Best life insurance companies in SA

1Life offers Life Insurance with unique benefits, ensuring your loved ones are covered against the loss of the breadwinner in your home. You can get cover of up to R300,000 tax-free as a lump sum which can be used for day-to-day costs, like your children's school fees and medical bills. There is also the option to upgrade your cover to up to R12 million, ensuring your family's lifestyle doesn't suffer. 1Life offers the opportunity to save on your insurance premiums when you apply online. Other unique benefits include no paperwork or medical examinations, free financial advice, and an online financial needs analysis tool.

Absa Instant Life insurance offer Life Insurance that is high quality and affordable. Choose from Life Cover of up to R6 million, Work Disability Insurance Cover of up to R4.5 million, and Critical Illness Cover of up to R3 million. The Life Cover plan covers natural and accidental death, while the Work Disability plan offers cover if you become unable to work due to illness or injury. Instant Life also pays out up to 12 months before death if you're diagnosed with a terminal illness, and gives you 20% cash back every 10 years.

Affordability meets security with Assupol's Life Insurance policies. Choose from Progress 4Sure, with premiums from cover up to R300,000, or Progress 4Life with cover up to R1.2 million. You can also opt to include additional benefits in your plan. The On-Call Plus benefit can help provide money for groceries, while the Assupol On-Call benefit offers medical benefits and more.

More than just a Car Insurance company, Auto & General offers Life Insurance, dread disease, and disability cover so you can support your family financially when you are no longer there. Pure Life Cover pays out from R200,000 to R10 million to up to 10 listed beneficiaries, with a R50,000 funeral benefit paid out within 24 hours of a valid claim. Premiums are fixed for the first two years. All accidental death is immediately covered, but suicide is covered after two years.

With more than 100 years' experience, AVBOB has reliably served South Africans and provided peace of mind to families for generations. AVBOB's Cashback Lifestyle Life Insurance offers insured amounts from R30,000 to R500,000, with death cover paid out in three steps: a 10% funeral accelerator paid immediately, a 70% lump sum once underwriting is complete, and a 20% survivor benefit paid over the following four months. The policy has a stepped waiting period for natural causes, with the full insured amount payable once the policy has run for 24 months or longer; claims resulting from suicide carry the same 24-month waiting period. Cashback Lifestyle also covers specific disabilities, including total loss of vision or speech, amputation, paraplegia and quadriplegia, along with critical illnesses such as heart attack, stroke causing permanent damage, coronary artery bypass graft, and invasive cancer.

Known as the affordable insurance option in South Africa, Budget offers Life Insurance that is underwritten by 1Life Insurance Limited. Premiums are calculated based on your age, lifestyle, gender, occupation, and health. Budget's Dread Disease Cover offers cover from R50,000 to R4 million, with a Guaranteed Assurability option that lets you increase your cover amount if your lifestyle changes, for example getting married or having a child. The plan pays out a percentage of your cover amount depending on severity, from 25% for a life-impacting diagnosis up to 100% for a life-threatening one.

Best known for its free Will-drafting service, Capital Legacy also offers life cover through MyCover™, underwritten by Guardrisk Life Ltd, a licensed life insurer. MyCover™ pays out up to R10 million to your chosen beneficiaries, a trust, or your estate, without executor or trustee fees deducted from the payout. MyCover™ is designed to work alongside Capital Legacy's core Legacy Protection Plan™, which covers estate costs like executor and legal fees rather than paying a lump sum to your family. You can also add MyAbility™, an optional extender offering up to R5 million in critical illness and impairment cover.

Dialdirect wants to take the unsure out of insurance and offers their clients direct insurance, with no middleman. This means their plans are meant to be easy to understand, easy to purchase, and easy to maintain. Choose Pure Life Insurance or get insurance that includes Dread Disease or Disability cover. The Dialdirect Pure Life Insurance plan offers you cover for your entire life of between R50,000 and R10 million. The plan includes a R50,000 funeral payout within 48 hours and instant cover for accidental death. To get Dread Disease Insurance, they require you to take an HIV test rather than a full medical exam, and Disability Insurance premiums stay the same for the first two years.

