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Moonstone Monitor - 24 May 2018 |
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"He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow."
- George Eliot |
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Distributed to 51,930 subscribers.
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From the Crow's Nest |
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Recent Ombud Determinations |
Two recent cases from the FAIS Ombud are interesting for diverse
reasons.
The Adams complaint
In January 2013, the Complainant purchased a 2013 Chevrolet Aveo 1.6L 5 Door
and arranged for insurance of R123 100 via the dealership with Mutual and
Federal.
In 2014, she approached the respondent and requested a quotation from SANTAM.
The quotation was accepted by complainant and the policy with SANTAM incepted on
1 August 2014.
On 16 January 2016, the complainant was involved in a motor vehicle accident,
and the vehicle was written off. On submission of the claim, she became
aware that respondent’s representative had incorrectly insured the vehicle as a
2003 Chevrolet Aveo 1.5, with an insured value of R30 000, as opposed to a 2013
Chevrolet Aveo 1.6L 5 Door.
The Agreement of Loss from SANTAM was for R26 500, which was the insured value
of R30 000 less the basic excess of R3 500. Complainant rejected this offer and
complained to the Ombud.
The response from the brokerage handled the truth rather indelicately, as was
born out by the recorded version of the conversation between the representative
and the insurer. Whilst the representative argued that they were not aware of the year model, the
taped conversation proved the opposite.
The representative confirmed that the vehicle was to be insured for R40 000, to
which the consultant questioned him with regards to the year model and whether it
was a 2003 or a 2013 model as the 2013 model was valued at R102 600.
"The representative’s response is that it cannot be and that it must then be a
2003 model, adding ‘I think she (Complainant) got it wrong’. He then asks the
consultant what the value of a 2003 model is, the consultant confirms that it is
R30 000 and that the full description was a Chevrolet Aveo 1.5 5d. This is
accepted by the representative who confirms that he will go and check on these
details with complainant."
“Not only did respondent’s representative unilaterally change the year model and
specifications of the vehicle, but there is no evidence that this was ever
discussed with or verified with complainant. The second recording provided to
this Office records the representative confirming acceptance of the quotation on
the very same details.”
There are always two sides to a story, and sometimes, possibly three. The
absolute necessity of doing your paperwork diligently is again underscored by
this case.
The Van der Merwe complaint
The crux of this matter is that the Ombud is of the view that the respondent
failed to provide documentation that the complainant was at any time advised of
the requirement of an early warning system for this specific vehicle and the
exclusions of cover that would materialise due to non-compliance with this
requirement as required by section 7(1)(c) (vii) of the General Code of Conduct.
What is of grave concern is the Ombud’s failure to conform to its mandate in
terms of expediting the matter.
The vehicle was stolen on 10 May 2014.
On 9 June 2015, the Ombud informed the brokerage of the complaint. They
responded a week later, on 18 June 2015.
Further correspondence dated 24 November 2015 was sent to respondent. The
decision does not indicate when the broker responded, but on 14 April 2016, the
Ombud notified the respondent that the complaint had not been resolved and that
the Office intended to investigate the matter. A response was received from the
brokerage on 19 May 2016.
A recommendation to settle the matter was sent by the Ombud to the broker on
4 December 2017. The response date from the broker is not mentioned in the final
determination which was dated 16 March 2018, nearly four years after the loss.
All determinations concerning property syndications contain an explanation as to
why there was a substantial delay. In this case, there is no apparent reason.
In the
Prigge Appeal, the Appeal Board noted:
“…one can question why it took three years for any action whatsoever. This is
not an example of an expeditious determination of the dispute between the
parties and is unfortunately not atypical of matters that reach the Deputy Chair
or the Appeal Board. It may be added that it took another year for the
determination to be made and yet another before the appeal could be heard.”
“It is not known why the Ombud is unable to deal with matters expeditiously but
one can gather from the file that much time and effort is spent on side issues
and one knows from experience that the determinations are not concise and to the
point.” |
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Your Practice Made Perfect |
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Moonstone Regulatory Update Workshops – limited seats available! |
Only Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth and East London venues still has
space, but please book now to avoid disappointment.
Remember: You can earn 3 FSCA Fit and Proper CPD hours by
attending.
FPI members can, in addition, also qualify for 3 FPI Ethics and
Practice Standard CPD points towards their professional designation CPD
requirement. Members who know how scarce such opportunities are will
certainly make use of this double whammy.
Please note that identification steps will be implemented to ensure the
validity of your CPD claim.
The workshops will cover the Insurance Regulations, Policyholder
Protection Rules, the new Debarment process, the Financial Sector
Regulation Act, proposed changes to the General Code of Conduct and an
in-depth unpacking of the 12 elements of the New Fit and Proper
Requirements.
Staying abreast of these developments is crucial to your survival in the
industry.
