About Short Term Insurance

Short term insurance has often been considered to be the ‘baby’ of insurance policies but it is actually a very useful innovation that has assisted millions of South Africans with the type of coverage that they need without incurring too many costly premiums or other long term responsibilities. So what is Short Term Insurance and how can it help you?

Short term insurance is literally an insurance agreement that is taken out between a policy holder and the insurer, and is only active for a limited amount of time – or rather, is flexible according to your insurance wants and needs. What this means is that you can insure your person, your car, or even your household objects on a year to year basis or other short term period based on your dynamic changing environment.

Insurance companies understand that not everyone wants the responsibilities of staying committed to one lifestyle, one location and one car for the rest of their lives and have therefore come up with this innovative way of providing financial coverage for your treasured possessions.

Short term health insurance plans provide an affordable option for every day individuals who cannot afford the long term investment of paying off a certain premium every month for the rest of their lives. Short term insurance can be cancelled (unlike some health cover plans) provided this termination is within the contract’s stipulations, and some insurance companies even give you the option to extend your short term insurance for an additional time period once it has reached the end of the contract to make things easier for you.

Short term car insurance, for example, is an affordable way to insure your car against theft, damages or accidents (depending on the type of short term insurance that you select). Some companies even offer an incentive program that pays you back after a certain period of claim free insurance years. They allow you to take advantage of the money you have paid into the scheme via your monthly insurance premiums.

When you are choosing short term insurance plans it is a good idea to get a number of quotations based on your specific needs – compare at least three different quotes from three different companies and check out these criteria:

  • How much must you pay?

  • Is this the cheapest option?

  • How much is the excess payable? The lower the excess, the better.

  • Is everything covered by your insurance policy and do you need everything?

Short term insurance is a great way to get the reassurance that your possessions are safe at all times without being tied to life-long commitments and responsibilities.