One industry that may have been expected to see brisk business during a global pandemic, the funeral industry, has also been hit by the economic hardship South Africans are facing, with fewer funeral policies sold during lockdown and higher claims. Bridget Mokwena-Halala, CEO of Assupol Life, which has more than 2-million active funeral policies, said the Covid-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on Assupol's ability to generate sales.Gareth Friedlander, the deputy CEO of Discovery Life, said the business, which has a relatively small book of individual funeral policies and a larger exposure in the group market, has not "seen an increase in new policy purchases during the lockdown, primarily given the closure of work sites and the funeral business relying on work-site marketing". Dushen Naidoo, managing executive for the insurance division at Absa, said that funeral cover has continued to "see firm interest from customers", but there was a slight downwards adjustment on s...
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