Advice and resilience key to specialist underwriting
Brokers, reinsurers and underwriters will need their wits about them to navigate the changing anatomy of risk across the economic, environmental, societal and technology spheres. Advice and resilience were key themes to emerge from the Santam Specialist Solutions (SSS) Risk Barometer Launch held in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg recently. Your writer attended the vibrant Johannesburg event.
A new era of risk
“The world of risk is spinning faster than we can underwrite it,” said Alicia Narainsamy, Executive Head: Digital, AI Insurance Solutions and Alternative Distribution Partnerships at SSS, as she challenged stakeholders in the room to reflect on whether they were positioned to navigate a new era of risk. She welcomed Santam Group CEO, Tavaziva Madzinga, to share some remarks on the domestic and global risk landscapes.
Madzinga referred back to the 2025 Santam Barometer, released in July 2025, to describe a domestic landscape blighted by a constrained economy, crime, infrastructure risks and weather volatility. “These challenges are not unique to South Africa,” he said, contrasting the three-day-long grid failure suffered in Texas, US, with the pain and restriction that had accompanied Eskom’s management of our own electricity generation dilemma. He introduced the Risk Barometer as a lens through which to understand the changing anatomy of risk, and gain deeper insights into the insurer’s specialist segment.
The Risk Barometer survey reveals that businesses and professionals are under considerable pressure economically and operationally. “As a specialist insurer, resilience means understanding complexity and responding with precision,” Madzinga said. “This requires anticipating the ripple effects of risk long before they surface.” An insurer’s success hinges on leveraging data, expertise, intelligence and technology in addition to building on established relationships and partnerships. The trick, the Group CEO said, is to work with brokers, clients and reinsurers to turn risk knowledge into risk advantage.
Brokers’ choice
Gareth Beaver, CEO of Santam Specialist Solutions, took 30-minutes to formally launch the Risk Barometer and position a brand evolution that has been underway for some time. “This event marks a milestone in our brand journey, wherein we consolidate a number of iconic UMA brands that have been operating in this market, and are all leaders in their own right, under one yellow umbrella,” he said. He reminded the audience that the brand’s overarching ambition remained to be the brokers’ number one choice for specialist solutions.
FAnews readers should be familiar with the Santam Limited story. Founded in 1918, the insurer has grown to become not only the leading South African short-term insurer, but by far the largest short-term insurance company on the African continent. Key underpins of this success include 107 years of market insights and risk data, and a collaborative approach to underwriting involving both broker and client. SSS stands out as one of seven divisions under the broader Santam Limited umbrella. “Our ambition is to be considered the number one specialist insurer and reinsurer across our target markets,” Beaver said.
Brokers, capital providers and employees were singled out as critical stakeholder groups. “In the world of specialist insurance, the broker remains pivotal,” Beaver explained. “This goes beyond selling a risk solution and an insurance policy to the critical advice that goes around the solution.” Disciplined underwriting through the cycles is non-negotiable to keep the capital providers onboard, as is having the claims and underwriting experts to synchronise with capital to form a client-appropriate solution.
Claims and premium at scale
The specialist business cluster could stand as a large insurer in its own rights. According to Beaver, the focus is on offering stable pricing through the ups and downs rather than competing for market share at unsustainable prices. Doing so ensures that you can step up to the plate when a loss event occurs; in the last five years, SSS has paid R23 billion in claims.
Beaver hinted at some exciting, strategic growth initiatives that will be driven under the SSS business cluster over the coming years. The Lloyd’s Syndicate 918, a new kidnap and ransom product and the Sanlam Allianz partnership were all mentioned for their growth potential.
“The names have changed, but the same specialist expertise remains,” said Beaver as he wrapped his brand consolidation discussion. He stressed that brokers and client would have access to the same business processes, systems and technology platforms; the same experts; and the same underwriting capacity. His final task was to offer brief comment on the Risk Barometer findings.
He singled out cyber resilience, climate-related risk and corporate governance as potential game changers for brokers, clients and insurers alike. “We need to shift our attention, focus and investment into building resilience rather than worrying about the climate,” he said.
Unearthing risk management wisdom
FAnews will take a deeper dive into the survey findings in a future newsletter. To close this piece, we return to Madzinga’s brief opening remarks which were littered with risk management gems.
“Risk is about a culture of innovation and a change of mindsets,” he said. The insurer is advocating for a shift from simply protecting assets or value to engineering resilience in such a way to ensure businesses continuity and allow societies to thrive. The Group CEO explained the latest brand developments as uniting specialist divisions to respond appropriately to the complex risk landscape.
“This unification reflects our belief that the challenges of our time can no longer be solved in silos,” Madzinga concluded. He recognised the brokers in attendance as valued partners, and “architects of continuity in times of change.” Resilience was defined as an economic imperative, and the Risk Barometer positioned as a roadmap for the dynamic and interconnected nature of risks.
The industry’s collective ability to adapt, collaborate and respond to evolving risks was held up as the best way to build resilience across industries, borders and generations.
Writer’s thoughts:
South Africa’s largest insurer has given brokers the ultimate compliment, describing them as architects of continuity and resilience. Do you agree, or does your value proposition differ? Please comment below, interact with us on X at @fanews_online or email us your thoughts [email protected].
