Rand mutual assurance

COMPANY PROFILE

2015

Rand Mutual Assurance

+27 (0)860 222 132 | www.randmutual.co.za

company profile

Caring, compassionate assurance

Editorial: Ajuanne Payne

Rand Mutual Assurance has been providing caring, compassionate compensation to its mining sector clients for over a century and is the go-to partner for the large corporates that form the South African Mining Industry. Delving deeper in to the company’s operations, we explore its continued, dedicated services to an industry that has long been a cornerstone of the national economy…

For over 120 years, Rand Mutual Assurance has been the administrator of choice for assurance services to the South African mining industry - providing workers’ compensation for mining industry employees injured during the course of their employment.

In an industry that has without a doubt been the true foundation of the South African economy, Rand Mutual is a long-term trusted partner, providing services to its South African clients in their operations at home and across the border.

Founded in 1894 by three mining companies on the Witwatersrand as a non-profit mutual assurance company, Rand Mutual filled an urgent need for protection in one of the more hazardous industries operating locally.

“At the time there was no injury insurance cover for those working in the new gold mining industry,” says Rand

PAGE 2

Mutual CEO, Jay Singh.

“But there was a demand, and the only country in the world that offered workers compensation insurance was Germany. There are close parallels with our work and the work done in Germany. Someone would probably have looked at the German model and adapted from it.

“It was three gold mines that started the business in the beginning so from 1894 until 1940, RMA did what it thought was required of it, in consultation with those gold mining companies.”

With the growth of South Africa’s secondary and tertiary industries in the last few decades, the relative contribution of the mining industry to GDP has declined, accounting for 18% of national GDP, according to the Chamber of Mines, and roughly 1 million jobs. However to put that in to perspective, the mining sector in South Africa accounts for roughly one third of the market capitalisation of the

Rand Mutual Assurance

JSE and is one of largest pulls for foreign investment in the country.

Although safety standards have been improving for miners year-on-year, the industry is still considered one of the most dangerous, with 84 recorded deaths in 2014. It is Rand Mutual’s job to ensure the safety of these workers across all areas it is responsible for; companies mining: coal, diamond, chromite, vanadium, and the platinum group metals.

A TRUSTED PROTECTOR Rand Mutual’s licence is granted in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA). Implemented in 1946 the Act makes it compulsory for employers to contribute to insuring employees against potential injuries and Rand Mutual is the body responsible for administering to this

directive.

“If you are in mining you can choose to buy your cover from the Government or from Rand Mutual; just like in construction where you can choose the Government or FEM,” says Singh. “And this means in effect that in market terms our competition is the Government.”

The company works exclusively with large corporates and as such has a client list packed with industry leaders and global majors, such as Anglo Gold Ashanti, Anglo Platinum, Anglo American as a whole, Harmony Gold, Lonmin and BHP Billiton.

In order to keep their competitive edge, Rand Mutual tailors its offerings to the varying needs of their impressive client list. “We have to make sure we pay at least what the legislation says. So we have built other products around COID, for example our workers

PAGE 3

company profile

GUIDING CLIENTS INVESTMENT STRATEGIES Ginsburg Asset Consulting is an established investment advisory business, focusing exclusively on providing independent asset consulting services to a wide range of institutional clients across Southern Africa.

We provide forward-looking, bespoke solutions to achieve results consistent with our clients’ specific needs and investment objectives.

Our business proposition and services are underpinned by our principles of integrity and transparency, ensuring impartiality, objectivity and the avoidance of conflicts of interest.

Our mission is to ensure that our clients’ assets are managed in a responsible, accountable and prudent manner, providing for the best possible return within a sound risk management framework.

For more information, please contact our offices: Tel: +27 21 685 7761 (CPT) Tel: +27 11 326 5373 (JHB) email: info@ginsburg.co.za www.ginsburg.co.za Authorised Financial Service Provider Licence No. 27526

514157 GAC Wealth Print Ad_FA2.indd 1

compensation scheme has a number of components - medical aid, injury while on duty, and a disability calculation resulting in a lump sum or pension,” explains Singh.

“COID says that a pension should be based on a person’s salary but the salary is capped at R26,000 per month. We’ve taken that cap away and will base the pension on your actual salary, even if it is R1million per month rather than the minimum R26,000.

“We’ve created a lot of value-adds. COID doesn’t cover travel to and from work and we’ve added that as a product. If you’re injured while going to work or coming from work or travelling on business then we can provide that cover too - this is particularly significant in South Africa, where a lot of people travel by taxi.”

GOING THE EXTRA MILE RMA Life Assurance Company Ltd. (RMA Life) was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Rand Mutual in 1990 and was set up in order to underpin Rand Mutual’s general assurance offerings by managing the pension benefits payable to claimants and their beneficiaries.

