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Moonstone Monitor - 22 June 2017 |
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Paul Kruger
Author/Editor |
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I don't care what is written about me so long as it isn't true
– Dorothy Parker |
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Distributed to 46 787 subscribers.
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From the Crow's Nest |
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GTC Medical Aid Survey 2017 |
Results reveal that small medical aids
also offer good value, and highlights that consumers may be unaware of their own
medical aid plans and the benefits contained therein.
Smaller medical schemes perform well by offering consumers value for money, but
they have not been as successful as some of the larger schemes in attracting new
members, and thereby ensuring continued value and ‘health’ for the scheme over
the long term.
This is one of the significant conclusions from leading wealth and financial
advisory firm GTC in its seventh annual Medical Aid Survey for 2017, according
to Jill Larkan, the firm’s Head: Healthcare Consulting.
The Medical Aid Survey analyses and rates medical aid schemes and provides a
standardised comparison and ranking of the choices available to consumers.
“This survey cuts through the notoriously complicated landscape of the medical
aid industry and simplifies it according to the factors that matter most when
consumers choose a medical aid scheme and option,” explains Larkan.
This year’s survey reviewed 23 open medical aid providers (Profmed is the only
closed scheme reviewed this year), with a total of 144 plans, which were
categorised into 11 areas according to benefits offered. The categories range
from entry-level to traditional plans, and include hospital-only, saver and
comprehensive options.
The Medical Aid Survey from GTC assigns every plan with a micro – indicating a
plan’s competitiveness in relation to others in the same category – and macro
rating – broadly a measure of a scheme’s ‘health’, and considers factors such as
membership size and growth, average age and financial stability.
Smaller medical schemes score well yet again in GTC’s micro ratings
“Fedhealth is one of the schemes that has performed consistently well in the
micro ratings, indicating that it is very competitively priced and can offer
consumers good value for money,” she says.
With this year’s inclusion of multiple additional macro demographic areas in the
GTC survey, along with the applied weightings on these, the more stable growing
schemes have now scored considerably better in the macro rating. Discovery
Health has topped these macro rankings in the 2017 survey.
GTC’s overall list of schemes for 2017 – ranked by “likelihood of support”
The full range of plans in this year’s Medical Aid Survey – from entry-level to
comprehensive have been divided between network and non-network plans and been
graded (micro, macro and combined) to simplify the choice and provide an easy
way to compare options and cost.
The macro and micro rankings combine to create GTC’s overall list of schemes in
the Medical Aid Survey for 2017 ranked by “likelihood of support”. This final
analysis reflects a score which indicates the likelihood that a particular plan
/ scheme would receive GTC’s support (or not) through recommendations to
clients.
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NETWORK |
NON-NETWORK |
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Entry Level
Comprehensive Student |
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Entry Level Hospital Only |
Discovery Keycare Core |
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Comprehensive Low State
(R3000 – R7000) |
Makoti Primary |
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Comprehensive Low
(R3 000 – R7 000) |
Makoti Primary |
Sizwe Gomomo Care |
Comprehensive Mid
(R7 000- R10 000)
Student Market |
Makoti Primary |
Sizwe Gomomo Care |
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Hospital Only |
Momentum Custom |
Genesis Private Choice |
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Saver |
Discovery Essential Delta Saver |
Topmed Active Saver |
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Saver Plus |
Resolution
Millennium |
Discovery Essential Priority |
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Comprehensive Risk |
Momentum Extender |
Discovery Essential
Comprehensive |
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Comprehensive
Complete |
Discovery Classic
Delta Comprehensive |
Discovery Executive |
*table above only highlights the rankings for a family of
four (Principal Member + Adult + 2 Children)
“No medical plan is going to suit all members equally, but
our annual survey helps to ensure that an informed decision
can be made based on these indicators, which will go a long
way to easing member concerns regarding scheme performance
relative to peers and their plan’s ‘health’ status,” Larkan
concludes.
