Business

Gap covers and its benefits

Rachel Janssen, the principal consultant at Alexander Forbes Health shared the benefits of having the Gap cover. What is a Gap cover? It is a short term insurance product which covers financial shortfalls during the hospital stays especially when the health care professionals charge more than the actual medical scheme rate. The ones on the higher medical aid plans also may still have gaps between their med scheme reimbursement rate and what the service providers charge. The tariff gaps are when the benefit of gap cover drops by. Even with a good medical aid plan, the shortfall of this can cost thousands of grand. And being covered by your medical aid at 100 % of the medical scheme rate does not mean that you are complete covered. Practitioner fees are usually unregulated and they might charge more for their services than the rate which was initially fixed or the ones which your med scheme covers. So the medical scheme members therefore experience shortages when a surgeon or anesthetist or any other service providers charges above the preset med scheme rates. The shortage or the gap is the actual cost which is charged by the provider which exceeds the medical scheme tariff.

Certain procedures like radiology scans and oncology claims entice co-payments which fees not covered by a medical aid or the upfront payments to providers. Gap covers can also offer additional benefits for cancer procedures, these once off benefits may also apply for the first time diagnosis, accidental deaths or accidental or permanent disabilities as well.

Gap covers can also serve as a bridge in cover if there is a downgrade in the medical aid option for a more affordable and less comprehensive option. Members often consider decreasing their medical plan to a more affordable one, to reduce the medical scheme contribution there is an option to downgrade which covers 300 per cent of the med scheme rates in the hospital to a plan which covers you at 100 per cent of med scheme rates at a reduced premium.

By protecting yourself and your family against unexpected medical expenses, you will have peace of mind. If you or your family are ever hospitalized and a benefactor is alleging more than your medical scheme rate, your gap cover will fund the shortfall and you will not be loaded with large amount of expenses.

It is very important to take the appraisal of the various gap products which are accessible, as not all welfares are identical. Make sure you distinguish what rate your gap cover benefactor will cover you up to, as some products will cover you up to five times the medical scheme rate and some only two times. They come with wide ranging remunerations for the whole family. Communicate with your healthcare consultant if you are thinking of adding gap cover insurance to your portfolio.

Business

LexisNexis risk solutions study reveals sharp rise of financial crime compliance costs

Decision makers inside banks, investment firms, asset managers and insurance firms identify the drivers impacting financial crime compliance. LexisNexis® Risk Solutions revealed that the results of its annual True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Study for the U.S. and Canada. The total projected cost of financial crime compliance for the region is approximately $49.9 billion. The survey illustrates the sharp increase in financial crime compliance costs.

The study projects the average annual cost of financial crime compliance for U.S. financial institutions with $10 billion. Pandemic Continues to Spur Growth. The pandemic continues to negatively impact compliance operations. Sixty eight percent of U.S. respondents report longer times required to complete due diligence. Fifty five percent of U.S. respondents report reduced productivity compared.

More U.S. financial institutions now rank real estate and hospitality as top money laundering risk segments. Crime involving digital payments, trade-based money laundering and money mule schemes are on the rise. Digital currency is a growing problem for Canadian firms. Crimes involving digital payments have the greatest impact on compliance costs. Cryptocurrency crimes have the greatest impact on compliance costs for Canadian firms. The survey results demonstrate that financial institutions are battling a broader set of issues.

Survey respondents indicate that a lack of current and extensive data tops the list of Know Your Customer (KYC). Leslie Bailey, vice president of financial crime compliance strategy for LexisNexis Risk Solutions stated that the study shows clear linkages between the pandemic, digital crime and increasing regulations. Hence, financial institutions need to prepare for expanded compliance obligations and risks from emerging financial crime. Bailey added that digital transformation is a game-changer for financial crime compliance operations.

This will require a sophisticated approach that incorporates insight into digital behaviors. This study surveyed 145 decision-makers in the U.S. and Canada. Responses were collected in June 2019, August 2020 and June 2021. Organizations such as banks, investment firms, asset management firms and insurance firms. The total annual cost of compliance across firms was calculated using survey data. The spend amount was generated by multiplying the average percent allocated to financial crime costs.

Business

COP26 delegates agree on need to deliver on $100 BLN climate finance pledge

Delegates heading to the COP26 U.N. climate summit in Glasgow. These delegates agreed that they must deliver on the $100 billion per year pledge. COP26 president Alok Sharma said that, it is to help most vulnerable nations for tackling the climate change.

After many days of meetings at the pre-COP26 climate event, which happened in Italy, Sharma said that there was a consensus to do more. Which is to keep the 1.5 degrees Celsius target within reach, adding more needed to be done collectively in terms of national climate plans.

The COP26 conference in Glasgow aims to secure more ambitious climate action. This is from nearly 200 countries, those all that have signed the 2015 Paris Agreement for limiting the global warming, well below 2.0 degrees Celsius. And to 1.5 degrees, above pre-industrial levels.

Business

City’s exposure to Evergrande is very minimal-Hong Kong finance Chief

Hong Kong’s exposure to debt-laden developer China Evergrande Group is very minimal at 0.05%. This is of banking assets, South China Morning Post reported, citing the city’s finance minister. Financial Secretary Paul Chan told the newspaper that it is very minimal and won’t cause them any systemic risks. He added that he had arrived at the conclusion after a recent audit of the local banking sector’s exposure to the company.

Chan also said that the Hong Kong’s stock market was inevitably subject to some volatility. This is amidst a recent mainland crackdown on some industries. But still he believed any setback would be temporary. With liabilities of $305 billion, Evergrande has sparked concerns its cash crunch could spread through China’s financial system. This may reverberate globally and that is a worry that has eased with the Chinese central bank’s vow, to protect homebuyers’ interests. Evergrande has missed two bond interest payments. Bondholders have said this and its offshore debt, amounting to about $20 billion, trades at distressed levels.