Dis-Chem Life offers flexible Life Cover that rewards you for staying healthy, underwritten by Guardrisk Life Limited, a licensed Life Insurer. You can get cover amounts from R250,000 up to R10 million, through a fully online, AI-powered application with no medicals required. As a policyholder, you also unlock Better Rewards, with up to 100% off on more than 180 of South Africa's favourite brands, plus a complimentary annual health check. Dis-Chem Life also offers Chronic Life Cover of up to R20 million for people managing conditions like HIV, diabetes, hypertension, asthma or high cholesterol, and Critical Illness Cover paying out up to 200% across more than 200 illnesses, including cancer, heart attack and stroke.

Get a Life Insurance plan from Different Life that is underwritten by Old Mutual Alternative Risk Transfer Limited. Different Life offers Life Cover of between R100,000 and R10 million, depending on your income. Different Life wants to make a difference in the world, so you can donate your first payment every year to a charity of your choice! It won't cost you anything extra or affect your pay-out in any way. Different Life partners with hippo.co.za to offer you the ability to get a free quote online and to complete the entire sign-up process online. Each Different Life policy is tailored to the needs of the insured person and to their lifestyle.

One of South Africa's leading insurance providers, Discovery has the capacity to offer many options and great benefits that you won't find with other insurance providers. You can even get Life Insurance that pays out in US dollars with the Dollar Life Plan. With four Life Plans on offer, from the flexible Essential Life Plan to the high-net-worth Purple Life Plan, and the ability to diversify and optimise your cover, Discovery is sure to have something unique for you. With exemplary claim records, PayBack of up to 100% of your premiums, and the option to link Vitality and get rewarded for good lifestyle choices, Discovery Life Insurance makes insuring your financial future easy. You can get cover from as little as R200 a month as well as plans that cover disability, severe illness, income continuation, education and more.

The first insurance designed specifically for women, First for Women provides insurance that empowers and supports the women in South Africa. First For Women thinks of Life Insurance as a gift to your family, whether it's for your kids, spouse or siblings. You can choose Pure Life Cover, with Basic (up to R200,000) and Elevated (from R200,000) options, plus Dread Disease Cover, All Woman Dread Disease Cover, and Disablement Cover. Your cover doesn't expire (it is lifelong) and you can add up to 10 beneficiaries. You can get up to R10 million in cover, and access to added benefits unique to First For Women.

Being one of South Africa's largest privately owned insurance groups, Hollard offers simplified and easy insurance solutions with great benefits. Hollard's Life Cover with No Medicals plan offers cover of up to R1.2 million with no medical tests required. If you've had an HIV test in the last 12 months with a negative result, you can get up to R360,000 extra cover at no additional cost. Hollard's Specialist Life Cover, also available without medicals or HIV tests, pays back a percentage of your premiums as cash every five years. Choose the My Life & More plan to combine funeral, Life Insurance, and home contents insurance into one policy, with up to R450,000 life cover, R100,000 funeral cover and R50,000 home contents cover, plus benefits like a December premium holiday, meaning Hollard won't collect premiums during December.

The iWYZE Life policy is underwritten by Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (South Africa) Limited, a company established to offer financial security to South African's in uncertain times. iWyze aims to improve the lives of their customers and their communities while offering insurance that is easy to understand. With iWyze Life Insurance, you can get affordable premiums that are tailored to your needs and budget. iWyze Life Insurance cover starts at R250,000 and goes to a maximum of R3 million. Free HIV testing is included as a benefit anywhere in South Africa, while no extensive medical examinations are needed to get a policy with iWyze. For the first 23 months, your premiums will stay the same, and thereafter premiums will increase by only 5%. You can also add as many beneficiaries as you like as well as purchase additional benefits like terminal illness cover.

Liberty offers insurance solutions that include protection-based offers and investment-based solutions tailored for personal, family, or business benefits. Their offers include plans that cover disability, accidents, critical illness, funerals, income, medical costs, or a comprehensive solution. Liberty's Life Cover has no cap on cover amount, subject to underwriting, with a minimum of R100,000 and cover available from age 15 to 80. Benefits include an Immediate Expenses Benefit of up to R100,000 paid within 48 hours, a Funeral Benefit of up to R100,000, and a Wellness Bonus of up to 40% of your premiums back in cash. You also have the option of investing as a means of covering your family and future financially if anything unforeseen should happen that you can no longer be there for them. The investment options include investing a lump-sum, investing regularly, investing for retirement, and investing to generate an income.