Click here to download the full
MAS pdf. |
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Your Practice Made Perfect |
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Insurance Bill Update |
The National Treasury presented its response to public comments received
on the Insurance Bill, 2016, to Parliament’s Standing Committee on
Finance in May. A copy of the Bill, as well as the presentation was
published on Wednesday.
Key Issues Addressed In Proposed Revisions
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Transformation of insurance sector: The objective of the Act was
amended to include a specific reference to transformation of the
insurance sector.
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Promoting financial inclusion through microinsurance: Changes here
addresses concerns that the Bill seeks to distinguish between
micro-insurance and macro-insurance business and would exacerbate a lack
of transformation in the industry.
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Cost of regulation as a barrier to entry: There were concerns that the
Prudential Authority may direct a capital add-on if the risk profile or
governance framework of the insurer deviates from the underlying
Solvency Capital Requirement calculation. This could result in small
black-owned businesses being taken over by big insurers.
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Alignment with the Financial Sector Regulation Bill: The Insurance
Bill was tabled on 28 January 2016, while the FSRB was being processed
by the SCOF. The Bill needs to be revised to be properly aligned with
the FSRB.
Whilst a number of the changes relate to transformation, two revisions
are interesting from the perspective that it addresses practical issues
relevant to the South African market.
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Section 63: Prudential standards: This section has been amended to
explicitly provide for specific matters that must be considered (i.e.
the objective of the Bill, international regulatory and supervisory
standards, to the extent practicable and with due consideration to the
South African context and the nature, scale and complexity of different
kinds or types of insurers and controlling companies).
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Section 66: Exemptions: This is a new section that includes specific
matters that must be considered when granting exemptions (such as
practicalities, proportionality and developmental, financial inclusion
and transformation objectives).
We plan to expand on this in Monday’s newsletter. In the meantime, you
are welcome to download the
SCOF Presentation and the amended
Insurance Bill for your reading pleasure over the weekend between
the All Blacks/Lions and the Springboks/France matches. |
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GTC Medical Aid Survey 2017 reveals small medical aids also offer
good value |
Smaller medical schemes perform well by offering consumers value for
money, but they have not been as successful as some of the larger
schemes in attracting new members.
This is one of the significant conclusions from leading wealth and
financial advisory firm GTC in its seventh annual Medical Aid Survey
(MAS) for 2017.
The Medical Aid Survey analyses and rates medical aid schemes and
provides a standardised comparison and ranking of the choices available
to consumers.
This year’s survey reviewed 23 open medical aid providers, with a total
of 144 plans, which were categorised into 11 areas according to benefits
offered.
Click here to
read more
of the article, or download the
2017 MAS
pdf.
For more information contact
Jill Larkan. |
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CMS to address Undesirable Practices
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The Council for Medical Schemes published Circular 39 of 2017, calling
for industry input on its intention to declare certain practices
irregular or undesirable.
Regulation 8 of the Medical Schemes Act entitles medical schemes to
select certain healthcare providers to provide members with diagnosis,
treatment and care in respect of prescribed minimum benefit (PMB)
conditions. If a member uses a designated service provider (DSP), no
co-payments may be imposed and the member's invoice must be funded in
full.
Regulation 15E(2) further provides that a medical scheme may place
limits on the number or categories of health care providers with whom it
may contract to provide relevant healthcare services, provided that
there is no unfair discrimination and provided that the selection is
based upon a clearly defined and reasonable policy which furthers the
objectives of affordability, cost-effectiveness, quality of care and
member access to health services.
The Registrar has since obtained information suggesting that some
medical schemes are acting beyond the scope of these regulations.
It therefore intends to declare the following practices as
irregular/undesirable:
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The selection by a medical scheme of healthcare providers as
designated service providers without engaging in a tender process which
is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective.
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Imposing a co-payment in terms of Regulation 8(2)(b) that exceeds the
quantum of the difference between that charged by the designated service
provider of the medical scheme and that charged by a provider that is
not a designated service provider of such scheme.
Interested parties are invited to make written representations which
must reach the Registrar's office within 21 days of the date of
publication of the Government Gazette notice. Representations can be
sent to
legal@medicalschemes.com.
