Channel Life acquires Safrican, the oldest black life insurer

Unlisted subsidiary of the Sanlam group and the country's fastest growing entry-level life insurer, Channel Life, has acquired the entire share capital of South Africa's oldest black life insurer, Safrican, from Thebe Investment Holdings, for an undisclosed amount. In return, Thebe will acquire a stake in Channel Life Holdings.

Speaking in Gauteng, Channel Life CEO Mr Ren Otto says that there is already an existing relationship between Channel Life and Safrican as Channel Life previously acquired a stake in the business.

"We have been working with the Safrican management team for the past nine months and the relationship has quickly developed into a mutually beneficial arrangement," says Otto.  "We are now well on our way to further Africanise the life insurance industry."

CEO of Safrican, Nthabiseng Mmatli explains, "Having Channel Life as a shareholder will allow us to fully realise our potential and expand the operation into areas that we previously didnt have access to. We will now be in a position to establish a strong presence in Limpopo and Eastern Cape, as well as fulfill further criteria of the Financial Services Charter, specifically referring to "accessibility".  But more importantly, our customers will greatly benefit from the extensive intellectual capital and administrative expertise that Channel Life brings to the table. Channel Lifes world-leading smart technology platform will be of a major benefit to our policyholders and their beneficiaries."

While the increased resources and additional expertise will be of great value, Safrican hasn't rested on its laurels, and under the leadership of the country's' only black female life office CEO, the company has managed to grow embedded value substantially. Its client base includes 1.5 million policyholders which covers 7 million lives, with a CAR ratio in line with regulatory requirements.

Mmatli says that the company's success is a direct result of her very capable and experienced management team that boasts superior insights into their market, understands the market dynamics and is attuned to customer needs and aspirations. "As the oldest black life insurer in South Africa we have, over the years, been able to continuously identify customer needs and have therefore been a leader in providing products and services that cater to the needs of our communities. Our products are accessible, relevant and affordable."

Safrican brand recognition in the market is impressive and the company prides itself on its commitment to its customers and the community it serves. The company continues to live by the traditional values of support and assistance that has stood it in such good stead over the past decades. These values were recently demonstrated when a tragic accident took the lives of several teachers and Safrican provided both monetary assistance and counseling support for the families.

In terms of the BEE credentials of the business, Mmatli added that while Thebe has sold its stake to Channel Life, the business is still fully representative of the country's demographic profile. 

According to Otto, both Channel Life and Safrican take their BEE status and credentials seriously. "Our commitment to BEE is unwavering and while it has been implemented at operational level, the next phase is to make the board demographically representative."