As a further reflection of the company’s commitment to providing exemplary service, this year

PAGE 4

2014/04/04 4:37 PM

sees it celebrating 10 years of caring for its disabled pensioners by way of a mobile clinic that travels the length and breadth of Southern Africa.

Together with its prosthetic partner, Merissa Nel & Associates, Rand Mutual has completed 10,000 prosthetic reviews through its mobile clinic since it began the service, helping beneficiaries in rural, remote areas who otherwise may not be able to access the right care.

The mobile clinic not only repairs prosthetics on site, but also includes on-site prosthetic manufacturing as part of the service.

A CROSS-BORDER OPERATION Rand Mutual employs over 160 staff members and overseas six main offices around the country and three satellite offices in the Eastern Cape, Mozambique and Lesotho from its head office in Johannesburg.

“In South Africa and neighbouring countries most of the miners come from very rural areas; rural parts of South Africa and rural parts of neighbouring countries; and that is why we have a number of small or satellite offices.”

Migrant workers make up a significant number of the employees working in the mining sector

Rand Mutual Assurance in South Africa. With workers travelling from Lesotho, Botswana, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, insurers have to find ways to manage the complexities this throws up.

“Looking after cross-border workers and exworkers is fairly complicated,” says Singh. “For example; if there’s a mining accident the widow may not fully understand she is entitled to receive benefits. It is our responsibility to find and identify the widow - making sure there is no fraud - and then pay her. And the difficulty so often is in tracing the dependents and beneficiaries.”

GROWTH AREAS Although the government in South Africa is Rand Mutual’s only market competitor, it has been engaging with the company in recent times to improve national welfare insurance mechanisms, particularly its IT system.

“Another key area for us in terms of expansion surrounds the licensing of our systems. We’ve built a COID system and the Government does the same things as us but their compensation fund system is not the best so we see that as a potential market for us.

“The same scheme could be marketed throughout Africa – in fact there isn’t a good system anywhere on this continent that administers workers compensation benefits,” explains Singh.

“The Government is piloting some of our IT systems as we speak, with the potential to put some ten million lives on to the system. We have been doing research to see if there is anywhere else in the world comparable to our system and we haven’t come across one yet - and certainly not in Africa.

“Workers compensation benefits have a number of components. There is a medical aid component, a leave-pay component for people injured at work, then there is a component that calculates your disability from which we can pay a disability lump sum or disability pension.

“If you are severely or fatally injured at work then you or your wife and children will receive the pension for life or until they are 18. So there are many facets to consider.

“You often get a pension system that delivers only pensions, or another that handles only funeral benefits. Our system is pretty much

Some choose not to follow their passion.

Our track record is proof that we do.

10276 Compliance number: 3DR068

Our passion. Your investment’s success.

www.stanlib.com

STANLIB is an Authorised Financial Services Provider

PAGE 5

company profile five different programmes integrated into one system and database and it is this integration that provides the real benefit.”

Rand Mutual is a company that prides itself on being technology-forward. It has improved upon its online platforms over the past year to offer several new functionalities and services to stakeholders and continually pursues opportunities to license its IT system to third parties.

In other areas of development, a parallel focus for growth at the company is an extension of its COID license to include the metal sector.

“We have been operating more or less as an exemption from current legislation, and until last year this was on the basis that we can provide this service only to the mining industry.

“So over the past few years we have gone back to Government and said, ‘Look we are doing a

PAGE 6

very good job in mining, with more than 95% of the mining houses buying from us rather than the Government. So on the basis of us providing a very good and cost-effective service, let us expand our services into the iron, steel and other metal industries.’

“Replicating our business model into another sector is the quickest and easiest way to expand, potentially increasing the 400,000 lives we currently insure by another 600,000.

“We have started, and are making presentations to the bigger potential clients, understanding motivations and doing analysis, and signing up half a dozen. And this year we expect to take on at least 100,000 lives.”

In terms of expanding the company’s footprint further in to Sub-Saharan Africa, Singh explains the complexities behind such a move.

“There is strict legislation between different

> Corporate and Investment Banking

Rand Mutual Assurance

LEADING THE WAY IN INVESTOR SERVICES Standard Bank is the leading provider of Investor Services in South Africa. If you need access to custody, trustee services, securities lending, derivatives clearing and investment administration services, you need a partner that can offer you a fully integrated solution. Whatever your business needs, you can be certain of our ability to provide a solution that meets your specific requirements within South Africa and beyond.

They call it Africa. We call it home.

For more information, contact Adam Bateman email: adam.bateman@standardbank.co.za or visit www.standardbank.com/cib

Authorised financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP15).

The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (Reg. No. 1962/000738/06). SBSA 145001.

