reasonably astute financial person, but I soon realised when I started talking to Sirago that I had more unanswered questions around my family’s healthcare financial plan than answers. While we are fortunate to be on a comprehensive medical scheme benefit for my family, it never once occurred to me that we could face serious financial shortfalls on medical bills for in-hospital treatment. I assumed that having a medical scheme benefit meant that everything was covered. In fact, up until this point I had no idea what gap cover was. When I started working with Sirago on the “Closing the Gap’ series, I realised that very few of us take the time to really interrogate our insurance covers to understand what exactly we are covered for. We go through the motions with our financial advisors, but we need to take more responsibility when it comes to educating ourselves better, especially when it comes to something as important as your access to private healthcare when faced with a health crisis. With this knowledge and understanding, it made perfect sense for me to step up as a brand ambassador for Sirago. I am looking forward to sharing this crucially important knowledge with my followers and hopefully, we’ll be simplifying the many complexities that go into building an affordable and future built healthcare plan,” says Hykie.

As brand ambassador for Sirago Gap Cover, Berg’s own personal story with addiction, mental illness, and his process towards recovery are massively inspiring. 

“If there’s one thing that stands out when you meet Hykie Berg, it’s his sense of taking ownership and responsibility for the outcomes you want. His story resonates with our brand positioning of being ‘future built’ by building the resilience needed to recover even when things go terribly wrong.  This is exactly the message we want to get out to South Africans, and the importance of building resilience into their healthcare financial plan. In a world where unexpected medical expenses can turn lives upside down, we could not think of a better brand ambassador than Hykie whose enthusiasm and genuine care for people embodies the core values of Sirago Gap Cover to empower individuals to take control of their healthcare journey. Hykie’s charismatic personality and down to earth communication style make him the ideal spokesperson to connect with individuals from all walks of life, navigating complex insurance jargon, transforming it into relatable and easily accessible information,” explains Martin Rimmer, CEO of Sirago Underwriting Managers.

Join Hykie Berg and Martin Rimmer in Sirago’s “Closing the Gap” series where they empower individuals to bridge the gap between their health and financial security.  

Catch all the episodes by subscribing to the Sirago Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@siragounderwritingmanagers7239

Sirago Underwriting Managers (Pty) Ltd is an Authorised Financial Services Provider (FSP: 4710) underwritten by GENRIC Insurance Company Limited (FSP: 43638), an Authorised Financial Services Provider and licensed non-life insurer.