The workshops will run from 09h00 until 13h00 and take place on the
following dates and venues:
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VENUE |
DATE |
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East London - EL Golf Club |
5 June 2018 |
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Port Elizabeth - PE Golf Club |
6 June 2018 |
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Cape Town - The River Club (fully booked) |
18 June 2018 |
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Johannesburg - Houghton Golf Club (fully
booked) |
19 June 2018 |
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Pretoria - Diep in die Berg (fully booked) |
20 June 2018 |
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Durban - Coastlands Hotel Umhlanga (fully booked) |
21 June 2018 |
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Bloemfontein - Emoya Estate |
26 June 2018 |
Book your seat – register today to avoid missing out. |
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Impact of VAT increase on medical costs
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A recent circular from the Council for Medical Schemes notes:
The Minister of Finance announced in his Budget speech that the Value
Added Tax (VAT) rate will increase from 14% to 15% with effect from
1 April 2018. Even though medical schemes are exempted from VAT, this
legislated 1% increase will have an impact on the costs of medical
services and products payable by medical schemes to service providers
who are registered as VAT vendors. Section 67(1) of the Value-added Tax
Act, No. 89 of 1992 states that “where the VAT rate is increased in
respect of the supply of goods or services, the VAT vendor may recover
the VAT from the client or customer.”
According to Circular 21 of 2018 from the Council for Medical Schemes it
is expected that medical schemes will absorb the increase on behalf of
its members as this has already been included in the risk/sensitivity
analyses for the 2018 financial year, which covers any unforeseen
operational deficits. Further mitigation strategies by medical schemes
are encouraged, especially concerning non-healthcare expenditure. For
this reason, rule amendments relating to mid-year contribution increases
will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
Benefits available to members remain unchanged and will still be funded
in terms of the rules of the relevant medical scheme, and the provisions
of the Medical Schemes Act, No.131 of 1998.
Click here to view the Circular. |
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Technologically Speaking
Moonstone Information Refinery
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How you can unlock the full value of your CRM
– Neil Summers |
Want to boost your sales, improve
marketing, tighten up data management and security, and make use of
analytics? Neil Summers, Head of Sales at Moonstone, recently wrote
an article for Bizconnect to explain how you can, by making better
use of CRM tools:
Understanding the full value of a CRM (Customer Relationship
Management)
system enables you to unlock all the benefits it delivers to an SMME.
These benefits extend to sales, marketing, data management and
security, data analytics and predicative capabilities, and provide
an edge in challenging markets.
Sales Tracking and Management
A good CRM system enables you to manage basic customer information,
as well as your sales processes more efficiently and effectively.
Marketing
A CRM is a vault of valuable customer interaction data. By tapping
into CRM data across channels and using people-based marketing
technology, a business can:
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Achieve a single customer view that’s easy to update and share
with teams
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Create integrated 360° customer profiles
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Reach customers more effectively through multiple forms of media
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Recognise customers across channels
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Decrease wasted advertising spend
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Shift to one-to-one marketing at massive scale.
Every member of your team can see when your business last
communicated with a client, and what the nature of that
communication was. This is critical information for a responsive
business. Modern cloud-based CRMs also integrate to social platforms
for automatic posting and profile management. Some even alert your
business to deadlines and opportunities and collect all
product-related mentions and comments.
Data Management and Security
There is a proliferation of laws worldwide relating to the
protection of customer information, such as South Africa’s
Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act) and Europe’s
General Data Protection Regulation. At a minimum, your business must
be able to account for a client’s data, namely:
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What data you have
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How it is used
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Who has access to it
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How and where it is stored and protected
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How long it will be stored
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How it will be destroyed.
A CRM ‘identity vault’ allows you complete control of your customer
information, immediately complying with legislation and managing
risk.
Data analytics
Analysis tools provide a Single Customer View and the ability to
track clients and their communications across every channel. This
view, linked to Customer Lifetime Value shows the total worth of a
customer to a business over the entirety of their relationship. It
can help you gain insights into organisation health, a key success
indicator of how much to invest in customer retention versus the
more expensive customer acquisition.
A CRM system also leads to improved analysis of data as a whole.
Easily integrated with different tools or plug-ins, it personalises
your dashboard views of customer information, sales goals and
performance reports to reveal untapped opportunities. It assists you
to maximise your resources, uncover inefficiencies and streamline
business processes.
Business predictions will become easier to make
A CRM allows you to track the peaks and troughs of customer
activity, spending habits and demographics – required predictors for
all aspects of business, ranging from cash flow and stock purchasing
decisions to future niche marketing campaigns. With proper
integration a CRM becomes a valuable asset, well worth the
investment of time, money and resources.
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Regulatory Examinations
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RE Deadline 30 June 2018 |
The table below indicates who has to successfully complete the
Regulatory Exams by 30 June 2018.
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Representatives’ DOFA |
RE 5 Deadline |
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30/06/2015 – 31/12/2015 |
30/06/2018 |
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01/01/2016 – 29/06/2016 |
30/06/2018 |
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30/06/2016 – 31/12/2016 |
30/06/2019 |
DOFA refers to your date of first appointment. For instance,
if you were appointed on 1 September 2015, you actually have
two years and nine months in which to pass the RE 5 for
representatives.
Unfortunately, time is now running out for those who are
compelled to pass in less than one month.
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Remember that bookings close about two weeks before the
actual exam, for logistical reasons.
