For the second year in a row, Santam was voted South Africa’s leading short-term insurer by independent brokers in all three categories for short-term insurance, Personal, Commercial and Corporate Insurance. This was announced by the Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA) at the annual Insurer of the Year ceremony in Johannesburg on 3 June 2010.
“We are honoured to again be acknowledged in the 2010 FIA industry recognition awards in the three short-term insurance categories. We are both humbled and inspired to be chosen as the leading short-term insurance company by South Africa’s independent brokers - who are the cornerstone of our business,” says Ian Kirk, Chief Executive of Santam.
“These awards are particularly encouraging for us as it demonstrates that we have not been complacent since the 2009 awards. We strive to display innovation and service excellence which is at the foundation of our business philosophy at Santam. The needs of our brokers and policyholders have changed over the past few years so we’ve adapted our business model. Our recent promise to create a World of Certainty for policyholders in these changing times was done in partnership with our brokers. Along with a client centric approach to business, we believe this has been critical in us retaining our leadership position in the short-term insurance industry.”
He added that the development of new products and service improvements to our offering is popular among our brokers. “Products are developed and tailored to fit the ever changing requirements in South Africa and the challenges faced by all South Africans.
Our brokers are able to deliver a more impressive service to clients when we introduce clever changes to products and service. One such improvement was our ability to turn-around certain claims within eight hours.
The annual FIA Awards present Santam with a very important yardstick to determine if the business has correctly applied itself to the demands of the local market.”
“We have retained our position as industry leader in the midst of the worst recession the country has faced over many years and have emerged from a third year of difficult underwriting conditions in robust shape. This is due to our diversified business, our faith in the intermediated business model and managing the business tightly in tough times.”
“As we look ahead, we know 2010 will be a challenging year for the industry. Awards such as this encourage all our people to face the challenges head-on. We aim to increase our service offering and bring the market even more comprehensive products and solutions,” concludes Kirk.
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