Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA) takes over injury-on-duty and occupational disease compensation for iron, metal, steel and related industries

121-year-old company set for unprecedented growth.

The Compensation Fund has transferred all its Class 13 employees in the iron, metal, steel and related industries to the privately owned Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA), an organisation with an impressive 121-year track record.

Commenting on the development, Jay Singh, chief executive officer of RMA, said that the company is now administering the compensation claims of an additional 60 000 employers with a staff complement of 600 000, thereby swelling the number of lives currently under RMA’s management to over a million.

“This brings a strategy to fruition that was set in motion in July 2013 with the extension of RMA’s COID (Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases) license. Up until then we could only provide cover to employees within the mining sector. The extension of the license has therefore opened the door to considerable opportunities for RMA.”

Since 2012, RMA has been on an impressive growth path with its premium growth increasing from R953 million in 2012 to R1 084 billion in 2013. As at 31 December 2013, the solvency of the company had increased to 155.2% (2012 – 139.5%), which is well above the statutory requirement of 25%. Retained earnings for the Group during 2013 were R 659 million (2012: R687 million).

“The Class 13 transfer will herald unprecedented growth within RMA,” says Singh, who notes that the iron, metal and steel industries have a potential annual premium revenue of around R1 billion.

“RMA has developed highly capable systems and has a competitive edge in terms of costs, quality, speed and dependability within the South African compensation industry. RMA is known for its caring and compassionate approach to compensation. We also have considerable excess capacity and we are well equipped to expand our service offering to the iron, metal and steel industries without it impacting on our existing client base,” he comments.

“We at present administer the compensation needs of approximately 400 000 employees in the mining industry. The Class 13 transfer will make use of additional RMA capacity and will double the workload of the company. This extremely positive development has enabled RMA to double its workforce, thereby meaningfully contributing to job creation in South Africa.”

“Our well-established, highly advanced information technology has enabled us to remain at the cutting edge of adjudications of injury-on-duty claims. We have proved our mettle over several decades in the administration and processing of COID claims,” comments Patrick Matshidze, chief operating officer of RMA.

According to Matshidze, the company’s information technology system is supported by sound business processes and workflows and is fully integrated. “It has all the necessary components in place to ensure a secure, controlled and efficient environment that is well equipped to support the business processing needs of the iron, metal and steel industries.”