The operating performance of the Sanlam insurance group was resilient in 2023, supported by life underwriting performance, and strong growth in life premiums, especially in Asia driven by India (albeit dampened by weaker performance in Malaysia), according to Fitch Ratings.
The South African general insurance industry is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8% to ZAR192.7bn ($10.4bn) in 2028 from ZAR159.5bn in 2024, in terms of gross written premiums (GWP), forecasts data and analytics company GlobalData.
South African insurer Old Mutual Limited (OML) reported a 35% surge in profit after tax attributable to equity holders of the parent to ZAR7.1bn ($380m) in 2023 compared to ZAR5.2bn in 2022.
As few as 19% of South Africans have an insurance product of any kind. The only insurance category with a relatively high take-up rate is funeral cover, with estimations of around 40% of South Africans having some form of funeral cover in place, says Mr Kobus Botha, executive head of Commercial and Operations of technology solutions provider, Ignition Financial Services.
Sanlam, Africa's biggest insurer, has reported record 2023 earnings despite a series of adverse events that impacted the global economy between 2020 and 2022, beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Climate change poses the most significant threat for South African insurance companies and risks raising premiums and the cost of reinsurance, reported Bloomberg, quoting a top official at its biggest insurer by assets.
Africa's biggest insurer Sanlam, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Sanlam Life Insurance, has offered to buy 100% of Assupol Holdings for ZAR6.5bn ($343m).
UK-based flood science specialist JBA Risk Management has secured a new partnership with South African non-life insurer Old Mutual Insure for the use of its detailed flood maps in the country.
The Central Bank of Ireland has granted OUTsurance, a South African insurance company that is new to the Irish market, a licence to operate in the country.
South African life insurers and investment companies detected 8,931 cases of fraud and dishonesty in 2022. While losses worth ZAR1.1bn ($58m) were prevented, the industry lost ZAR77m to fraud in 2022.