When Karl took out a loan with his sister for critical surgery nearly 10 years ago, a simple choice in a split second made the difference between a lingering, heavy debt and the release of a financial burden along with an emotional one.

"She was ill and we had to put up the family land to raise the money for the surgery. When we were in the bank with the loans officer, he looked at us and said 'whose life the insurance must go on?' And he did not wait for an answer, really, he just said 'I'll put it on yours' and we agreed and he did it," Karl said.

It proved to be a fateful moment as, two years later when his sister died from the same illness, Karl was faced with paying off the debt.

"I had spent everything I had on her illness over the time she was sick. Then there were the funeral expenses. Then on top of that I had to pay the mortgage or lose the family land, which I could not let happen," he said.

"Looking back, it was an emotional time and we were in no state to make a decision, really. However, the loans officer knew who was sick and the general nature of her illness. He could have advised us accordingly, although maybe it was his way of holding out a little hope to us," Karl said.

"Now I am familiar with the term 'death should die with the debtor' and, having learnt the very hard way, that is how I will operate with my life. It set me back many years and I was under tremendous stress, to the point where I fell ill. I cannot let anything like that happen to my children," Karl said.