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On lockdown, unrest and insurance

04 August 2021 | Featured Story

The two years starting 2020 have presented untold challenges to insurers, regardless of whether they underwrite risks in the medical, life or non-life disciplines. First, we suffered the hammer blow of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was confirmed early-2020 and continues to ripple through society to this day. Second, and an extra for SA-based insurers to endure, we were broadsided by a week-long period of looting, rioting and vandalism that tore through Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal in July 2021. The cost of insured loss and damage due to ‘civil commotion’ will be picked up by Sasria SOC Limited and its reinsurance partners; but all insurers, as agents of Sasria, have been roped in to assist with administration and claims assessment and settlement.

Trust… Make or break for brokers, insurer and UMAs

02 August 2021 | Straight Talk

Brokers, insurers and underwriting management agencies (UMAs) have their work cut out to rebuild trust relationships with their clients following the often disappointing insurance outcomes during the pandemic year. Doug Laburn, Executive Head of Lombard Partnerships, told the audience at the 2021 SAUMA Conference that the industry had suffered “extreme trust erosion” due to the handling of various obligations arising from Covid-19. “Trust underpins our industry; but we emerged from 2020 less trusted than we were before, which is a real pity,” he said. Lombard was commenting during a discussion about UMA relationships within the broader insurance market, held as part of the 2021 SAUMA Conference.

Crypto assets: The round-trip from ‘no fundamentals’ to the moon

02 August 2021 | The Stage

Few instruments have captured retail investors’ collective imagination as completely as cryptocurrencies. In fact, the frenzied price action of the best-known digital coin, bitcoin, has spawned a global community intent on milking the phenomenon for all it is worth. We are talking about consumers who now believe 10x is a normal construct in the world of financial market returns; exchanges that facilitate billions of dollars in crypto transactions daily; and social media influencers who proclaim “bitcoin to the moon” to anyone who will like and subscribe, among others. As we power through 2021, we are subject to a broad church of opinion re the asset class, ranging from Warren Buffett’s ‘bitcoin has zero fundamentals’; to former hedge fund manager, Raoul Pal, who reckons a 100% allocation to crypto makes perfect sense; to everything in between.

Up in flames. South Africa’s R12 … R25 … R50 billion looting conundrum

20 July 2021 | The Stage

Whether or not South Africa’s state-owned special risks insurer, Sasria SOC Limited, has a strong enough balance sheet to survive the country’s 11-16 July 2021 looting frenzy depends on the eventual price tag for loss and damage suffered by insured businesses and individuals during the chaos. The insurer’s MD, Cedric Masondo, is on record that Sasria will honour all claims stemming from the unprecedented civil commotion; but we got the feeling that his assessment of the capital and in-force reinsurance treaties available to compensate for damages may have been at the lower end of loss estimates. Around Wednesday, experts were talking about R7-10 billion but by the weekend we saw some estimates topping R50 billion.

quick poll

Question

If you had to hazard a guess, when do you reckon the COFI Bill will be signed into law?

Answer

2026, as promised 2027 looks more likely Impossible to say More consultation needed

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Five regulatory discussion points for brokers to keep an eye on

06 July 2021 | Featured Story

‘Brokers’ note: Your clients want to buy risk cover’

05 July 2021 | Straight Talk

Financial advice a game changer in battle for preservation

25 June 2021 | Featured Story

Insurers manage to navigate through COVID-19

24 June 2021 | Straight Talk

An update on the regulatory front

17 June 2021 | Straight Talk

What’s inside… FAnews Magazine June 2021

11 June 2021 | The Stage

A decade perfecting behaviour-based insurance

02 June 2021 | Featured Story

Non-fungible… Sounds like a special instruction for a mushroom pizza!

31 May 2021 | The Stage

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