Sharing a common vision around healthcare and realising that we have a highly complementary set of skills and assets, Kaelo joined forces with Dis-Chem Pharmacies in 2021. Dis-Chem has been nothing short of transformative for Kaelo and adds that crucial element that is needed to complete our offering.
In partnership with Dis-Chem, we have successfully launched a retail range of products under the Dis-Chem Health, Dis-Chem Accident and Dis-Chem Gap names. The combination of the Kaelo Primecure network and the Dis-Chem brand and infrastructure offer a powerful cost effective healthcare offering for consumers. We continue to build on our early successes.
Dis-Chem’s extensive stores allow us to offer affordable, personalised care. Customers can easily consult with a primary care nurse and access medication and related products, all in one place.
The inclusion of extra rewards by Dis-Chem gives policy holders an unparalleled discount on a wide range of highly relevant everyday products. The savings created frees up more money for cash strapped South Africans to spend on healthcare.
Market Dynamics
Distribution is a key factor in taking product to market in corporate South Africa and aligning with the top intermediary houses in the country has proved to be mutually beneficial in the growth of our respective businesses. We remain steadfastly committed to our intermediaries. Much work remains to help the industry understand how insurance can add value to their clients in a way that positively impacts lives.
Further work is also needed to convince many employers of the symbiotic relationship that exists between them and their employees. Employers play a critical role in the lives of their employees who benefit from the fruits of their labours. Supporting employees unlocks value to the employer. This is emphasised in developing countries where there is little support from the state and the population tends to be more short term focussed on immediate needs.
Whilst the #NHI is a noble notion, there are massive challenges to its successful implementation. The Health Market Enquiry of 2019 highlighted many aspects within the broader health system that needed to be rectified prior to the implementation of the NHI. These systemic challenges remain very much with us and need urgent attention to improve the plight of the average South African. The road ahead is cloaked in uncertainties. We will observe as many industry players play out their cases in court and the ANC grapples with a shifting political landscape.
Against this backdrop, the unworkable NHI remains a distant fantasy. In the vacuum left by the absence of any clear government initiative that is practical, pragmatic and sustainable, the marginalised members of our society remain in urgent need of alternatives. Record unemployment and reliance on the state exacerbate these challenges. Kaelo remains committed to doing its part for the betterment of South Africans.
Social Entrepreneurship underpins the spirit of Kaelo and follows the principle that there are more important things than bottom-line performance. A philosophical belief that profit is necessary for sustainable interventions that encompass societal upliftment. Products and interventions need to address mental wellbeing and have a whole person focus. This lens provides a different view of insurance and is essential in the current climate and most especially in the third world.
Putting care in its broadest sense at the forefront of what insurance embodies is a good north star and one that guides us.
The insurance industry suffers from a leadership and innovation vacuum that leaves a ripe opportunity for progressive insurance solutions that support the disenfranchised and add value in a considered way to all South Africans. Kaelo is energised by the role we play in this industry, and the committed team of pioneers that make up Kaelo today will continue to do our utmost to fill this gap.
Kaelo has many firsts. Some examples include the first to provide wellness days in South Africa, the first to offer integrated #HIV testing with traditional screening, the first to break boundaries through integrating occupational healthcare into broader health initiatives, the first to integrate mental wellbeing into health insurance and the first to conduct comprehensive mobile life insurance medicals in South Africa. We are resolute in future innovation to ensure better access to care with better outcomes at an affordable price.
Kaelo provides products that are applicable to all South Africans. There is something for everyone, especially those groups who find themselves left out in the proverbial cold. Those who fall victim to prohibitive legislation and the questionable motives of politicians. Kaelo will continue to be a forerunner in areas that improve circumstances for those disadvantaged and marginalised.
#EmployeeHealth
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