First-Time Buyers Insurance Checklist

Whether you are 22 and just bought your first car, or 35 and welcoming a first child, the order in which you stack insurance products determines whether you are over-paying or under-protected. Here is the ladder, in priority order, for South African first-time buyers.

The 6-rung insurance ladder

Medical aid + gap cover - non-negotiable. Public hospitals are saturated; private specialist costs are catastrophic without cover.

Funeral cover - R150-R280/mo gives a family R50k-R100k cash in 48 hours.

Income protection / disability - statistically you are 3.5x more likely to be disabled than die before retirement. Yet only 12% of working SA adults have cover.

Life cover - the moment another person depends on your income (spouse, child, dependent parent).

Vehicle insurance - at minimum third-party-only the day you take ownership.

Household contents + buildings - both required by every SA bond issuer; contents stands alone for renters.

How much each tier typically costs (single adult, urban)

Cover | Monthly cost | Why it ranks here
Hospital plan + gap | R1,800 - R3,200 | Catastrophic risk; uncapped potential
Funeral (own) | R55 - R120 | Liquidity for family
Disability lump sum R1m | R140 - R280 | Replaces earning capacity
Life R2m term | R280 - R420 | Only when dependants exist
Comprehensive car | R650 - R1,500 | Asset protection
Contents R200k | R180 - R320 | Theft and disaster recovery

The decade-by-decade adjustments

20s

Skip whole-life. Maximise medical + disability while underwriting is cheapest. Compounding the savings into a TFSA outperforms whole-life endowments.

30s

Add life cover the moment a dependant appears. Update beneficiaries within 30 days of marriage or birth. Convert renter contents to home insurance on bond registration.

40s

Severe illness rider becomes essential - SA cancer incidence accelerates. Re-evaluate cover bands against career income peak.

50s

Plan for retirement medical aid (Pensioner reserve). Reduce life cover as debt clears and children become independent. Increase funeral cover for elderly parents.

The 5 documents every household should keep together

All policy schedules (digital + printed)

Beneficiary nomination forms

Latest will and testament

Inventory of household contents with photos

Contact list of brokers, claim hotlines and ombudsman

Where first-time buyers waste money

1) Buying whole-life when term-life is appropriate. 2) Over-insuring an old vehicle with comprehensive when third-party-only suffices. 3) Buying funeral cover from non-licensed providers (always verify FSCA registration). 4) Letting medical aid lapse - waiting periods and late-joiner penalties bite hard on re-entry.