A key insight emerging from research conducted by financial services provider Metropolitan is that an estimated 11.9 million South Africans (who fall into what Metropolitan defines as the ‘foundation market’) while deeply committed to family protection, are faced with significant challenges.

Many of these households are navigating irregular income, rising household pressure and changing patterns of work.

According to the research, conducted in partnership with the Bureau of Market Research, this foundation market is an underserved market that includes grant recipients who supplement their income through informal work, domestic workers, seasonal earners, and small-scale township entrepreneurs navigating the gig economy. Within that segment exist multiple unmet needs relating to affordability, flexibility, trust, savings, protection, and financial resilience. And nearly 40% of this market is under the age of 40.

The research also shows that this audience is far from disengaged from financial services. Foundation market consumers are highly banked, show strong use of mobile phones and social media, and funeral cover remains one of the most widely used financial products in the segment. However, many consumers also report financial pressure, with more than half of the segments studied saying they cannot easily afford monthly expenses.

For Metropolitan, the findings point to an important shift in the financial inclusion conversation.

Access alone is no longer enough. Products also need to be relevant, affordable, easy to understand and aligned to the way people earn and manage money.

“South Africans are not saying they do not value protection. In fact, the opposite is true. They continue to prioritise protecting their families, but different households have different financial realities,” says Luke Nel, Head: Protection Solutions at Metropolitan.

“Traditional funeral cover continues to play an important role for customers with stable incomes and structured monthly commitments. At the same time, there is a significant group of South Africans whose income is irregular, seasonal or cash-based.

Metropolitan’s No-Lapse Funeral Growth Plan was designed to give those customers another way to build and maintain protection without replacing the funeral cover solutions that already work for many families.”

The No-Lapse Funeral Growth Plan is Metropolitan’s response to this changing reality.

The product is designed for customers whose income may not arrive in predictable monthly cycles, but who still want to protect themselves and their immediate families. Customers can start with a first payment of R200 or more and be covered immediately. They can contribute further when they can and grow their cover with every payment. Once they have paid a cumulative R1 500 within the first 12 months, they secure permanent cover for themselves and their immediate family, subject to product terms and conditions.

The product is digital-first. Customers can sign up through WhatsApp in less than 5 minutes and make payments online using their banking app or cards, or pay at major retailers including Shoprite, Pick n Pay, PEP, Spar and Makro through the Pay@ network.

Metropolitan says the product is not intended to replace traditional funeral cover. Rather, it expands the company’s protection portfolio by creating another option for consumers whose income patterns require more flexibility.

The research supports the need for this distinction.

Concept testing conducted among customers and employees found that the features that resonated most strongly were the policy’s no-lapse design, the ability to top up cover, affordability, flexible payment options and the community driven referral program, which enables clients to get additional funeral cover by referring others to the plan.

When asked how they would pay, 64% said they would pay the premium themselves, while 13.6% said they would pay on behalf of a family member. This supports the insight that protection is not only an individual decision, but often a family and household decision.

However, the research also highlighted that trust will be critical.

Some respondents said the product sounded “too good to be true” and wanted more information before committing. Common questions included how the waiting period works, what happens if customers do not reach the R1 500 threshold and how claims would be processed.

Metropolitan says these concerns have shaped the way the product is communicated.

“The research tells us that relevance is only one part of the job,” says Nel. “Consumers want clear explanations, transparent terms and credible voices they can trust. Our responsibility is to make sure people understand exactly who this product is for, how it works, and how it fits alongside other protection options. Metropolitan is leading with simple, digital first information to ensure clients have access to the information they need. We also offer the full support of our extensive branch network and client servicing staff to ensure clients are taken care of.”

The findings also show why a one-size-fits-all approach to protection is no longer enough.

For customers with predictable income, traditional funeral cover remains an important solution because it provides structured benefits, established monthly payment options and broader personalisation and coverage. For customers whose income is more variable, No-Lapse provides a different route to protection by allowing them to build cover over time, ensuring they never go backwards.

This reflects Metropolitan’s broader ambition to meet South Africans where they are and become a household name with a product in every emerging market home.

As the country’s economy continues to evolve, more households are combining formal employment, informal trading, side hustles, seasonal work and family support. The future of financial inclusion will depend on whether financial services providers can design solutions that recognise these realities without limiting consumers to a single model of protection.

“Different lives need different protection solutions,” says Nel “Our role is to give South Africans more choice, more confidence and more ways to protect the people who matter most.”