Click here to access a copy of
Circular 39 of 2017. |
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Technologically Speaking |
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Mitigating cyber risk in the financial services sector |
A summary of this paper first appeared in the June edition of
Moneymarketing.
Whilst I am sceptical of the local application of surveys and
studies done in other countries, I think that this one can be of
value to us for a number of very practical reasons. Security of
client data will become an increasing focus in the months and years
ahead, and the recent spate of cyber attacks just underlined our
vulnerability.
We recently reported about a breach of security at a leading life
office, despite its extensive resources to protect its data.
According to a broker that I spoke to, the criminals actually
targeted his more affluent clients.
If it could happen to an international organisation like this,
imagine how vulnerable most of us “smaller fry” are. And do not fool
yourself that you are too small.
We trust that the information below will assist you in taking the
required preventative action.
Intelliflo, a UK supplier of specialist online software for IFAs and
the NCC Group, a global expert in cyber security and risk
mitigation, recently teamed up to publish a paper entitled
Mitigating Cyber Risk in the Financial Services Sector.
The paper’s purpose is to outline how financial advisers, as part of
a broader group of organisations operating in the financial services
sector, can mitigate cyber risk. The paper draws on the input of
consumer and adviser facing surveys, which indicate that 44% of
advisers in the UK have been impacted by cybercrime.
Disturbingly for advisers, 82% of 500 consumers surveyed would look
to change their financial adviser, or not appoint them in the first
place, if it was public knowledge that the adviser had been
subjected to a cyber-attack.
The paper finds that cyber-attacks are on the rise and that “no
sector is more of a target than the financial industry. Customer
details, sensitive information and money provide a treasure trove of
assets for attackers to target. Staying ahead of the latest threats
is crucial.”
How can financial advisers protect themselves from cyber attacks?
The paper suggests the following:
Develop a cyber security strategy
Despite the increase in cyber-attacks on financial services
institutions, there is often a lack of vision and strategy to
articulate how firms of all sizes will address current gaps, defend
against evolving threats and protect themselves in the long term.
Identify the ‘crown jewels’
The crown jewels are your data sets and they are what hackers want.
These assets have significant value and sensitivity, providing an
attractive target for a motivated attacker. It is vital that
organisations identify their ‘crown jewels’ to provide a foundation
for targeted and prioritised risk assessment.
Improve awareness of cyber-attacks – ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to systems in
some way, often by encrypting fi les and then demanding a ransom to
obtain access. When subjected to a ransomware attack, many victims
think they have no choice but to pay. But that is not the case. It
is important to remember that you are dealing with criminals. If you
pay them, what next?
Improve awareness of cyber-attacks – social engineering
The methods employed to gain access to systems are more
sophisticated than ever before. Examples include one organisation
hiring phishing specialists who obtained a companywide email address
so they could email all staff . The email was made to look like it
was an internal email and most staff clicked through and entered
their credentials.
Increase employee cyber security awareness
When it comes to cyber security, your employees are often the
weakest link. Cyber security is the responsibility of everyone who
works for you. Attackers increasingly send emails purporting to be
from someone that the user knows, as this means that the user is
more likely to click on an unknown link. This type of attack is
known as phishing.
Implement password protection
Putting a strong password in place in order to access a machine or
in order to access programmes and some web functionality is so
widespread as to be considered a minimum requirement. But it really
is the minimum. Yet many people do not password protect all of their
devices. Mobile phones, so susceptible to loss or theft , are oft en
not password protected.
Implement two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication is increasingly being deployed by firms to
reduce the risk of unwanted access to their systems.
Develop a vulnerability management programme
You can also be attacked via weak points in your software. It is
imperative that you keep your software and machines fully up to date
at all times with the latest patches.
Ensure regular backups
Keeping your data backed up at regular intervals is crucial in
minimising the impact of any cyberattack. The more recently your
data has been backed up prior to an attack, the less work you will
have to do to recover lost ground.
