Discovery Life says it is using parents’ health and wellness data to pay for a portion of their children’s university tuition, in line with the Discovery group’s strategy to reward customers for healthy lifestyle choices.
Gareth Friedlander, deputy CEO of Discovery Life, said the group had decided that instead of giving paybacks, if parents were healthy it would fund their children’s tertiary education as part of the “Global Education Policy”, which protects children in the event of something happening to their parents.
“Each year that they engage in the programme, they are effectively building up towards 100% of their child’s future university fees,” Friedlander said. “You can imagine how that talks to a parent in terms of motivation.”
He said the company aimed to pay over R3.2bn in the next 21 years towards future university fees for children who were insured through their parents making healthy lifestyle choices, including exercising and eating healthily.
“It is difficult for parents to save for their children’s education at that phase of their life, as there are a lot of expenses,” Friedlander said. “So this is a way to get tuition paid for by making healthy choices.”
It is difficult for parents to save for their children’s education at that phase of their life, as there are a lot of expenses. So this is a way to get tuition paid for by making healthy choices.
— Gareth Friedlander, Discovery Life deputy CEO
While there were other products that covered education, there was nothing on the market that used parents’ health and wellness to fund their children’s future tertiary education, he said.
The product was launched in 2018, and the fund has built up over time. With eight years of clients adding to the product, it had matured to a point where parents were starting to get a portion of their children’s university fees funded, Friedlander said.
Discovery Life said this week that it had paid R11.5bn in claims for 2025, with 65% going to helping clients through illness, disability and income loss.
Deidre Kotze, the company’s chief medical officer, said that, using AI, 14,775 clients had completed more than 18,000 suggested screening actions in 2025, including 9,500 cancer screenings.
The 18,000 screenings resulted in 47 severe illness claims, including 35 for cancer.
“The powerful message comes in when you realise that 32 of those 35 were for low-severity cancers where we could easily get a patient to treatment,” Kotze said.
Total claims to date were R67bn, including R36bn in the past five years, with a sweetener being the payback benefit with 523,000 clients covered. In 2025, R1.2bn in paybacks was paid to clients, as they were rewarded a portion of their premiums for being healthy, creating a cycle in which clients sought more benefits.
According to a study by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa), critical illness is a weak spot, with 85% of earners having no cover for severe illness. Where there was cover, it was equal to three months
The company paid R1.8bn under the severe illness benefit, mainly driven by cancer and heart and artery issues. Prostate cancer accounted for 34% of men, and breast cancer made up 45% of cancers among women.
The company said 80% of prostate cancer claims in 2025 came in early stages of cancer, and intervention was possible.
“The story of breast cancer is less positive, at about 51%.”
According to a study by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa), critical illness is a weak spot, with 85% of earners having no cover for severe illness. Where there was cover, it was equal to three months.
Asisa said South Africans were underinsured for severe illness. While life cover paid out only at death, and disability cover covered mainly a permanent inability to work, critical illness policies provided a lump sum payout on diagnosis of a serious condition such as cancer, heart attack or stroke.
“This benefit is designed to absorb the financial shock of survival, covering indirect and non-medical costs, funding lifestyle adjustments, and providing liquidity during recovery,” Asisa said.
“Medical aids often leave shortfalls, and disability benefits may not apply; critical illness cover provides essential protection to ensure survival from a major illness does not result in financial hardship.”
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