Africa is home to three of the world’s fastest growing economies; yet, it has the unwelcome distinction of being the continent that has one of the highest levels of poverty. How does one go about balancing the scales? How does the insurance industry go about addressing the challenge of addressing the poverty issue and what role do brokers play in this? At the end of the day, insurers are about financial protection and assistance in times when certain clients may be left destitute without it.

When compared to other emerging economies, South Africa has been a serious underperformer over the past five years. While still maintaining the status quo politically – with the African National Congress (ANC) being the country’s ruling party – there has been a significant regime change and fresh roots of optimism that have taken shape since Cyril Ramaphosa has become President.