1Life Insurance
1Life Insurance is a South African licensed life insurer operating a 100% direct distribution model, offering life, funeral, dread disease, disability, and investment products exclusively online and via phone to individual families and working consumers across South Africa and selected SADC markets.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What 1Life Insurance does
1Life Insurance Limited is a South African licensed life insurer and Financial Services Provider (FSP no. 24769) that operates a 100% direct distribution model, selling exclusively through its website, call centre, WhatsApp self-service, and online policyholder portal without intermediary agents. Founded in 2006 and headquartered at Clientèle Office Park, Morningside, Johannesburg, the company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telesure Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd, a diversified South African insurance conglomerate that also controls Auto & General, Budget Insurance, First for Women, and Dial Direct.
The company's core product portfolio spans Pure Life Cover, Priority Life Cover, and Pure Life Plus Cover (up to R12 million life pay-outs with no medicals required — only an HIV swab, and fixed premiums for the first 12 months); Funeral Cover (up to R50,000 per policy covering up to 16 extended family members, plus R16,000 in free benefits for groceries, repatriation and a headstone); Dread Disease Cover and a female-specific variant (up to R5 million); Disability Insurance (up to R12 million); Expense Protector salary protection; 1Life Wills and Estate Plan; and Investments products. Supporting technology includes an automated claims-processing solution underpinned by Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence that approves qualifying funeral claims in as little as five minutes and settles valid claims within 24 business hours, plus the ForKeeps digital legacy application, a policyholder portal at mypolicy.1life.co.za, a 24/7 WhatsApp service centre, and the 1Lifestyle rewards programme.
1Life monetises through recurring monthly insurance premiums across its product lines, targeting South African families, extended family networks, and working individuals across South Africa and selected SADC markets including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique. Customer acquisition is driven by direct digital channels, radio partnerships with major SA broadcasters, the Truth About Money financial-education platform, and customer referral programmes. The company has been ranked SA's #1 Direct Life Insurer for 11 consecutive years based on Swiss Re Reports 2010–2021, and holds certifications including FSP licensing, POPIA compliance, Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) compliance, and the Readability Mark for plain-language policy documentation.
1Life Insurance firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 1Life Insurance
- Legal name
- 1Life Insurance Limited
- Website
- https://1life.co.za
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- 1Life Insurance is a South African licensed life insurer operating a 100% direct distribution model, offering life, funeral, dread disease, disability, and investment products exclusively online and via phone to individual families and working consumers across South Africa and selected SADC markets.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
1Life Insurance industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Life Insurance
- NAICS
- Direct Life Insurance Carriers (524113), Direct Life, Health, and Medical Insurance Carriers (52411), Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers (524114)
- SIC
- Life Insurance (6311), Accident & Health Insurance (6321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Simplified Issue (No-Exam) Term Life Insurance (FSAIAAAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Final Expense Term Life Insurance (FSAIAAAI), Guaranteed Issue Term Life Insurance (FSAIAAAG)
Keywords
Where 1Life Insurance is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Johannesburg
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
1Life Insurance business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Life Insurance Premiums: Recurring monthly premiums from life cover policies offering pay-outs of up to R12 million. No medicals required for most policies, only HIV swab test.
- Funeral Insurance Premiums: Recurring monthly premiums from funeral cover policies covering up to 16 extended family members with benefits up to R50,000 plus R16,000 in free benefits.
- Dread Disease Cover Premiums: Recurring premiums for critical illness coverage with pay-outs up to R5 million for diagnosis of conditions like cancer.
- Disability Insurance Premiums: Recurring premiums for disability coverage with pay-outs up to R12 million for permanent disability preventing earning capacity.
- Investment Products: Investment products offered as part of financial planning services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Funeral Cover - Family profiles |
| Subscription | Monthly | Life Cover - Coverage limits |
| Subscription | Monthly | Dread Disease Cover |
| Subscription | Monthly | Disability Insurance |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
1Life Insurance product offering
Product offeringCore offering
1Life Insurance is a direct life insurer selling life, funeral, dread disease, disability, and expense protection insurance products directly to South African consumers online and by phone without intermediaries. Core policies include Pure Life Cover, Priority Life Cover, Pure Life Plus Cover, and Funeral Cover for up to 16 extended family members, with no medical examinations required (only an HIV swab) and fixed premiums for the first 12 months. Additional offerings include wills and estate planning, investment products, the 1Lifestyle rewards programme, and the ForKeeps digital legacy app.
