1Life Insurance

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.

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

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

• Life insurance
• Funeral cover
• Dread disease cover
• Disability insurance
• Direct insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Dread Disease Cover Premiums: Recurring premiums for critical illness coverage with pay-outs up to R5 million for diagnosis of conditions like cancer.
4. Disability Insurance Premiums: Recurring premiums for disability coverage with pay-outs up to R12 million for permanent disability preventing earning capacity.
5. Investment Products: Investment products offered as part of financial planning services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core 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

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH)coreOthers1Life 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

Others

• 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1life-insurance
• Xx.com/1Life_insurance

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 1Life Insurance