Insurance
From The Report: South Africa 2014
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Across the African continent, South Africa accounts for 80% of all insurance premiums. The market is heavily tilted towards life products, which make up four-fifths of the industry’s premiums, with earnings in the segment 10 times that of non-life in 2013. At year-end 2013, South Africa’s life insurance industry had $189.4bn in assets under management, with the segment’s top five firms showing signs of growth across the board that year. Penetration rates continue to rise: the number of formally insured South Africans grew from 6.2m people in 2012 to 7.8m in 2013. While the life insurance segment saw a strong performance in 2013, non-life growth was tempered by high claims. Strong investment market performance in the last two years has boosted insurers, but a stalling economy presents challenges in the near term.

This chapter contains an interview with Barry Scott, CEO, South African Insurance Association.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Insurers innovate and expand to ride out waves
OBG
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Across the African continent, South Africa accounts for 80% of all insurance premiums. The market is heavily tilted towards life products, which make up four-fifths of the industry’s premiums, with earnings in the segment 10 times that of non-life in 2013. At the same time, penetration continues to rise: the number of formally insured South Africans grew from 6.2m people in 2012 to 7.8m in 2013. Most of the addition was in life and asset insurance, with 1.4m and 1m new entrants, respectively. While…

Interview

OBG talks to Barry Scott, CEO, South African Insurance Association
OBG
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Interview:Barry Scott What short-term products and services provide the most opportunities for growth? BARRY SCOTT: Three segments that have the largest scope for growth are motor insurance, micro-insurance and agriinsurance. Motor is currently the biggest class of insurance, yet only 35% of cars on the road are insured. The problem is the high cost of premiums, which is driven by the cost of claims. About 10-15 years ago vehicle theft accounted for about two-thirds of the cost of claims,…

Interview

OBG talks to Barry Scott, CEO, South African Insurance Association
OBG
plus

Interview:Barry Scott What short-term products and services provide the most opportunities for growth? BARRY SCOTT: Three segments that have the largest scope for growth are motor insurance, micro-insurance and agriinsurance. Motor is currently the biggest class of insurance, yet only 35% of cars on the road are insured. The problem is the high cost of premiums, which is driven by the cost of claims. About 10-15 years ago vehicle theft accounted for about two-thirds of the cost of claims,…

Analysis

Formal micro-insurance expands, but regulation limits growth potential
OBG
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Low-income earners are typically the population segment most negatively affected by unexpected adverse events, and they also tend to be the group with the lowest insurance coverage. While South Africa’s micro-insurance penetration compares favourably – around 30% of South African adults use micro-insurance compared to less than 1% in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa – there is still room for growth, and the government has made financial inclusion a priority in its long-term vision. The market…