Product overview
1Life Insurance is a direct life insurer offering a comprehensive portfolio of insurance and financial products. The core offering centers on life insurance products (Pure Life Cover, Priority Life Cover, Pure Life Plus Cover), funeral insurance, dread disease cover, disability insurance, and expense protection. Additional offerings include wills and estate planning services and investment products. The company also provides digital services including an online policyholder portal, WhatsApp self-service, the ForKeeps digital legacy app, and the 1Lifestyle rewards programme. Truth About Money provides financial education services. The portfolio is distributed through direct channels (online, phone, WhatsApp) with no medical examinations required for most life cover policies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ForKeeps: Digital legacy app allowing policyholders to create photo albums and afterlife messages for family members.
- 1Lifestyle
Products and services
- Pure Life Cover
Quantifiable outcome
- Save up to 40% on monthly funeral cover premiums
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use 1Life Insurance
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
1Life Insurance technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
1Life Insurance partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH)core1Life Insurance is a subsidiary of Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH), a South African financial services holding company. TIH subsidiaries include Auto and General Insurance, First for Women Insurance, Budget Insurance, Dial Direct Insurance, Telesure Group Services, Hippo Comparative Services, Hippo Advisory Services, Unity Financial Services, Wealthport, Wealthport Nominees, and Rockport Capital.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
1Life Insurance competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Lemonade: US-based B-Corp digital insurance company operating a fully mobile, AI-driven direct insurance model comparable in ethos to 1Life's direct-and-tech-driven approach, though oriented to renter/home/pets rather than life insurance.
Direct peers
- Hollard Life: South African insurer with strong direct and affinity-channel life insurance offerings; comparable in providing simplified-issue life and funeral cover products through non-broker channels.
- AVBOB: South African mutual focused on funeral and life cover; competes head-on with 1Life's funeral cover product targeting the same extended-family demographic on similar low-premium subscriptions.
- Clientèle Life: South Africa's largest direct life insurer and 1Life's closest competitor, also selling funeral and life policies directly to mass-market households without broker intermediaries, with similar product mix and distribution model.
Broad incumbents
- Discovery Life: South African financial services group's life insurance arm; broader financial-services incumbent that also issues individual life cover, but uses a Vitality-integrated broker-led model and serves higher-income segments than 1Life.
- Momentum (MMI Holdings): South African insurer covering life, disability and dread disease within a multi-product financial services group; broad incumbent with overlapping product categories though primarily distributed via advisers.
- Sanlam Life: One of South Africa's largest traditional life insurance groups; operates across life, funeral and disability but predominantly through adviser/broker channels, making it a broader incumbent rather than a direct channel specialist.
- Old Mutual Life: Established South African life insurance group offering life, disability and dread disease products; broad incumbent with diversified distribution (advisers + direct) and a much larger product portfolio than 1Life's niche focus.
Regional players
- Bidvest Life: South African life and disability insurer within the Bidvest group; similar product mix to 1Life with comparable pricing focus but with corporate-distribution channels rather than the consumer direct-only approach.
Emerging players
- Pineapple Insurance: South African fully digital, mobile-first insurtech offering life, funeral, and gadget cover; represents the emerging pure-mobile direct distribution model that could disrupt 1Life's online-and-callcentre direct approach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
1Life Insurance social profiles
Digital presence1Life Insurance compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
1Life Insurance financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
1Life Insurance leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
1Life Insurance funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
1Life Insurance M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 1Life Insurance
What does 1Life Insurance do?
1Life Insurance is a direct life insurer selling life, funeral, dread disease, disability, and expense protection insurance products directly to South African consumers online and by phone without intermediaries. Core policies include Pure Life Cover, Priority Life Cover, Pure Life Plus Cover, and Funeral Cover for up to 16 extended family members, with no medical examinations required (only an HIV swab) and fixed premiums for the first 12 months. Additional offerings include wills and estate planning, investment products, the 1Lifestyle rewards programme, and the ForKeeps digital legacy app.
Is 1Life Insurance a public or private company?
1Life Insurance is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was 1Life Insurance founded?
1Life Insurance was founded in 2006. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is 1Life Insurance based?
1Life Insurance is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does 1Life Insurance make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Life Insurance Premiums are the primary driver. The others are funeral Insurance Premiums, dread Disease Cover Premiums, disability Insurance Premiums and investment Products.
Who are 1Life Insurance's main competitors?
Lemonade is listed as an others. Direct peers are Hollard Life, AVBOB and Clientèle Life. Broad incumbents are Discovery Life, Momentum (MMI Holdings), Sanlam Life and Old Mutual Life. Bidvest Life is listed as a regional player. Pineapple Insurance is listed as an emerging player.
Does 1Life Insurance have an API?
No public API is recorded for 1Life Insurance.
What industry is 1Life Insurance in?
1Life Insurance's product category is Life Insurance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAIAAAH, Simplified Issue (No-Exam) Term Life Insurance, with a secondary code of FSAIAAAI, Final Expense Term Life Insurance. Its NAICS code is 524113 and its SIC code is 6311.