November 2025 Finance Letter: Protect What Matters

One Money Move: Check and Improve Your Insurance 

You wear a seat belt not because you plan to crash, but to give yourself the best chance if you do crash. Insurance is the same, it’s about protecting yourself and your family when life doesn’t go as planned. 

If something small happens, like hitting a pothole, you may be able to pay for it with money from your emergency savings. But what if something big happens, like your car is written off in an accident, or your house burns down? Insurance helps pay for those things where your emergency savings would never be enough. Without it, you might go into debt or struggle to replace what you lost. 

Many people either don’t have insurance, or they have too much or too little insurance. Some pay for a policy that they don’t fully understand, or that doesn’t actually meet their needs.  That’s why it’s important to check what you’re paying for and compare different insurance options.  

Insurance protects everything you have worked hard for. 

One Tip:  Know what insurance you have before you need it. 

Simply Surviving: Dave was having money problems and skipped his insurance payments.  His car got stolen. Now he still has to pay off the car loan but doesn’t have a car. An insurance payout could have helped to pay off the loan so he could buy another car. He has now met with a financial coach to make sure he has insurance in place in the future. 

Steadily Striving: Each year, Mandla goes through his budget with his coach. Looking at the money he is paying for insurance, he realised he had never compared different options or checked if his plan still suited him. His coach helped him compare quotes, and to understand that it's not just about the price - things like the “excess” (the part you pay when claiming) also matters. 

Totally Thriving: Themba recently attended a workshop where he learnt how important it is to check what insurance you have and what you really need depending on your life stage. His coach reminded him to check on his employee benefits as well as review all his debit orders to see what insurance he was paying for.  The coach recommended he meet with a financial adviser and explore what risk cover he needed.  This exercise allowed him to streamline his costs and get the best cover in place. 

Whether you are surviving, striving or thriving, when it comes to insurance, always compare, ask questions and choose the right solution that suits you. Spend some time looking at your insurance. Contact the financial coaching team for some pointers on what to look out for.