Established in 1897, Metropolitan has grown and expanded to offer South Africans insurance solutions to equip them to make sound financial decisions. Metropolitan's Life Cover options include Cover up to Age 60 and Cover for Life, both offering up to R5 million in cover from as little as R95 a month. Metropolitan offers a basic life cover option that gives you a pay-out of up to R500,000 and comprehensive life cover that covers you for up to R5 million.

For only one premium, you get comprehensive Life Insurance, accelerated funeral cover, funeral cover for family, and a terminal illness accelerator benefit. Cover will grow by 5% each year and provides a pay-out upon proof of death of the insured, whether accidental or by illness. As an example, R500,000 in Life Cover starts from R164 a month. MiWay life policies are underwritten by Sanlam Life Insurance Limited. The 4-in-1 Life Insurance plan can offer funeral cover for yourself, your spouse, up to eight biological, adopted, or step children, four parents, and eight extended family members. Each person added does, however, affect your premium amount. The accelerated funeral benefit pays out 10% of your life cover, up to R50,000, within 48 hours, while the Terminal Illness Accelerator lets you claim 50% or 100% of your cover early if diagnosed with a terminal illness. New policyholders can also earn 10% of their total premiums back every 24 months through Micashback™.

Through advice, support, innovative products, and quality service, Momentum aims to help you reach your financial dreams and safeguard your future. Their Life Insurance cover options include cover for disability, impairment, critical illness, income protection, and more, with cover of up to R10 million. Choose from their essential, extended, or comprehensive Life Insurance plans. With Momentum, you can enjoy the flexibility of tailoring benefits to suit your needs, along with industry-leading benefits like Longevity Protector® and Breadth of Cover Guarantee®. Momentum policyholders can also save up to 35% on their premiums through LifeReturns®, a personalised discount based on your health assessment.

Offering a variety of financial solutions to clients, Old Mutual offers premium financial services to benefit your future. You're covered up to 30 days before your first premium is due, and Old Mutual commits to paying what they promise, backed by over 180 years of experience. Old Mutual offers four Life Insurance solutions: Protect Life Cover, Protect Life Income Cover, Protect Last Survivor Cover, and Protect Accidental Death Cover. Without medical tests, you can get up to R3 million on Life Cover, R10,000 a month on Life Income Cover, R1 million on Last Survivor Cover, or R2 million on Accidental Death Cover, all with an easy application and approval process.

Multi-award-winning cover and a scope reaching across continents, Sanlam has the capacity to offer you tailored and broad solutions. Sanlam Life Insurance has protected South African families for over 100 years. Enjoy convenient, cost-effective, and secure insurance with benefits like a free built-in Wealth Bonus and the option to split your payout, so your family receives a quick portion within two days of a claim to cover immediate costs. Sanlam offers flexible premiums that start at R100 per month and a once-off, tax-free pay-out to your beneficiaries when you pass away. Sanlam Reality members can also save up to 30% on their monthly premium, and the Cashback benefit pays back up to 100% of your contributions after 15 years.

Simply aims to offer Life Insurance to meet the needs of South Africans at a price they can afford. Plans include Flexi Family Cover, Flexi Domestic Cover, and Flexi Staff Cover for businesses, underwritten by Old Mutual Alternative Risk Transfer Ltd. Flexi Family Cover offers Life Cover from R50,000 to R2.5 million, Disability Cover up to R2.5 million, and Funeral Cover up to R100,000 for unlimited family members, plus a R3,000 grocery benefit and early payout for terminal illness. Flexi Domestic Cover offers similar protection for domestic workers, with Life Cover up to R200,000 and Disability Cover up to R400,000, both capped relative to salary. Flexi Staff Cover gives businesses up to R2.5 million in combined Life, Disability and Critical Illness Cover for employees.