February 26, 2021

InsureTalk 9 kicks off the 2021 season in style

The ninth instalment of the ever-growing InsureTalk series took place on 26 February 2021 via Zoom. More than 1400 delegates tuned in to the conference, which was hosted by the CN&CO Events team in partnership with Santam, CIB, Munich Re, Netstar, COVER magazine and IISA.

Nonnie Mhlungu from SHA provided excellent and energetic emceeing skills throughout the webinar.

Here are some of the highlights of the first InsureTalk of 2021:

Andrew Coutts, Santam:
“Build back better and future-proof your business”

First up was Andrew Coutts of Santam. His presentation, entitled “Build back better and future-proof your business”, focused on the steps necessary for insurance businesses to survive in the face of ever-evolving risks.

These are some of the points that Andrew highlighted as important for sustainability:

  1. Keep human needs at the heart of your choices
  2. Strengthen your ability to sense and respond
  3. Embrace “no regret” strategies
  4. Evolve the business model
  5. Move beyond insurance

Tony van Niekerk, COVER Publications:
“COVER magazine industry update”

Tony van Niekerk of COVER Publications spoke on some of the latest trends in media and how his organisation has responded. He revealed some really interesting stats, including the fact that South Africa ranks 14th in the world in terms of readership rate. We actually read more than the UK, US and Australia! (The top reading countries are India, Thailand and China.)

People’s changing consumption of media is evident in COVER’s readership. The magazine has seen a 72% increase in digital readership in the past year, and Tony plans to grow this number by another 50% by July.

As an indication of how the media industry is going digital, Tony used his own company as an example.

“We employ eight people full time,” he said, “six of whom are focused on technology. There’s no way things are going back to how they were before the digital revolution.”

Thokozile Mahlangu, IISA:
“IISA industry update”

Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA) CEO, Thokozile Mahlangu, restated the focus of the institute on ensuring the sustainability of the insurance industry. She also spoke about the 2021 African Insurance Exchange, which takes place on 2 and 3 August. IISA will host the conference in partnership with the South African Insurance Association and the Financial Intermediaries’ Association.

The theme is “Reimagined to Reconnect”. The organising committee has put together a thought-provoking line-up of topics, which will be presented by speakers from local and international environments.

“We have created a meaningful space for conversations to take place,” she said.

Covid protocols will, of course, be strictly adhered to.

Book at www.iisa.co.za.

Mike Winstanley, CIB:
“Plant all risk insurance – key considerations for an informed decision”

Mike Winstanley of CIB delivered a technical presentation entitled “Plant all risk insurance – key considerations for an informed decision”. Among other things, Mike’s content covered:

  • The basis of indemnification
  • The processes involved in the case of total or partial loss of plant from an engineering insurance perspective
  • The prudence of making use of an evaluator
  • What happens in the case of a dip in construction, like we’re seeing at the moment
  • Hired-in plant: will it be covered by the standard policy? (The answer is no, by the way.)
  • The technicalities of plant all risk exclusions
  • Some thoughts and information on contractors site liability, road risk liability

Belinda Felix, Netstar:
“How telematics is revolutionising insurance”

Belinda Felix of Netstar discussed the role of technology, specifically telematics, in redefining insurance. Her presentation touched on insurtech, AI, disintermediation, barriers to entry, efficiency and the increasing competitive nature of the insurance industry.

Netstar pioneered telematics in South Africa in 1994. Belinda spoke about the subsequent uses of telematics in various sectors of society and the myriad ways it can be used apart from vehicle tracking. She also introduced delegates to Netstar’s launch of the first (CPD-bearing) telematics training hub for insurance and finance professionals.

Tonat Belhassen, Munich Re
“The customer journey of the future”

How are we preparing ourselves for the future? Tonat Belhassen of Munich Re presented on the impact of the Internet of Things on insurance and how insurers can use IoT revolutionise the commercial space.

Bel said technology is reducing traditional risks and shifting knowledge.

“We need to move towards loss prevention,” he said. “IoT will help enable us to do this.”

His presentation touched on many examples of how the Internet of Things can assist with loss mitigation in a variety of industries, from churches to butcheries and even leaky taps.

Dr Azar Jammine, Econometrix
“Current and future economic overview”

Azar Jammine’s presentation was chock-full of facts and stats about Covid-19, the recession in the local economy, capital investment (falling), consumer spending (rising), growth patterns across various sectors and possible recovery trajectory (“It won’t be before 2024 that we get back to where we were before the Covid-19 crisis.”)

He also talked about commodity prices, fuel prices, stock prices, government revenue, the public debt-to-GDP ratio, government spending and a bunch of other fascinating economic stuff.

Nonnie ended the proceedings with a quote from Socrates: “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

You can view the entire InsureTalk 9 below: