INSURER Old Mutual revealed yesterday that 58 percent of 2020 retrenchment cover claims were paid out to women, confirming that the economic impact of Covid-19 hit working women harder than it did working men.
According to Old Mutual Claim Statistics Report, of the three million jobs lost in early lockdown – between February and April 2020 – two-thirds, or two million were held by women.
Old Mutual said it paid out 30 percent more in retrenchment cover claims in 2020 than in 2019, representing a R3 million increase.
John Kotze, Retail Protection Product Head at Old Mutual, said, “This is one of the highest-ever increases in retrenchment cover claims, directly related to the Covid-19 outbreak and the economic devastation that followed.”
The proportion of claims paid to women shot up 21 percent in 2020, from 48 percent in 2019, a clear indication that women faced retrenchment in significantly higher numbers than men last year.
In 2020, those between the ages of 30 and 40 filed the highest proportion of claims across five age brackets (20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60 and 60-70) at 39 percent – up from 36 percent in 2019. At the same time, those between the ages of 50 and 60 saw the biggest increase in claims year on year, from 18 percent in 2019 to 23 percent in 2020.
Old Mutual said it had paid out more than R14 billion in underwritten, non-underwritten and corporate risk cover claims in 2020. Of this, R6.48bn was made up of underwritten claims – under which retrenchment cover falls – up from R5.33bn in 2019.
BUSINESS REPORT