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In order to write before the DOFA deadline (last exam in
June on the 29th), candidates should register by 14 June 2018.
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IMPORTANT: It is the responsibility of the candidate to
make sure that he/she is registered for the correct
examination, date, time and venue.
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How to prepare for the REs |
The FSCA strongly recommends the use of its
Preparation Guide to prepare for the exams. As you are aware Inseta
has advised that its study material contains errata. We therefore
recommend that this is only used for easier understanding of the
knowledge required, while the FSCA Preparation Guide and related
legislation should be the basis for learning.
The FSCA Preparation Guide recommends the following approach
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STEP |
ACTIVITY |
DESCRIPTION |
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1 |
Refer to the
mapping document for the exam you are planning
to write. |
This is the map of
the tasks/criteria that will be assessed in your
exam, and it contains a reference to the
relevant legislation that you are required to
study in order to understand the task /
criteria. Appendix A in the Preparation Guide |
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2 |
Look at the number
of criteria for each task. |
These are the
knowledge and skill components you require to be
able to perform.
RE 1 has 16 tasks that will be tested
RE 5 has 8 tasks that will be tested
If you have studied all the criteria for every
task, then you would be properly prepared to
write the RE 1 or RE 5 – whichever exam applies to
you. |
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3 |
To prepare for the
exam, you must spend time each day and study the
legislation and supporting training material.
One should systematically select one criteria at
a time. |
Group the criteria
together in groups of 3 or 4 and allocate study
hours per day to prepare. The total number of
hours will individually differ due to ones
circumstances. At least 2 hours per day is the
suggested number of hours. |
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4 |
To start, read the
task, and then the first criteria. Then refer to
the legislation for these criteria, and read the
legislation referred to. |
It is important to
first read the legislation so that you can see
what terms are used and how the legislation is
structured. |
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5 |
Now refer to the
additional support or training material and study
the section in the training material dealing
with those particular criteria. |
The support
material explains the particular concepts in
simple language so that it is easier to
understand what the legislation is actually
saying and what it means. |
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6 |
Then go back to the
legislation itself, and read it again.
NB The
questions are based on the actual legislation,
NOT external training material. |
Now that you have
gained a better understanding of what the
legislation is about, you may find reading the
legislation again will make more sense to you if
you didn’t understand it the first time around. |
An alternative that you may want to consider is the
LexisNexis Legislation Handbook for RE 1 (key individual)
and RE 5 (representative) exams.
The 5th edition of the Handbook has just been
released and provides the latest legislation specified as
relevant to the regulatory exams RE 1 and 5.
The Handbook has been divided into 5 sections with shaded
tabs on the side for easy access:
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TAB A: FAIS Act and Regulations
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TAB B: Code of Conduct
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TAB C: Fit and Proper
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TAB D: General Acts, Board Notices and Guidance Notes
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TAB E: FIC Act, Regulations and Guidance Notes
The Handbook together with its Preparation Guides provides a
good source to study for the exams. Click here to download
the LexisNexis Preparation Guide for
RE 1 and
RE 5.
Click here to order the updated LexisNexis
Legislation Handbook from our Advisor Store. |
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2018 RE Schedules updated |
Please note: Registration cut-off is 11 working days before date of exam. |
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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 20 000 visits and approximately 39 000 page views per month. |
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Moonstone boasts an exclusive newsletter mailing list of over 51000
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 |
-
2 x Marketing
Assistants:
HIC Underwriting Managers Pty Ltd, Bedfordview - We are looking for
two assistants to manage the relationship between the Portfolio Manager
and Broker. Must be able to work under pressure and be deadline driven.
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Claims Administrator:
Cooke Fuller Garrun, Kloof, KZN - The ideal candidate should have at
least 5 years experience in Commercial and Personal claims and must be
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Para-Planner:
Carrick Wealth, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town - The
Para-planner will be responsible for researching and analysing products
to present recommendations to clients based on a thorough financial
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Financial Advisor:
Universal Life Brokers, Randburg - Candidates must have at least 5
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Broker Consultant:
CIA - Commercial & Industrial Acceptances, KZN Umhlanga - We are
looking for a candidate with at least 5-10 years working experience in
the insurance industry, short term insurance qualifications and RE1.
Read More
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In Lighter Wyn |
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To my darling husband |
To my darling husband,
Before you return from your overseas trip, I just wanted to let you
know about the small accident I had with the Ford F-150 when I
turned into the driveway.
Fortunately it was not too bad and I didn't get hurt, so please
don't worry too much about me.
I was coming home and when I turned into the driveway I accidentally
pushed down on the accelerator instead of the brake while I was
talking on my cell phone.
The garage door is slightly bent but the Ford F-150 fortunately came
to a halt when it bumped into your Ferrari.
I missed our bikes.
I am really sorry, but I know with your kind heart and personality
that you will forgive me.
You know how much I love you and care for you, my sweetheart.
I am enclosing a picture for you.
I cannot wait to hold you in my arms again.
Your loving wife. XXOOXXOO!
P.S: Your girlfriend phoned. She is pregnant.
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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. |
