Most of us plan around the life we expect to live.
We plan for the home we want to own, our children’s education, career ambitions, holidays and retirement. What we are less likely to plan for is cancer, a heart attack, stroke or another serious illness.
When you’re healthy, working and getting on with life, it’s easy to think: “It won’t happen to me.”
And even when we do think about serious illness, another assumption can offer reassurance: “I have medical aid, so I’m covered.”
But are either of those assumptions enough to build your financial future around?
Serious illness is more common than we’d like to think
Old Mutual’s claims experience provides a useful reality check.
In 2025, Old Mutual paid R827 million in Severe Illness benefits, with 68% of Severe Illness claims relating to cancer, coronary artery bypass grafts, heart attacks and strokes. (Old Mutual Claims Statistics, 2025)
The numbers matter because behind every claim is a person whose ordinary life was interrupted, often while they still had financial commitments, responsibilities and people depending on them.
“One of the most important financial conversations we can have is about the things we don’t expect to happen. Serious illness can feel distant when we’re healthy, but planning isn’t about assuming something bad will happen. It’s about understanding whether your finances could respond if life changed unexpectedly,” says Phumza Somhlaba, Marketing Manager at Old Mutual Personal Finance.
But I have medical aid. Isn’t that enough?
Medical aid plays an important role in helping meet healthcare costs. But treatment is only one part of what a serious illness can change financially.
Recovery could mean time away from work, additional transport, support at home or other unexpected expenses. At the same time, everyday commitments, from the bond and groceries to school fees and family responsibilities, may continue.
That is why having medical aid and being financially prepared for a serious illness are two different questions.
“The conversation shouldn’t stop at, ‘Do I have medical aid?’ A better question is, ‘If I became seriously ill, what would happen financially beyond my treatment costs?’ Understanding that difference can help you identify what your current financial plan does and doesn’t provide for,” says Somhlaba.
The need to ask those questions is significant. The 2025 ASISA insurance gap study estimates that more than 85% of South African earners have no severe illness cover. (Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA), 2025 Insurance Gap Study)
So, how prepared are you?
You don’t need to predict the future. But there are questions you can answer today:
If I became seriously ill, what financial commitments would continue? What expenses might my medical aid not cover? How long could my savings support me? Who else would be financially affected? And do I understand what protection I already have?
If you don’t know all the answers, that’s a conversation worth having.
A financial adviser can help you understand your existing financial protection; identify areas you may not have considered and discuss whether Severe Illness Cover has a role in your financial plan.
“You don’t need to arrive at the conversation knowing which product you need. Start with your life, your responsibilities and the questions you don’t yet have answers to. Change happens with the right conversation,” says Somhlaba.
Don’t wait until the questions become urgent.
Understand how financially prepared you are for a serious illness.
Start the conversation
Start the conversation with a financial adviser.
Speak to your financial adviser or visit the Old Mutual Illness Insurance page to learn more.
CANSA and Old Mutual Personal Finance Partnership
CANSA and Old Mutual Personal Finance have joined forces to help South Africans better understand the wider financial impact of severe illness and encourage important conversations about financial preparedness before they become urgent.
During the campaign period, Old Mutual Personal Finance will donate R100 to CANSA for every qualifying new Severe Illness policy taken up, up to a total contribution of R100,000.
The contribution forms part of Old Mutual Personal Finance’s broader support of CANSA and the work it does for people and communities affected by cancer. Read more…
