Insurance: Good and Proper

With a refreshed corporate identity and a strong single-minded positioning of “Insurance, good and proper”, Santam is moving into its next centenary challenging competitors, promising partnerships for profitability, and celebrating the people that drive s

In today’s financial services market, it's getting harder to tell the good from the not so great as more and more policies become available. At a glance they all look similar and make the same reassurances, but the reality is that not all insurance policies are created equal. Unfortunately brokers and their clients often only discover this too late… when a claim is made.

In light of this, Santam has launched a new campaign that emphasises the importance of scrutinising a policy before buying insurance and asking the right questions. It cuts through the clutter of marketing messages and brand promises strewn across the short-term insurance industry and positions Santam as the unambiguous leader in the segment, not only in terms of market share, but also in terms of an unyielding focus on service, delivery and continued investment of energy in and commitment to its core business.

Not anyone can do insurance

Santam’s refreshed brand identity gives impetus to this message and visual reality to its leadership status, says Yegs Ramiah, Executive Head: People and Brand at Santam. But, more importantly, it also challenges the assumption that anyone can do insurance.

Consumers have become exposed to a myriad of choices regards to every single aspect of short term insurance and this has had the effect of creating confusion between products as well as eroding the value of the short term insurance industry as cost has become the sole driver for choice. In essence this has commoditised the industry.

Proven track record

After first opening its doors on 1 May 1918 in Cape Town, Santam has grown into South Africa's leading short-term insurer, with assets totalling more than R17 billion; a countrywide, world-class contact centre infrastructure; a thriving intermediary network; more than 650 000 policyholders; and business interests in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.

“At the core of our success as a business lies a single-minded focus on excellence,” says Ramiah. “We have always been, and will remain, fully committed to the financial security of our clients; mutually profitable relationships with brokers; and the wellbeing of staff. Ours is a solid offering with a track record unmatched in South Africa.”

A brand to identify with

The instantly-recognisable yellow umbrella, which has become a South African brand icon, has been given a crisp, modern, crisp, uncluttered and iconic look and is the ideal visual representation of Santam’s positioning statement: "insurance, good and proper".

The logo and positioning statement the will be are brought to life through an above-the-line campaign in print and on radio and television, featuring the Academy Award winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley. It differentiates Santam’s offering and value to shareholders, clients, partners and the broader South African economy.

“I am confident that the refreshed brand articulates our absolute commitment to integrity, to certainty, to our single-minded focus on short-term insurance; to excellence and to delivering insurance with stature. We are absolutely confident in our resolve and in our commitment to the sector and to our clients. And now, we are being vocal about this, too,” concludes Ramiah.