On a sunny Saturday, while participating in a golf tournament, Albert a 39-year-old father of two is approached by a smile-stricken sales lady from one of the insurance companies sponsoring the tournament. She presents him with a brochure on education policy hoping to convince him and his friends to purchase one.
Albert quickly remembers of how him and his wife almost purchased a cover. However, upon doing research from various social media platforms they found negative comments on education insurance policies. Many people on the sites preferred saving for their children’s education through saccos or bank accounts. Albert and his wife are among the few Kenyans who have a negative perception about education policies and as such, he quickly dismissed the sales lady.
According to Kenya Bureau of Statistics 2023 Finaccess household survey, education expenses are a second priority in households consumption budget at 30.2 percent compared to food that has a priority of 31.8 percent. Despite having the highest literacy levels in Africa, access to quality education in Kenya remains the biggest constraint. Cost of education especially in higher education is expensive by the day with parents having to contend with extra costs such as exam fees, transport, books, boarding fees among others. This has forced many parents opting to take Sacco or bank loans to cater for their children education.
Sifting through discussions on education covers in different social media platforms, it is clear that there exists a knowledge gap on how education covers work hence the negative perceptions created. How exactly do education covers work?
An education policy is a life insurance policy that allows you to save for your child’s education. It enables you to set aside a given amount of money for a specified period so that you have sufficient funds to invest in the quality of education you desire for your child.
An education policy is a two in one policy with savings and protection components such that, it enables you to save money while providing a life cover for the parent or guardian. The education plan protects a child’s future in case of an unfortunate case such as the demise of a parent or total permanent disability or critical illness, guaranteeing continuity of learning for the child.
CIC has an education plan called Academia policy and with a monthly premium of KShs.3,000 you can begin saving for your child’s education, secure their future which ultimately allows you to plan other aspects of your life with ease.
The CIC academia policy waives premium payment in the event of the demise of a parent. This means that CIC will continue paying the premiums for the remaining period that the policy was to run and the savings will be availed for the child’s education as it was intended. In the unfortunate event that the child dies, the parent is free to nominate another child as the beneficiary of the plan or launch a claim which is equivalent to the refund of premium paid.
It is imperative for insurance companies to close this gap by equipping customers with information about the cover. Sales agents need to sensitize customers on the need to examine their policy documents in case of any queries before and after they have signed up for the insurance cover.
