Patently brilliant! EasyEquities achieves a world first…

Congratulations to our friends at EasyEquities on achieving a world first! The company has successfully secured a patent for the proprietary pricing mechanism that underpins its EasyProtect product, which uses investment behaviour as part of the way it assesses life insurance risk – the first ever of its kind.

CN&CO founder Carel Nolte, who also serves as Chief Enablement Officer at EasyEquities, says: “This is exactly the kind of innovation that excites us. It starts with a simple question, challenges conventional thinking and ultimately creates something that delivers real value for clients.

“EasyProtect rewards people for making smart, long-term financial decisions, and the fact that this approach has now been patented is a remarkable achievement for the team and a proud moment for South African innovation.”

EasyEquities CEO Charles Savage says the patent represents far more than legal protection for an idea.

“EasyEquities has always challenged the assumption that financial services have to work the way they’ve always worked. This patent protects an idea that turns good financial behaviour into something with real economic value for our clients. If you make sensible, long-term decisions with your investments, that should count for something. We’re proud to have created what we believe is a world-first innovation that rewards exactly that.”

EasyProtect is built on a simple but powerful idea: people who consistently demonstrate disciplined, long-term investment behaviour may also represent better life insurance risks.

That hypothesis was tested using actuarial analysis and became the foundation of a pricing model that rewards qualifying clients with discounts of up to 50% on their life insurance premiums.

The innovation is now protected under South African Patent No. 2025/05321, granted to First World Trader (Pty) Ltd (the registered name of the EasyEquities platform) on 27 May 2026. According to EasyEquities, this is the first patented life insurance pricing mechanism that links investment behaviour directly to mortality risk, making it a world first.

“We now have a patent on the innovative approach to rewarding great investment behaviour with lower premiums, backed by real actuarial data, a world first,” says Mbulelo Mpofana, Product Owner at EasyProtect.

“The core idea, which was proven by the data, is that investors who exhibit good financial habits make for better life insurance risks and should be rewarded with better rates. EasyProtect offers discounts of up to 50% based on investment behaviour, creating a substantial upfront and long-term pricing benefit driven by that conviction.”

The patent journey began in June 2024, with intellectual property specialist Roy Taberer preparing the initial patent specification. Following provisional and complete patent applications, the patent was granted in May this year and remains valid until 2045.

EasyEquities has built its reputation by making investing accessible to everyone. With EasyProtect, the company has shown how the insights gained from understanding investor behaviour can be applied beyond investing to create fairer, more personalised financial products.

Congratulations once again to the EasyEquities team on an achievement that showcases South African ingenuity and demonstrates how innovation can deliver meaningful benefits to clients.