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Following the latest development of COVID-19 in Seychelles and in line with the Ministry of Health’s advice to implement Social distancing, Sacos has implemented the following precautionary measures to ensure the safety of staff and customers, while allowing us to continue to provide insurance service for new and existing customers.

General Insurance

Enquiries for New and Existing Customers

• Customers can call us directly or email us on the following for a new insurance cover, for their insurance renewal or for any other queries
  • Personal Insurance: 4295047 email: general@sacos.sc or info@sacos.sc
  • Business Insurance: 4295043 email: general@sacos.sc or info@sacos.sc
• Customer can directly request a quote for any new product on our website http://www.sacos.sc and one of our staff will contact you.

Claims

Customers can call us directly on 4295065/4296054 or email: Claims@sacos.sc

Customers can download our claims form from our website: https://www.sacos.sc/claims/ , complete it, signed it and send it to use via email with the supporting document. Please note that the list of all documents required are at the end of the claim forms.

Life Insurance

Enquiries for New and Existing Customers

• Customers can call us directly or email us on the following for any new policy they want to purchase or queries they have on their existing policies
  • New Customers: 4295145 email: life@sacos.sc or info@sacos.sc
  • Existing Customers: 4295034 email: life@sacos.sc or info@sacos.sc
• Customer can directly request a quote for any new product on our website http://www.sacos.sc and one of our staff will contact you.

Claims

• Customers can call us directly on 4295115 or email us email: life@sacos.sc
• Customers can also download our claims form from our website: https://www.sacos.sc/claims/ , complete it, signed it and send it to use via email with the supporting document.

Payment Facility

• Sacos has bank accounts in all the major banks, namely Nouvobanq, MCB, ABSA and Seychelles Commercial Bank and we would like to encourage our customers to use the Internet/Mobile banking facilities for those that have them, or you can pay directly to our account for other banks that doesn’t have the facility for your policy renewal or for your monthly life premium payment. Please contact us on our customer service number 4295008, whatsapp +248 2660950 or email us at info@sacos.sc and we will provide you with our account details for your respective bank.

Over the next few days, we will continue to communicate with you over developments, so please follow us on facebook @SacosInsuranceGroup and check our website http://www.sacos.sc for updates. We thank you for your understanding and we urge you to make use of our facilities above to protect yourself and your family. We remain a phone call away. Sacos Here for you.

It is being highly recommended that everyone avoid unnecessary travel; but of course  with university all over the world closing worried parents want kids to come home, people away on vacation need to get back to their country and lets face it, not everyone can avoid traveling. If you absolutely need to do so, here are some tips on how to minimise your risk of contracting the coronavirus:

Firstly you should know that the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that risk of infection on an airplane is low, owing to how air circulates and is filtered making it that most viruses and other germs do not spread easily. But before you can reach the plane you need to navigate your way around an airport and this is where you are most at risk. It is therefore imperative that travellers try to avoid contact with sick passengers, and that they wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser that contains 60–95% alcohol.

If your airline offers the service, check in online in order to avoid queues and exposure.

If you are able to, bring antibacterial wipes containing alcohol to wipe down personal areas like your tray table, armrests, seatbelts, console and call buttons.

Beyond frequent hand washing, good respiratory hygiene and social distancing, following these guidelines will increase your chances of avoiding infection. Remember, if  you do touch shared or potentially germ-ridden surfaces, avoid touching the eyes, nose or mouth until washing their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

As the coronavirus has reached the Seychelles and continue to spread throughout the world, more people are being advised or have taken it upon themselves to self-isolate while the relevant authorities are doing all they can to protect everyone’s health. While there is yet to be a cure for the virus, we can all play a role in slowing down the spread.

Protect yourself and those around you by:

• Avoiding physical contact when and as much as you can.
• Keeping distance between you and others when in crowded places. In fact, try to avoid crowded places altogether.
• Avoiding contact with those who are visibly ill.

Everybody should apply the following hygiene measures:

• If you have flu-like symptoms, stay at home.
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water.
• Sneeze and blow your nose in a tissue handkerchief. Use each tissue only once and throw it away immediately in a covered rubbish bin.
• You don’t have a tissue? Sneeze or cough into your elbow.

Remember to call 141 and report your symptoms. Do not go to the waiting room or the emergency department. The doctor will determine by telephone whether you should self isolate or should go to hospital.

While it is important to plan ahead in case you need to isolate for 14 days, it is equally  important to not panic and stockpile. It is these trying times that require everybody  to behave responsibly and think about others; Buying more than is needed can sometimes mean others will be left without, others that may need it more than you.

Stay responsible, stay safe

Indeed if we all knew the exact date we would fall sick and the exact diagnosis we would be given, we would probably start doing everything we could to prevent us from falling sick. We would probably start exercising daily, eat a more balanced diet and cut out all the unhealthy vices in our lives (smoking and drinking).

As it stands we do not have a crystal ball and, honestly, even healthy people can suddenly fall sick due to hereditary diseases or exposure to harmful substances in the environment.

At what point then do you take out a health insurance?

Firstly, you need to understand the use of a health insurance. Health insurance helps you to cover the cost of medical, obstetric care and surgical expenses for inpatient treatment. The area of coverage depends on the package you select, but the different zones include Seychelles, Mauritius, India, and South Africa, as well as a worldwide coverage (excluding USA and Canada).

Health insurance will cover the cost of your treatment when you are sick, so the best time to take out a health insurance is before you fall sick. Why? For starters, the coverage is more likely to be cheaper if you are less at risk. Secondly, your current illness will likely not be covered by an insurance policy as you did not have a policy in place when you fell sick. For example, your policy would most likely cover illnesses you will attain from the day the policy became effective and will not cover illnesses you already have.

Why take out a health insurance:

Because you cannot predict when you would fall sick nor what you would be diagnosed with, there are certain risks which can be considered to help you make up your mind:

• Age: Some health risks increase with age such as heart disease.
• Environment: Where you live and what surrounds you are important factors to your health status such as lung cancer.
• Community: Some illnesses are more prevalent in your community as a result of shared or similar lifestyles such as diabetes.
• Hereditary: A number of illnesses are passed down through genetic inheritance such as breast cancer.
• Time: Time is a crucial factor when fighting a serious illness which is why delaying treatment as a result of lack of funds, evaluation or waiting periods can be terminal for a patient.

For more information on health insurance, call us on 429 5000 or send an email to info@sacos.sc

While there are yet to be any confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in the Seychelles, it is always prudent to take precautions:

Practice good hand hygiene: Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use a hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol and rub it in until the surface of the skin is dry before touching your face or eating. Also try and minimise how often you touch your face or rub your eyes. Always cough into your elbows.

Avoid touching surfaces with fingertips: Did you know that this is the part of your hand most likely to transmit a virus?! This is because they’re the part most often used to touch your nose or mouth. Keep a pack of antibacterial wipes on hand and sanitise surfaces before touching them where possible.

Keep a pack of tissue on you: You can use these to open a door or press elevator buttons, or public railings.

Clean your hands before touching your smartphone! Reaching for our phones is something we do without a second thought, but they too can harbour bacteria, viruses, and other germs. Alway clean your phone screens.

Avoid travelling to infected countries if possible.