InsureTalk28 wraps up 2022

The final InsureTalk for 2022 took place on 24 November, with more than 2 000 people tuning in for the latest updates in the South African insurance industry.

MC Christelle Colman thanked headline sponsor Santam for uplifting so many people in the insurance industry, before introducing our first speaker.

Manisha Chiman of SHA spoke on understanding and unpacking product recall and factors to consider for risk management. Product recall affects industries across the board, from food to automobiles to tech. There’s been a spike in recalls, which is probably due to the Consumer Protection Act and social media awareness.

Product liability is the place to start when considering product recall. Products recall needs to be purchased separately, though, as it is not automatically included in a broadform liability policy.

She spoke of a number of product recalls in South Africa and Europe and shared suggestions around what types of businesses require products recall cover. She discussed supply chain management, product safety and quality, financial analysis and macro influences, recall capability, traceability and preparedness, exports, and mock recalls.

Bert Weenink, business coach at ActionCOACH Inspire spoke on client collaboration and the effect on risk in your insurance practice. Bert has been a senior businessman in the FMCG space and shared his thoughts on how to make more money in an insurance business. Here are the major points he covered:

Thokozile Mahlangu of the IISA provided her traditional industry update, touching this time on the African Insurance Exchange and the importance of connecting across the industry. She spoke about the IISA platforms, that have a reach of over 30 000… yet the membership of the IISA is only 2 000. She called on delegates to become members and take advantage of all the benefits on offer.

Tony van Niekerk of Cover magazine gave us an update on the insurance industry environment and shared his thoughts and thanks with the forum. He spoke about the importance of reconnecting with people in a live environment, sharing information, helping people grow. He also spoke briefly about the Cover broker survey and the upcoming Cover Leadership edition.

The entertainment came from the fabulous Bianca Le Grange. This isn’t Bianca’s first visit to InsureTalk, having performed at one of our very first InsureTalk sessions, back in the dark days of lockdown.

Koketso Shabalala of SHA provided a closer look at construction and single projects. The latest Afrimat Construction Index revealed that SA’s construction sector increased the value it added to the economy by 4.1% in quarter 3, up from 2.4% in quarter 2. With the anticipated growth and current infrastructure challenges, he said there was a need for tighter timelines and turnaround times to address the challenges. Growth also brings opportunity, not only for large companies, but for smaller players as well.

Koketso highlighted the liability aspect of the C&E policy in terms of single project insurance, as opposed to an annual policy, providing real-life examples for each of his points.

Muzi Dladla of Sasria spoke on catastrophe risk financing and resilience. He spoke about how catastrophe risks are compounding over time.

He shared some insights into global insurance risk resilience and protection gaps in various regions around the world. The emerging EMEA region, of which South Africa forms a part, shows declining risk resilience. This implies a growing coverage gap for catastrophes going forward.

“On average, up to 86% of losses are uninsured, creating a large protection gap into which the government often provides financial support,” he said, before sharing various strategies and gap analyses affecting South Africa.

Our final speaker, Sizwe Cakwebe, also from SHA, spoke on a collaborative approach to cyber risk management. He touched on some of the participants in the cyber ecosystem value chain and how they can add value within the cyber insurance landscape.

South Africa currently ranks in the top 5 countries that are regularly hacked and has been in the top 10 for the past decade or so. Some of the companies that have been hacked are Liberty, Absa, Tracker, Experian, TransUnion, Shoprite and Transnet. These attacks have reputational as well as financial consequences. These consequences are felt far more acutely by smaller companies, many of which are forced to close soon after they are attacked.

Financial services companies are most at risk.

Sizwe discussed the elements of a typical cyber insurance policy and outlined a number of challenges facing underwriters, before unpacking coverage and exposure alignment and sharing a few risk management tips.

CN&CO’s Carel Nolte closed proceedings with a word of thanks to attendees, sponsors and the InsureTalk team, promising some exciting developments in 2023 – including hybrid events.

Christelle wrapped up by encouraging delegates to support their local insurance institutes, which bring people together to celebrate our dynamic industry.

If you’d like to sign up for all 10 InsureTalk sessions in 2023, click here.

Here’s the recording of the final InsureTalk for 2022: