Kabelo Paile is crowned the 2017 Insurance Apprentice winner

Kabelo Paile, relationship manager at Santam, was declared the winner of The Insurance Apprentice 2017 on Wednesday night, 28 March. The much anticipated winner announcement event was held at The Venue Green Park in Sandton.

The spectacular view of the city and the skyline complimented the event, giving it an exciting element.

The keynote speaker was Olympic SA rower and silver medalist, Shaun Keeling of Purple Group. CN&CO arranged for him to address the attendees and share his inspiring Olympic and rowing stories with the finalists. Leaving the audience impressed and motivated.

Says CN&CO’s Carel Nolte, “It was a privilege once again to play a small role as CN&CO in this phenomenal initiative. Well done to editor of FANews and champion of the Insurance Apprentice franchise, Rianet Whitehead, and all involved”

The head judge, Simon Colman (head of commercial solutions for SHA), also took to the stage to give attendees a run-down of the tasks and behind-the-scenes moments of filming week.

All eight finalists were acknowledged with a certificate of achievement for making it so far into the competition.

The evening marked the official end of The Insurance Apprentice season three and the beginning of season four.

Over the past weeks we’ve seen the eight finalists competing for the title in the gruelling competition. They took on a series of insurance-related tasks, which were sponsored by some incredible industry players.

“We would like to thank all the sponsors for their sponsorship and support of The Insurance Apprentice 2017,” said Rianet. “Each and every one of you played a significant role in this initiative from the beginning.”

The finalists managed to showcase their talents, as well as the dynamics that exist in the insurance industry. All of them very strong competitors with unique personalities. By the end of Episode 7 there were only four finalists remaining.

With a close call, Kurt Stanley (Associated Insurance Brokers), Mutoda Mahamba (MMI), and Nick Kadima (Lombard Insurance) were the runner-ups, and Kabelo the ultimate winner of The Insurance Apprentice 2017.

Along with being crowned the winner, Kabelo also walked away with an exciting prize of a trip to Lloyds of London, a bursary – courtesy of Inseta – as well as an opportunity to attend The Insurance Conference 2017 in Sun City.

“Selecting the four finalists was a difficult task and an even more, a challenging experience selecting a winner from the outstanding individuals,” said Simon.

Season three left viewers captivated. In the build up to the winner announcement the viewers had already picked their favourite apprentice, and even predicted who was going to win the title. The season resulted in a record-breaking viewership on The Insurance Apprentice Facebook page, setting the bar for season four.

“The Insurance Apprentice has attracted an exceedingly high calibre of entrants in the previous seasons. We look forward to another incredible group of young players willing to take on the opportunity,” says Rianet.

Sesaon 4 is already open for application.

Congratulations once again to all the finalists, sponsors, the FANews team, film crew and all who made it possible.

The final episode, sponsored by PWV Insurance Brokers, ‘Announcing the winner’, is coming soon. Stay updated with the Insurance Apprentice via Twitter and Facebook.