A smartphone and grade 11 education for a minimum commission of R150 for every funeral policy cover she secured.
This is what Thandiswa* needed to be an agent for one of the 30 insurance companies onboarded on the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) system to collect premiums from vulnerable social grant beneficiaries, in particular pensioners and those with disabilities.
“I was in my early 20s and unemployed, and I saw an advert on social media from someone who was recruiting agents to target old-age grant and disability grant beneficiaries,” said Thandiswa.
The two categories of recipients were targeted because they received the highest grants, and the law excludes other types of grants from being used for funeral policy deductions.
She would initially get R150 per funeral policy sale and was promised a weekly salary after a month.
“Pensioners are vulnerable and easy to confuse,” said Thandiswa.
She was based in KuGompo City, Eastern Cape, and was recruited with about 12 others.
“I called the number, and the recruiter said we can all meet in town, but we must wear black. She took us through the job, and one of the things she emphasised was that we must get subscribers at whatever cost, even if it meant lying to our target. When I joined, the most popular persuasive tactic was to tell the target what they stood to get if they signed up,” said Thandiswa.
Another tactic used was to promise food parcels to beneficiaries.
“We did door-to-door campaigns in villages, and you were always guaranteed a sale when you found a pensioner sitting alone. It used to be tricky because you don’t want to come across a person you have dealt with before because they might point you out.”
She only did the funeral policy sales job for a month before securing a job in retail.
“I could no longer play with people’s hopes and financial situations. I felt a lot of guilt, and I started telling those close to me not to accept funeral policies from people they meet in the streets.”
On Monday Sowetan wrote about how unscrupulous insurance companies are using misleading means to trick Sassa beneficiaries into signing up for funeral policies they sometimes do not need.
Sassa said the companies collect about R143.3m from its clients every month.
The agency said it has received 124 complaints since July last year from beneficiaries who were coerced or misled into taking policies which cost between R170 and R220 a month. This money is deducted before it reaches the beneficiary’s bank account.
Sassa said the complaints related to misrepresentation by some consultants.
Despite the problem being widespread, Sassa said it is yet to escalate cases to financial regulators or police.
“This is because Sassa has determined the identified cases arise from a limited understanding of policy terms and therefore do not constitute unauthorised deductions but rather misrepresentation. In some instances, beneficiaries had provided consent to the policy but later no longer required the cover,” said Sassa spokesperson Andile Tshona.
“It should be noted that where misconduct by sales agents of registered insurers is identified and substantiated, appropriate corrective action is taken. This includes the removal of such agents from the central industry register, thereby preventing them from conducting future sales to grant beneficiaries through this controlled deduction channel.”
Tshona said where concerns regarding unauthorised enrolments or disputed consent are identified, the matter is investigated with the relevant insurer, and supporting records are reviewed.
“Where the investigation confirms the policy was not validly authorised, the policy is cancelled, all affected deductions are refunded in full, and appropriate action is taken against the parties involved,” said Tshona.
Sowetan
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