Insure Group celebrates 25 years of business

Ian Du Toit, Director at Insure Group Managers

2017 marks a significant milestone in the journey of Insure Group Managers. Twenty five years of successful business. While its services may have evolved over time the company remains resolute in the values it has nurtured since its inception all those years ago.

A walk down memory lane

Back in 1992, in a building in Randburg, with just ten staff the company opened its doors and began developing its skills by collecting the instalments for annual paid monthly premiums for an insurer and select group of clients.

As monthly premiums entered the market, industry players quickly learnt of the company's abilities and the business grew steadily.

Acquiring Premium Credit SA in 2003 and Anvil Premium Finance in 2010 they quickly broadened their scope in the financing of annual premiums. Being a solutions driven company Insure Group Managers worked on expanding their range as they recognised gaps and opportunities within the market.

Realising the need for a financing option for brokers looking to expand their portfolios, Acquisition Financing was introduced. Refining their skills and building credible relationships across the industry the company has stood the test of time growing year on year and maintaining its independence to become a respected and trusted business partner for all.

Currently Insure Group Managers boasts a significant portfolio, serving over 400 clients, handling more than R15 billion in premiums on its state-of-the-art online collections system and has a staff of 60 people.

In a rebranding exercise, back in 2012, the company adopted the tagline - Comfort Convenience Compliance.

The best highlights

In sharing highlights of the company Ian Du Toit, Director at Insure Group Managers, says one of them was undoubtedly the completion of the company’s on-line collections and payment system known as Xcelerate.

“We had been working up to 16 hours a day, sometimes for about 30 months, on the development and testing of the system and finally went live with it in December 2014. During the last five years we also crossed the R1 billion mark in terms of the amount of funds we handle on a monthly basis. We are already at the R1.5 billion mark and are now aiming for the next milestone… R2 billion per month,” said Du Toit.

“We are also very proud of the fact that at least 30 of our staff members have completed professional skills training and formal studies successfully over the last five years with support from the company. A highlight we cannot ignore is becoming involved with The Insurance Apprentice. Our close association with this initiative very quickly became more than just a sponsorship. It became a tangible commitment to developing skills within our industry, but more than that, it became a beacon of hope and aspiration to our staff who develop a personal association with every one of the finalists each year,” continued Du Toit.

A key ingredient to success

When asked if there is a key ingredient to maintain this kind of success over 25 years Du Toit said, “The one aspect that stands out as a key ingredient to our success is our unwavering commitment to service excellence. Throughout all the complexities of regulatory and compliance requirements, technology changes and advances, risk management and market dynamics, we have come to realise that our ability to serve and provide a service to our clients remains the one consistent game changer.”

“Looking ahead over the next ten years, we would like to further utilise our skills and ability, not only to support the growth of the business, but more so because we realise that we can harness our experience, skills and expert knowledge to support the wealth creation objectives of our clients. On top of this, to always enhance and improve the depth of our service delivery has been an objective for the business over the last 25 years, and will continue to be for the next 25 years,” continued Du Toit.

“The future holds a very exciting journey for Insure Group Managers. We have established ourselves firmly as a key player in the value chain of providing financial services to the short term insurance market. We will remain innovative and add refinements to our existing range of services and add supplementary and complementary services to enhance the client experience with us and increase the value offering to our clients. The skills and capacity we have built will also allow us to spread our wings further than the short term insurance market,” said Du Toit.

Three fun facts about Insure Group

FAnews asked Du Toit to give us three fun facts we don’t know about Insure Group Managers and this is what he said:

1. We have always been (and currently still are) a company dominated by the ladies. And the men have no objection – in fact – they are so accommodating that they were willing to surrender one of their bathrooms so the facilities can be more evenly distributed. In the beginning there were a few minor embarrassing “oopsies” following the swop over.
2. Working in our head office in Randburg has many benefits. One of them being that all employees qualify to become “advanced drivers” very soon after joining as navigating our basement parking level requires quite a skill.
3. Healthy competition amongst staff and the various departments helps keep us on our toes and support the high expectations we set for ourselves. But when it comes to our annual potjiekos competition the “healthy-ness” of the competition becomes questionable. Top secret team meetings are held in secure, if awkward, corners of the building, industrial level spying on others recipes ensues and bribery of judges become the order of the day. However it always ends in a big party, healthy meals and loads of fun… just before the pots start flying.

Editor’s Thoughts:
FAnews would like to congratulate Insure Group Managers on reaching this auspicious milestone and wishes the company many more years of success in its contribution to the South African insurance industry. Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts myra@fanews.co.za