Reinsurance News
South Africa
EMEA emerging market insurers to maintain momentum through 2026: S&P
29th January 2026
Momentum for insurers across EMEA emerging markets is set to continue, even as geopolitics and trade tensions remain the primary risks for these credit conditions, according to Tatiana Grineva, Director Insurance Ratings, S&P. Grineva, during S&P’s ‘EMEA Emerging Markets Credit Outlook For Insurers 2026’ event, highlighted the sector's remarkable staying power. The ... Read the full article
MNK International appoints CEO to lead new offer to South African market
22nd January 2026
MNK International, an independent Lloyd’s of London broker, has announced the appointment of Jamie Illing as Chief Executive Officer of MNK International South Africa. He will leverage his more than three decades of local and international insurance and reinsurance experience to lead a new offer to the South African and broader ... Read the full article
Santam receives approval to launch UK-based Lloyd’s syndicate
23rd July 2025
Santam Limited, one of South Africa’s general insurers, has received in-principle approval from Lloyd’s of London—a re/insurance marketplace—to establish a Lloyd’s syndicate in the United Kingdom. This approval is subject to Santam meeting Lloyd’s operational start-up requirements. The necessary regulatory approvals have also been obtained in South Africa, and final permission ... Read the full article
LBIC partners with CelsiusPro to pilot index drought insurance in South Africa
14th October 2024
Land Bank Insurance Company (LBIC) has partnered with CelsiusPro to pilot index insurance in South Africa, offering affordable drought-risk coverage for smallholder crop and livestock farmers. Index insurance is a cost-effective way to protect smallholder and semi-commercial farmers. Payouts are triggered automatically when a pre-agreed index breaches a certain threshold. Since ... Read the full article
Sasria considers expanding coverage to include natural disasters and climate risks
8th October 2024
The SA Special Risk Insurance Association (Sasria) is exploring the expansion of its coverage options to include climate, severe weather, as well as cyber risks. Sasria is a state-owned non-life insurer that provides special risk cover - including civil commotion, public disorder, strikes, riots and terrorism - to all individuals and ... Read the full article
South Africa extreme weather events continue to test insurers
7th June 2024
The recent severe weather events in South Africa's Southern and Eastern regions since June 1 continue to test insurers’ ability to adapt to climate change, according to S&P Global Ratings. Heavy rainfall and flooding in parts of the Eastern Cape, along with tornadoes in KwaZulu Natal, have caused loss of life ... Read the full article
ARC & Partners preparing to respond to one of the worst droughts seen in Southern Africa
19th April 2024
The southern African region is currently facing one of the worst droughts it has seen in decades, with millions said to be facing extreme food insecurity and water shortages, amidst a growing climate crisis, fuelled by the El Niño weather phenomenon. A recent meeting took place between Reena Ghelani, UN Assistant ... Read the full article
South Africa’s New National partners with JBA for global flood data
27th April 2023
Specialist insurer New National Assurance has signed an annual agreement with flood risk modeller, JBA Risk Management (JBA), for the use of its flood data for South Africa. The data, which incorporates climate change intelligence, will be used by the insurer to underwrite property-risk for both personal and commercial lines. Additionally, ... Read the full article
RSIS partners with specialists to provide NatCat protection in South Africa
31st August 2021
Reinsurance Solutions Intermediary Services (RSIS), a specialist southern African reinsurance broker, has partnered with specialists in natural catastrophe risk modelling to offer its insurance clients reinsurance protection and risk management. The natural catastrophe perils covered by RSIS and its new partners include earthquake, flood, hail and cyclone, all modelled within the ... Read the full article
Sasria says riot claims could hit US $1.34bn, reinsurance costs to rise
25th August 2021
South Africa's state-owned insurer, Sasria, has reported that it now anticipates the bill for claims from civil unrest and rioting in the country in July could reach as much as US $1.34 billion. At the same time, Sasria told Reuters that it will be raising its premiums for political violence protection, ... Read the full article
South African unrest could drive insured losses of $680m: reports
15th July 2021
State-owned insurer Sasria has estimated that days of civil unrest across South Africa could drive insured losses of between 7 billion rand and 10 billion rand ($481 million to $683 million). Sasria told Reuters that the losses would mostly stem from damage and theft from businesses, following widespread vandalism and looting, ... Read the full article
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions appoints Head of South Africa
30th October 2018
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, the commercial insurance arm of the Swiss Re Group, has appointed Michelle Oosthuizen as Head South Africa, effective 1 November 2018. She will now be responsible for overseeing all aspects of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ business in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa from the company’s office in ... Read the full article
Swiss Re expands Africa remit, approved for P&C business
2nd May 2018
Global reinsurer Swiss Re has announced that its reinsurance business unit has received approval from the South African Prudential Authority to expand the license of its existing subsidiary to include property & casualty (P&C) business. The approval enables Swiss Re ... Read the full article
Impact Forecasting develops South African hail catastrophe model
28th March 2018
Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development centre, has launched a new hail model for the South African re/insurance market in response to the growing frequency and severity of hail-related claims in the region. In South Africa, hail is a regular natural peril, and has been the main driver of catastrophe ... Read the full article
Steve Murphy appointed Head of Santam Reinsurance
20th March 2018
South African insurer Santam has announced the appointment of Steve Murphy to Head of Santam Reinsurance, with effect from 1st April 2018. Murphy joined Santam Re on 1st July 2011 as the firm's representative in South East Asia, he worked to establish and develop Santam Re’s activities and business in China, ... Read the full article
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