When you apply for life, disability or income protection cover, your insurer considers more than your job title. The work you actually perform, where you perform it, how often you travel and the activities you take part in may all influence how your cover is assessed.
Your Job Title Does Not Tell the Full Story.
Two people with the same job title may perform very different duties.
For example, one engineer may spend most of the day working in an office, while another may regularly visit construction sites, work underground, enter factories or travel to remote locations. Insurers may therefore consider:
- The industry in which you work
- Your normal day-to-day duties
- Whether your work is mainly office-based or manual
- Whether you supervise employees in an office, factory or on-site environment
- How much time you spend travelling for work
- Whether you work with machinery, chemicals, electricity, heights or other occupational hazards
- Whether you have a second occupation or additional source of employment
You may also be asked to provide a percentage breakdown of the time spent performing different duties. This helps the insurer understand what you actually do rather than relying only on your job title.
Why Your Work-Duty Split Matters
Your occupational duties may be divided between activities such as:
- Office or desk-based work
- Staff supervision
- Travelling to clients or work sites
- Site, factory or field supervision
- Light, moderate or heavy manual work
Even a small change in these duties can alter the nature of your occupational risk. For example, moving from a mainly office-based position into a role that includes regular site visits, manual work or exposure to hazardous environments may place your occupation in a different underwriting category.
This does not automatically mean that your cover will be declined or that your premium will increase. It simply means that the insurer may need to reassess the risk and confirm whether your existing terms remain appropriate.
Have You Changed Jobs or Industries?
You should review your cover when:
- You change employers
- You receive a promotion or move into a new role
- Your duties change substantially
- You start performing more manual or site-based work
- You become self-employed
- You start a second occupation
- You move into a different industry
- You begin working on a fixed-term or part-time basis
- Your employer or workplace moves outside South Africa
A change from one industry to another may be important even where your job title remains the same. Different industries may carry different levels of occupational risk and may therefore fall into different underwriting categories.
Foreign Travel May Also Need to Be Disclosed
Insurers may need to know when you regularly travel or work outside South Africa. The assessment may take into account:
- The countries you visit
- The reason for the travel
- How frequently you travel
- How long you stay
- Whether you stay in cities, rural areas or isolated locations
- The type of accommodation and transport used
- The work or activities you perform while abroad
- The security arrangements in place
- Access to medical care or emergency evacuation services
Business travel, temporary work assignments and permanent residence outside South Africa may be assessed differently.
Occasional holiday travel may not always require a policy change, but frequent travel, extended stays or travel to higher-risk destinations should be discussed with your financial adviser or insurer.
What About Hazardous Pursuits?
Certain hobbies and recreational activities may also affect how life, disability or income protection cover is assessed. Examples may include:
- Motor racing or competitive motorsport
- Aviation
- Scuba diving
- Mountain climbing
- Skydiving
- Hunting in remote areas
- Extreme or high-risk sports
- Activities performed at significant heights, depths or speeds
Insurers may consider how frequently you participate, your level of experience, whether the activity is competitive, the equipment used and the safety measures in place.
Taking up a new hazardous activity after your policy has started does not necessarily mean that your cover will change. However, it is important to check your policy terms and disclose the activity where required.
Why Disclosure Matters
Insurance is assessed based on the information provided to the insurer. Incomplete or outdated information may create complications when a claim is submitted. Depending on the policy terms and the importance of the undisclosed information, it could affect the assessment or payment of a claim.
The key is simple: Tell us when your work, travel or activities change.
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At SWL Financial Services, we can help you review your existing life, disability and income protection cover and confirm whether your current occupation, duties, travel and activities have been properly disclosed.
This content is provided for general information purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Please consult a qualified financial adviser before making financial decisions.
