Universal Cover is a licensed financial service provider that offers Gap Cover and Gap Plus Cover. These polices ensure that neither you nor your dependants will face hefty bills following a medical or surgical procedure. These bills usually exceed the benefit your medical aid will pay.
Universal gap cover has been a winner of five industry awards for excellence. And you can obtain Universal Cover for the whole family for less than R600 a month.
But I have medical aid cover!
Let’s take a closer look at the financial shortfalls you are likely to face without Gap Cover.
It does not matter what level of benefits you opt for on your medical aid scheme. Undoubtedly you will experience a shortfall between what your scheme pays and what your medical bills amount to. That sadly is a fact because the medical profession charges way more than the tariff rates offered by medical schemes.
Another negative impact on your finances can be for what is termed as a co-payment. Medical schemes impose co-payments for things like hospital admissions and certain prescribed and costly medical procedures. A Gap policy covers these co-payments.
There is a limit to cover for cancer treatments and a Gap Cover policy increases the value of these.
The Universal Gap cover cost factor
It is generally far cheaper to add Gap Cover to your healthcare portfolio than it is to opt for a higher level 
and more expensive medical aid with better benefits. And it is for that very reason why many South Africans are actually downgrading the value of their medical aid cover and supplementing those shortfalls with a more affordable Gap Cover policy.
Other Universal Gap Cover benefits
Gap Cover can protect you from possible financial ruin should you, or a member of your family, need hospital treatment for an illness or another medical emergency. The last thing you need to face in times of illness is a huge and unexpected bill for medical treatment costs that fall outside the ambit of what your medical aid will pay. That possibility is resolved with a Gap Cover policy.
Understanding the shortfalls
Familiarise yourself with the content of your medical aid benefits and try to fill the gaps that are likely to occur with a supplementary Gap Cover policy.
The most crucial information is the amounts your medical aid stipulates it will pay for various medical procedures and treatments.
For example, the amount stipulated by your medical scheme for an appendectomy is R50,000 but you are billed R75,000 for the operation. You will either have to pay in that R25,000 from your own pocket or fund it from your Gap Cover policy.
The reason why there are huge price discrepancies is that members of the medical profession, including private hospitals, do not have to abide by the recommended tariffs prescribed by medical aid schemes.
With Gap Cover from Universal, you can rest assured that any financial shortfalls for medical procedures and treatments will be settled. You can obtain Gap Cover of up to R10 million annually for the family and increase the difference in your medical aid’s tariff rate cover by as much as 500 per cent.
Other benefits include:
- Dental surgery co-payments
- A 12-month premium waiver for your medical aid if you are involved in an accident and are unable to work for 30 days or longer
- Repatriation payment If you die in an accident
- Internal prosthesis
- A hijacking benefit
- Trauma counselling
To receive your Gap Cover quote, complete the form shown on this page. Remember, you must be a member of a registered South African medical aid scheme to quality for Gap Cover.
Get your own gap cover quote here. Complete and submit the form please!
