Dear clients and associates December
2017
We are almost at the end of 2017 and would
like to reflect on the highlights and challenges of the past year. A warm
welcome to all our new clients who joined us this year. Most of our new clients
are referrals which makes us proud and thankful towards our existing clients
and associates for entrusting us to oversee your family, friends and business
associates’ financial planning. To all our clients: you can rest assured that
we are commited to compiling a personal financial needs analysis for every
client to ensure it reflects each individual’s personal goals.
Our mission is to continue assisting you on the road to the creation and retention of wealth
and protection against financial risks.
Investments and creation of wealth
Initially, markets performed poorly, but stabilised
very well during the third semester,
emphasizing again the importance for investors to keep with long-term planning
and refrain from making short-sighted decisions based purely on emotions. This
ensures worthy fund performances over the long haul. We expect volatile markets
in December during the ANC’s leadership congress, but we trust it will only have
a short-term effect.
Risk insurance:
Life-, Disability- and Severe illness cover
We were grateful we could finalize a severe
illness claim successfully earlier this year. This was in spite of confirmation
from other insurers they would not have settled the full claim. It confirms
again the importance of working only with trustworthy product providers who
have proven their reliability with a good claim and payout history.
It is very
important to review your risk benefits annually to ensure you are sufficiently
covered. Please ensure you keep to your annual appointments.
We receive regular concerns regarding
temporary disability benefits. What happens
when you are unable to earn an income for an extended period due to injury or
illness? Certain employers do offer temporary disability cover as part of your
employee benefits, but unfortunately this is very seldom. Luckily there are
numerous products on the market that offer this cover. Feel free to contact us for an evaluation of your personal
situation and advise on suitable cover.
Thank you to all our business partners
for your expertise and personalized service to us, as well as our clients.
Short-term
insurance
Over the past year we have seen some devastating fires in the Western Cape, especially in the Garden Route region.
The value of sufficient insurance was again highlighted.
The negative impact of under- or overinsurance can be underestimated at claim
stage. With underinsurance, it is
important to note that only a portion of the claim is paid. For example, if
your house contents is insured for R100 000, but the true replacement value is
R200 000, the insurance company will only pay 50% of the claim value. Therefore,
if the claim is for R50 000, only the amount of R25 000 will be allowed. The
same applies to overinsurance. Only the
replacement value will be paid and is therefore not in the client’s best
interest to overinsure their items.
With the fires in Gordon’s Bay during the
month of November, it was heartwarming to see the community coming together to
help those in need. Thankfully we had no
loss, but clients have suffered significant damage. Our empathy is with you. We
are doing everything within our capacity to finalize the claims as quickly as
possible.
We are also proud of our village, Gordon’s
Bay and its people for their swift action when our local animal welfare sent
out a distress call for the animals in need. The animals were quickly evacuated
and taken to safety at different locations. We also fostered a loveable
rottweiler until the fires were contained. Thank you to all the firefighters,
community members, businesses and everyone else for your speedy assistance and
selfless service.
With the
purchasing of a new short-term policy, please ensure all info is accurate and
true as stipulated in the schedule. Please take time to read
the summaries/schedule carefully and take note of any excess amounts as well as
additional benefits added.
It remains the responsibility of the client
to ensure you understand the product and the insured amounts are correctly
disclosed.
We receive various complaints with the annual
renewals when short-term premiums increase, in spite of vehicle retail values declining.
Unfortunately there is a number of factors that determine the premium
increases, for example:
-
The weakening Rand which contributes to the
price increase of vehicle parts and repair costs.
-
A significant rise in theft claims, which
increased the cost to insure vehicles.
-
Claims due to severe weather patterns, for
example flooding or the Knysna fires.
Please contact us if you are not satisfied with your current
premium or service. We would like to have the opportunity to address the
problem rather than have you change to a different service provider without our
knowledge. In most cases we will be able to provide a solution.
Kindly contact us in advance if you want to
add an item to your short-term insurance, especially with the purchasing of a
motor vehicle, to allow us sufficient time to do all that is necessary.
For enquiries during the festive season when our office is closed:
(Have the policy number or I.D. number of the policy holder ready when you
call)
OM Insure
Tel: 0861 247 365 Claims,
emergencies, Swiftcare: roadside assistance, household emergencies and medical
emergencies.
Tel: 0860 637 373 For general
enquiries about adding or removing items or any other amendments.
Santam
Tel: 0860 505 911 Claims,
emergencies, SOS: roadside assistance, household emergencies and medical
emergencies.
Tel: 0860 726 826 For general
enquiries about adding or removing items or any other amendments.
Auto & General
Tel: 021 527 8666 All claims, enquiries and amendments.
Tel: 0860 104 210 Emergencies after hours.
Well wishes and inspiration
Congratulations to our clients who earned a
sporting achievement. A grandson of one of our clients has previously earned
provinsial colours in rugby, and has now also received SA colours in Hip Hop dancing.
Another client’s daughter is a provinsial Netball player. There were also
clients who studied part-time and completed their degree with distinction.
We would like to congratulate everyone who
earned a significant achievement, you are our inspiration. You are most welcome to share your and
your family’s achievements with us, we want to share in your pride and joy.
Tax assessments
A significant amount of grievances were
mentioned in the news towards SARS for their reluctance to pay out refunds due
to income tax payers. However, it is remarkable how e-filing has simplified tax
submissions the past few years. Mostly the processes are easier and quicker
than 10 years ago. Take this in consideration if you experience any frustrations.
SARS has intensified requests for submission of supporting documentation and in
some cases more detailed evidence, to ensure only true deductions.
You are welcome to forward your tax
documentation upon receipt for safekeeping. We store all documentation
electronically until the tax season commences to prevent endless searches for
misplaced documentation when in a hurry.
It remains the client’s responsiblility to ensure
we receive the relevant documentation in time.
Please take note deductions allowed for
retirement savings has increased to 27.5% this year. We would like to encourage
you to make use of this opportunity to maximise your tax deductions. Please
contact us for more info regarding this tax allowance.
Condolences
Best wishes to everyone who is recovering from a serious illness,
operation or accident. We trust you will have a speedy recovery. Our thoughts
are with the Walker and Agenbag families, who lost a
loved one.
Compliance
Masthead, the biggest network for Independent Financial Advisors,
still assess and handle our compliance. Our compliance is up to date and we are
proud we received a clean audit from Masthead once again. Thank you to
everybody at Masthead ensuring we comply to the regulations of the industry.
Our practice behind the scenes
Our office hours are Mondays – Fridays from 8:00
till 16:00. We have however experienced some power
outages in the Gordon’s Bay region recently which affected our internet and
phone systems. We do apologize for any inconvenience if you were unable to
reach us. Please rest assured that we have put systems in place that will
ensure no call goes unanswered during office hours. You are also most welcome to visit us at our premises.
Personal
Our son, Marco joined our business in January
and he has already taken a significant role within the practice. The extra member
comes in handy especially when individuals are on leave.
The success in our practice is determined solely by the support of
our clients. We are humbled by this and would like to sincerely thank all our
clients for your continued support.
2017 was a busy year and we look forward to
the break. We
are excited about 2018 and what it has in store for us. Our office will close
on 22 December and re-open on 8 January
2018.
Merry Christmas and best wishes for
the New Year! Travel safely and enjoy this special time with loved ones.
Kind regards
From all of us at Toni van Zyl
Financial Services
