CORNERSTONE Insurance Plc has unveiled a robust application and four new products for Nigerians to plan effectively their finances, enjoy good life now and in the future.
The frontline underwriter is doing this through these products: Cornerstone Rest (C-Rest); Flexi; Clip and Oga Boy.
Muibat Jimoh, the Head, Life Technical Unit, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, while speaking on the App and the products at a press conference in Lagos said the App would enable the public to have all round the clock access to the firm’s operations at either the comfort of their homes or offices, whilst the products would engender saving culture.
She pointed out that the products are all need based, providing solutions across wealth creation, retirement savings, and children’s education funding and financial settlements for apprentices.
According to her, Cornerstone Rest (C-Rest), which has carved a niche for itself among its peers, is currently the most embraced Cornerstone savings plan for all classes of individuals, stressing that C-Rest allows individuals to grow their money with added free life insurance cover and that not only do they receive guaranteed disbursement of their money at the end of the contract, the policy also shields their loved ones with a solid protection called “the Sum Assured”.
The sum assured, she pointed out, is usually a fixed amount within the policy contract term paid to a named beneficiary in the policyholder’s unfortunate demise.
She said the features include, a savings policy bundled with life insurance; single or regular premiums payable; policy duration is a minimum term of one year and a maximum term of 10 years.
The minimum entry age, she explained, is 18 and maximum age is 65 and minimum investment contribution is N3,000 monthly, noting that contributions can be increased at any time during the lifetime of the policy.
Jimoh said that the free life cover starts from N36,000 annual premium and above while waiting a period of three months from policy inception date for death benefit.
According to her, death benefit is paid to the beneficiary on death of the policyholder before policy expiration and total investment and accrued interest on the policy will be payable to the policyholder at the end of the policy.
She submitted that the life cover is based on the range of monthly contributions, while interest rate is SDR + 1 and the surrender period carries a fee of 100 percent for Year 1, 50 percent for Year 2, 20 percent for Year 3, and then 10 percent for the 4th year.
The Cornerstone Flexi plan, she said, is an endowment policy that offers a lump sum amount on maturity of the. contract or death of the policyholder, noting that its flexibility makes it easy for individuals to pay the premium upfront, either annually, bi-annually, quarterly, or monthly.
She stressed that this flexibility is also obtainable while paying benefits to beneficiaries as payment is made quarterly, second quarter or at the end of the policy term.
Another good feature of Flexi, she highlighted, is that it allows policyholders to access loan options to the tune of 70 percent of the contract’s surrender value, so long as the policy has been operational for at least two years.
She explained that premiums can be paid upfront, annually, bi-annually, quarterly, or monthly and the product is available for policy durations of 6, 9, 12 and 15 years only.
The minimum sum assured in the package is N1,000,000, while the maximum age of entry is 64 years, and 3 percent payable bonus on maturity.
She said: “The policy also has a waiver of premium option if the policyholder is diagnosed with a defined critical illness or permanent disability. The policy has a loan facility to the tune of 70 percent of the surrender value provided the policy has been in force for at least 2 years”.
Ahmed noted that the sum assured and accrued bonuses will be paid to the beneficiary or legal representative in the event of death before maturity, stressing that after two years, the policyholder can use the loan option.
She further stated, “Cornerstone Life Insurance Plan (CLIP) is a term assurance product which was designed to protect the livelihood of the insured’s dependents in the event of his/her demise within the period of cover.
“For example, if you purchase this policy, your dependents or loved ones receive financial support to help them with life in your absence. Dependents can receive up to N2 million based on the premium paid by the policyholder”.
She noted that premium is paid up-front; policy duration is one year; the maximum age of entry is 64 years; the minimum premium payable is N1,000; life cover minimum is N100,000 and maximum is N2 million per annum.
On the benefits, she stated that when the insured dies, the beneficiary is paid a benefit and provides financial support to loved ones in the event of death.
Jimoh, while speaking on Oga Boy, maintained that just as its name implies, the Oga Boy plan is an apprentice savings scheme with a 2-year maximum savings duration and an accompanying term life insurance cover like i-Save.
According to her, the product is targeted at traders with apprentices working under them for an agreed period, with the promise of compensation at the end of their service, stressing that “It’s important to note that the Oga Boy plan isn’t a new product like the rest on the list”.
She said the insurer merely re-introduced it to the market with some new modifications.
The features are: One-off (up front) risk premium payment for 2-year life insurance cover; minimum monthly savings of N5,000.00; options for the death benefit start from N100,000.00, up to a maximum of N1 million and the interest rate is SDR+1 percent.
She said it allows business owners an opportunity to save towards the “freedom” of their apprentices; creates short-term capital for future needs such as business start-ups, school fees, landed property, purchase of an annuity at retirement, savings towards pilgrimage and/or holidays.
In the event of death, the account balance and sum assured are paid to the named, while accrued interest will be forfeited upon withdrawal or termination if this happens within the first 12 months.
Dan-Olufemi Olayinka, Chief Technology Officer Cornerstone Insurance Plc while speaking on the App, said it seeks to address; service excellence, simplicity, convenience and ease of doing business with Cornerstone product information; purchase and payment.
He explained that the firm’s slogan is insurance at your palm which enables customers to purchase products from start to finish.
The target customers of the product/app, according to him, are retail and individual customers.
He said the benefits are, availability of insurance services anytime, any day of the week without going to any of the firm’s branches; policy management whereby a customer can retrieve documents of insurance purchased via the app at any time and leveraging existing data to streamline data request from clients thereby improving the turn around time for customer engagement.
According to him, top features are that customers can lodge motor claims and track the claim status; policy verification; customers can validate if insurance purchased is authentic with only view clicks; simplified customer journey and and any other answer that might be of interest to the public; investment plan product where the firm can manage savings /Investment plan product automated underwriting on all the company’s digital sales outlet.
Tunde Lawuyi, Head, Product Development & Channel Innovation, Cornerstone Insurance Plc urged the public to embrace the products to build up wealth and leverage the App to explore the product offering of the firm and plan their lives: family and businesses through the products.
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