You have to sign in to download the whole paper.
Click here to do so.
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Regulatory Examinations
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Legislation Handbook and
Preparation Guide for REs |
The Legislation Handbook for Level 1 Regulatory Exams provides the
legislation specified as relevant to the regulatory exams RE 1 and 5.
The Preparation guide includes the qualifying criteria provided by the
FSB for these exams.
The qualifying criteria are cross-referenced in the Preparation Guide to
the relevant sections to be studied in the Legislation Handbook.
Shaded tabs enable the user to easily identify the four sections of the
work and the information is then grouped by subject matter area in order
to assist you to find the relevant items quickly and easily.
The 4th edition reflects the law as at 15 April 2015.
Click here to order these
LexisNexis
books from our Advisor Store.
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RE Schedule updated |
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Our venues are filling up fast as we approach 30 June 2017.
Candidates who are obliged to write and pass by the end of June
must please register in time.
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RE Self-Help Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions |
Self-Help Guidelines
Candidates who wrote with Moonstone can now view their results,
make a new booking or update their information on our website:
www.faisexam.co.za
Here is what you do:
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Click on the Moonstone FAIS Exam website (www.faisexam.co.za)
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Click on the second heading: “Update Your Booking/Personal
Details/Get results”.
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Key in your ID or Passport Number used to register for the
exam: click on Send password.
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The system will
send a password to the e-mail address you provided at
registration.
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Use this password to log in on the same address as above:
Type in the password – do not copy and paste.
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Click login.
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You will then be able to make a booking, download your
certificate or view results.
Frequently Asked RE QuestionsEmail enquiries should be addressed to
faisexam@moonstoneinfo.co.za. You can phone us on
021 883 8000 - select option 2 to speak to one of our
consultants. |
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Careers Platform
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Are you hiring? Advertise your position on Moonstone’s Career Platform
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The Moonstone website -
www.moonstone.co.za
- enjoys an average of 15 000 visits and approximately 39 000 page views per month. |
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Moonstone boasts an exclusive newsletter mailing list of over 46000
dedicated financial decision makers who receive 2 newsletters per week. |
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Our audience is relevant and industry specific: individual and corporate advisors and brokers in the following financial sectors:
Investment, Risk, Healthcare, Banking, Retirement, and Insurance. |
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Featured Positions |
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Sales Consultant –
Medical Scheme Brokerage:
Optivest, Durbanville - The ideal candidate is RE 5 qualified, has
medical scheme experience and is comfortable to interact by phone.
Read More
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Accounts Executive /
Broker:
Garrun, Houghton - We require a FAIS compliant and experienced
Short-Term Insurance Broker with own transport.
Read More
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Life Insurance
Compliance Officer:
Bidvest Life Insurance, Umhlanga - If you have a minimum of 3 years
experience in the life insurance industry and Compliance Officer
experience, then
Read More
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Financial Planners:
Risk Free Solutions, Port Elizabeth & Kimberley - We are looking for
established, well balanced Financial Planners striving for financial
freedom. If you have matric, your own transport, driver’s licence and RE
qualificaton, then
Read More
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Short Term Insurance
Underwriter:
The Insurance Centre, Westville - We require a commercial and
personal lines short term insurance underwriter / administrator.
Read More
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In Lighter Wyn |
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Donald upside down |
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Tel: +27 21 883 8000 | Fax: +27 21 883 8005
info@moonstoneinfo.com
www.moonstone.co.za
P.O. Box 12662, Die Boord, Stellenbosch, 7613, Republic of South Africa
Disclaimer:
Services and products advertised by external product suppliers in
this newsletter are paid for by the respective suppliers. Moonstone
does not endorse any opinions, conclusions, data, products, services
or other information contained in this e-mail which is unrelated to
the official business of Moonstone and furthermore accepts no
liability in respect of the unauthorised use of its e-mail facility
or the sending of e-mail communications for other than strictly
business purposes.
The complete disclaimer can be accessed
here.
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©2015 Moonstone. All rights reserved. |
