Product administration
Term life insurance administration software
Term life insurance pays a fixed sum assured to the beneficiaries if the life assured dies within an agreed term, such as 10, 20 or 25 years. If the person survives the term, the cover ends and nothing is paid. Because there is no savings element, term cover is the simplest and usually the cheapest form of life insurance to buy and to administer.
Term life administration software manages the policy from quotation to expiry: pricing by age, gender, term and smoker status, underwriting the application, collecting premiums, handling lapses and reinstatements, and paying death claims. Ontech LifeI ERP does this for life insurers in Zambia with Mobile Money collection and USSD, SMS and WhatsApp servicing built in.
Key capabilities
Product configuration
Set up level, decreasing or convertible term products with their own benefits, rating factors, minimum and maximum ages, terms and sums assured.
Instant quotations
Quote by age, gender, term, sum assured and smoker status from the product catalogue, through the agent portal, client portal or the public quote API.
Underwriting
Capture medical declarations and supporting documents, apply acceptance rules automatically for standard risks and refer the rest to an underwriter.
Premium billing and collection
Generate monthly, quarterly or annual premium schedules and collect through MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, Zamtel Kwacha, bank or cash with automatic matching.
Lapse and reinstatement
Track grace periods, lapse policies that stop paying, send reminders, and reinstate policies when arrears are settled and any new declaration is accepted.
Death claims
Register the claim, collect the death certificate and identity documents, route approval, and settle to the named beneficiaries.
Conversion and expiry
Convert eligible term policies to whole life or endowment cover, and close policies cleanly when the term ends.
How it works
- The insurer defines each term product once: benefits, rating table, underwriting limits and commission rules.
- An agent, broker, USSD user or the client portal requests a quotation, which is priced from the rating table.
- The accepted quotation becomes an application; underwriting accepts, loads or declines it.
- The policy is issued with a premium schedule and the first premium is collected through Mobile Money or another channel.
- Ongoing premiums are matched to the policy; missed premiums trigger reminders and, after the grace period, a lapse.
- On death within the term the claim is registered, documented, approved under maker-checker controls and paid to beneficiaries.
Benefits
Fast, consistent pricing
Every channel quotes from the same rating table, so agents, USSD and the portal never disagree on a premium.
Fewer lapses
Automatic SMS and WhatsApp reminders before and after a due date give policyholders a chance to pay before cover lapses.
Clean claims
The claim is linked to the policy, its premium history and its beneficiaries, so the claims team has what it needs without searching files.
Low administration cost
Term cover is high-volume and low-margin; automation of quoting, collection and reminders keeps the cost per policy down.
Who it is for
- Life insurers selling individual term cover through agents, brokers or digital channels in Zambia.
- Insurers offering credit life or mortgage protection with decreasing sums assured.
- Companies launching low-premium mobile term products to first-time buyers.
Zambia-specific considerations
Term life is often the first life product a Zambian household buys, and it is frequently sold with a loan or through an employer. Premiums are small and monthly, so collection through MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money and Zamtel Kwacha, and reminders by SMS or WhatsApp, matter more than they would for annual bank-paid business.
As long-term insurance business, term life falls under the Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) and the Insurance Act No. 38 of 2021. Insurers need reliable policy counts, premium income and claims records to complete their periodic returns, which is easier when every term policy lives in one system.
How Ontech LifeI ERP addresses this
Term products configured, not coded
Level, decreasing and convertible term products are set up in the product catalogue with their own benefits and rating factors; no development work is needed to launch a new variant.
Sold and serviced on any phone
Policyholders can quote, buy, pay and check a term policy through the Android app, client portal or USSD, and agents can sell through the DSA app with KYC capture.
Controlled death-claim payouts
Death claims move through review and multi-level approval with maker-checker separation before payment, and every step is on the audit trail.
Frequently asked questions
What is term life insurance?
Term life insurance is a life policy that pays a sum assured if the life assured dies during a fixed term. If the person survives the term, cover ends with no payout. It has no savings or surrender value, which keeps premiums low.
What does term life administration software do?
It prices and quotes the policy, underwrites the application, issues the policy, bills and collects premiums, manages lapses and reinstatements, and processes death claims, keeping every event on one policy record.
Can term life policies be sold through USSD or Mobile Money in Zambia?
Yes. Ontech LifeI ERP supports quoting and buying simple term products through USSD and the mobile app, with premiums collected through MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money and Zamtel Kwacha.
What happens when a term policy lapses?
After the grace period the policy status changes to lapsed and cover stops. Ontech LifeI ERP sends reminders before that point and can reinstate the policy once arrears are paid and any required declaration is accepted.
Can a term policy be converted to permanent cover?
If the product is configured as convertible, Ontech LifeI ERP can convert the policy to whole life or endowment cover within the allowed window without new medical underwriting, as defined in the product rules.
See Ontech LifeI ERP for your company
Book a demo with Ontech Solutions in Lusaka and see policy administration, claims, Mobile Money collection and PIA reporting working together in one platform.
Last updated 2026-09-13. Published by Ontech Solutions, Lusaka, Zambia.