Moving Forward is a trademark of The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited

sep 14 PAGE 7

company profile

countries. For example; if we were to offer our products in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwean government would say that the money can’t leave Zimbabwe and would have to be insured with a local insurance company. We would also need to prove that this type of insurance is not available in that country,” explains Singh.

“What we would need to do is set up in those countries and get a life insurance license to do business. We are researching this and the concerns are around the capital required and the need for a local partner in those countries.

“It’s probably a slightly longer term vision, not for the next two or three years but after that we might find the ideal types of partners, those who are involved with life insurance and want to grow into workers compensation and benefits.”

PAGE 8

INDUSTRY GROWTH Rand Mutual’s business has grown parallel to the growth of the nation’s mining industry over the years. “Pre-2008 we may have had 90% of the mining business. And we would try to convince the remaining 10% to join us.

“There’s quite a bit of diversity in mining. Look at gold. Six or seven years ago it was in decline while platinum was growing like crazy. Since 2008 platinum has not grown but the coal industry has.

“The international demand for coal is so great that no one country can meet it. As a result we have seen a lot of new employees in the coal mining sector. So growth in one industry offsets a decline in another.”

PEOPLE POWER Like any company, Rand Mutual’s employees form

Rand Mutual Assurance

the backbone of its company and are the basis for its success. The company’s employees have a wide range of skills across all the areas it services, especially regarding the medical nature of the company.

“We have people who assess a disability; maybe people who have been in a mining accident and is injured; for this we have medical doctors who have gone on to gain an occupational health qualification. They will measure disability and review our patients. Supporting these doctors are senior nurses,” explains Singh.

“On the other side of the business we have people who capture claims. They are usually more junior but they have understanding of medical terminology. If there is a claim, our people can quickly relate to the injury, when they are capturing the claim or processing a doctor’s invoice.

“Then of course we have financial people, administrators and IT people. Our IT people are highly skilled. We do all of our IT development in-house.

“It’s like any other company; we have a whole cross-section of skills. The main difference is our medical expertise and the training that we provide in that regard. For example; our doctors are trained and understand occupational health but we skill them in terms of worker compensation, legislation and all the systems that go with it.

“We also offer training to all the mining houses that we cover and the labour organisations. It’s very important that they understand the benefits so when there’s a query, they know exactly how to report it.”

It is this concentration of expertise and its 120 year track record that has made Rand Mutual the trusted partner to the South African mining industry that it has become. With technological advancements being made to further streamline operations and the potential for further expansion in the future, it would be no leap of the imagination to see Rand Mutual successfully in operation for another 120 years, ensuring peace of mind for industry workers across the nation

.

Founded in 2006 through the merger of ITQ (est. 2000) and Mindkey Software Solutions (est. 1998), ITQ Business Solutions is a consulting and software development ICT company.

A subsidiary of the black empowered, JSE listed company, Morvest Business Group Ltd. ITQ Business Solutions drives and supports its clients through the provision of custom built software solutions and outsourced /co-sourced development services.

Physical Address 17 Sunninghill Office Park, iSolve House, Peltier Drive, Sunninghill, Ext 71, Gauteng, 2191

Our solutions are typically built around the Oracle and MS SQL Server Databases using Oracle Forms, Oracle ADF, Java or .NET as the development platform, leveraging proven development architectures like SOA. ITQ traditionally enters into long term business relationships with its clients and is seen as a trusted partner rather than a supplier. The ITQ Business Solutions Group has a complement of over 350 Developers, Project Managers and Business Analysts - we believe with some of the finest skills in the country. We have established a solid reputation for delivering large and complex projects, all of which are reference sites.

Postal Address P O Box 997, Sunninghill, Johannesburg, 2157

We employ a hybrid of proven methodologies ranging from agile practices to more traditional project management that will see the project achieving its full potential in shorter time frames. The specific development methodology we employ depends on the nature of the project, but where possible we use our own flavour of Agile / RAD. Where complex business rules / processes are involved we always prepare a detailed architectural specification and database design up front. In our industry, it has become common for projects or development phases longer than 12 months to miss deadlines or never finish.

We break this trend through our strong belief in providing frequent, functional deliverables to our project stakeholders. Where required, we endeavour to adapt our approach to fit in with our clients’ existing methodologies.

Telephone Number (011) 087-6602 Facsimile Number 086 621 9666 Web Site Address www.itq.co.za Email Address info@itq.co.za Contact Person Marc Schrader (Director)

ITQ Business Solutions is a Level 2 BEE contributor which has enjoyed solid growth every year since inception, without exception.

PAGE 9

+44 (0) 1603 411569 info@industrysa.com East Coast Promotions Ltd, 2 Ardney Rise Norwich, Norfolk NR3 3QH

www.industrysa.co.za