If you are one of the many employees retrenched or put on short pay or unpaid leave as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown, you will be wondering how to cover the monthly instalments on your mortgage bond and other credit agreements. You have no doubt heard of the \u201cpayment holidays\u201d banks are offering, but remember that although these are a lot better than losing your house, car etc, they are no free lunch. Interest and fees will still be building up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why you need to check right now whether or not any of your credit agreements are covered by \u201ccredit life insurance\u201d. Many people don\u2019t even realise they have this cover in place<\/strong>, and those that do may look at the \u201clife\u201d part of the name and think \u201cwell that\u2019s no good to me or my family, I\u2019m unemployed not dead\u201d. The good news there is that most policies cover a host of other events leaving you unable to pay instalments \u2013 see below for more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may well have this cover in place without even realising it because it is commonly required when you take out any form of credit \u2013 think mortgage bonds, vehicle finance, credit cards, retail credit (store cards etc) and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you aren\u2019t sure, check your latest bond or credit statement for any sign of an insurance premium deduction (it may be called \u201cbalance protection\u201d or the like). Then contact the bank (or whichever credit grantor you are with) and ask them to check. You may not have it for example if at the time you ceded another life policy to the credit grantor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check what the terms of your particular policy are, but the minimum cover required by National Credit Act Regulations (which only affect credit agreements entered into on or after 9 August 2017) is –<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exclusions<\/strong> \u2013 the Regulations allow a long list of exclusions to be incorporated in your policy so check which apply to you. Most of them are common sense \u2013 for example lawful dismissal, retirement or resignation from employment \u2013 but if you are told that a particular exclusion applies to you and you don\u2019t agree ask your professional advisor for advice before conceding anything. Employers<\/strong> may be able to assist in this regard when structuring crisis outcomes with staff, but remember to do so only after taking your own legal advice! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Self-employed people<\/strong> and pensioners<\/strong> should check what cover they have under their particular policy, and what terms apply to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Disclaimer:<\/strong> The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.<\/p> \u00a9 LawDotNews<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you are one of the many employees retrenched or put on short pay or unpaid leave as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown, you will be wondering how to cover the monthly instalments on your mortgage bond and other credit agreements. You have no doubt heard of the \u201cpayment holidays\u201d banks are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101014,"featured_media":2057,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28,10,30,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-credit-law","category-employment-and-labour-law","category-personal-finance","category-property"],"yoast_head":"\nDo you have cover?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
What are you covered for?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n